My name is Rebecca but you can just call me Becca. I’m an illustrator, painter, and author whose work has found a home in children’s and middle grade publishing, editorial illustration, and fine ar…
Jamie Green is a maker and professional curious person living in Greenville (funny, right?), South Carolina. She graduated in 2020 from Ringling College of Art and Design with a BFA in Illustration…
My name is Rebecca but you can just call me Becca. I’m an illustrator, painter, and author whose work has found a home in children’s and middle grade publishing, editorial illustration, and fine ar…
Charles Santoso (Chao) loves drawing little things in his little journal and dreaming about funny, wondrous stories. He gathers inspiration from his childhood memories and curiosities he discovers …
Tracy Nishimura Bishop is a children’s book illustrator working in San Jose, CA. She grew up in a U.S. Army base in Japan from the age of 5 through 13 and got hooked on drawing when she won an art…
Christopher Denise is an award-winning children’s book illustrator and visual development artist. His first book, a retelling of the Russian folktale The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, was …
I know all of you know these rules, but sometimes it doesn’t hurt to read them again. Talk tomorrow, Kathy
Christophe always wanted to be an artist, ever since he was a kid. He studied at the LUCA school of arts in Brussels, specializing in illustration. Christophe graduated in 2008 and since then he ha…
My name is Rebecca but you can just call me Becca. I’m an illustrator, painter, and author whose work has found a home in children’s and middle grade publishing, editorial illustration, and fine ar…
My name is Rebecca but you can just call me Becca. I’m an illustrator, painter, and author whose work has found a home in children’s and middle grade publishing, editorial illustration, and fine ar…
Jen lives and works in the Boston area, where she freelances illustration and teaches art at a local college. She received her BFA in Painting from the University of Central Florida, her MFA in Ill…
Valeria began to draw driven by the desire to capture the poetry of everyday things: the children and dogs’ glance, the shape of the plants, the sound of the autumn dry leaves and the aroma …
Felicita was born in Rome but grew up in Perth. She graduated with Honours in Philosophy from the University of Western Australia. She moved back to Italy in 2007 where she taught herself illustrat…
Laura Wood was born and raised in Italy and after completing a Bachelor of Cinema and Multimedia, moved to Australia in search of new experiences. Once in Australia, she completed a diploma of Illu…
My name is Rebecca but you can just call me Becca. I’m an illustrator, painter, and author whose work has found a home in children’s and middle grade publishing, editorial illustration, and fine ar…
My name is Rebecca but you can just call me Becca. I’m an illustrator, painter, and author whose work has found a home in children’s and middle grade publishing, editorial illustration, and fine ar…
Christopher Denise is an award-winning children’s book illustrator and visual development artist. His first book, a retelling of the Russian folktale The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, was …
Charles Santoso (Chao) loves drawing little things in his little journal and dreaming about funny, wondrous stories. He gathers inspiration from his childhood memories and curiosities he discovers …
Francisco Fonseca is a talented freelance illustrator from Porto, Portugal. His rich palette causes his illustrations of his view of the Porto city streets and breathtaking views to burst from his …
Francisco Fonseca is a talented freelance illustrator from Porto, Portugal. His rich palette causes his illustrations of his view of the Porto city streets and breathtaking views to burst from his …
Francisco Fonseca is a talented freelance illustrator from Porto, Portugal. His rich palette causes his illustrations of his view of the Porto city streets and breathtaking views to burst from his …
My top ten tips for creating illustrations and artwork for children's books. Bring a storybook to life with engaging illustrations. Here I offer my advice on how to get started in illustrating children's books.
At the intersection of papercraft art and photography, you'll find Elly MacKay (aka Theater Clouds) and her wonderfully whimsical dioramas. The Ontario,
I got a Postcrossing treat today: NL-1274604 showing artwork by the wonderful Dutch artist Fiep Westendorp. This postcard had been in my favorites, and the sender kindly sent it to me! Of course I love the fantastic writing desk imagery. Look at that great pile of mail on top of her desk!
Comic books aren’t just superheroes and science fiction. Some comics are also about sex. (And sometimes, superheroes even have sex in comics.) These are the best sex comics around.
We do not have an interview this week, but I want to share with you a tip from the very talented illustrator, Tony Cliff. He is a Canadian writer and illustrator who has a series of comic stories s…
Henry Austin Dobson was one of those indefatigable literary men with which the 19th and early 20th centuries abound. I first came across him as the man who seemed to write all the introductions to …
Picture Book Illustration Course Part 3 The business of illustrating Well that was just about the longest Spring Break ever. A-hem... anyhoo... on to the LAST session - yay! You've made it! Right, so far we’ve talked about Style , Characterisation, composition and narrative in our illustration work. This week, we talk about what is arguably often lacking in illustration degree courses - the practicalities of how to land that first commission and what to do when you get it! Portfolio (physical portfolio) Your first aim before you worry about anything else is to work towards a fantastic portfolio. Your portfolio (or ‘book’) is the public face of your work - it’s represents your skills and style to potential clients - your personality, covering letter, ideas and ambition are all irrelevant to a publisher if your portfolio is not appealing to them. Invest in a decent professional portfolio with clear sleeves. - no bigger than A3 - should include around 15-20 pieces of finished artwork - usually copies rather than originals - your portfolio must show your BEST work so don’t include half-finished work and do not include any work you’re not 100% happy with DO include the following; - Your name and contact details on the first page (with an illustration or logo of some kind) - character studies showing a single character in various positions and emotions - a mix of full spread illustrations and vignettes - spreads that include text - children (incl. babies, toddlers, to 6-7 year olds) and animals - remember - cute, quirky, appealing characters - highly narrative pieces - nothing too static and dull - You can show different media/styles but keep some consistency and cohesion - if you have two widely different styles think about 2 different portfolios - 2-3 spreads from the same story - shows consistency of character and ability to keep things interesting and varied in 1 book - original characters and story ideas are great but don’t be afraid to also put in old classics/nursery rhymes/fables etc. - good way to show your individual interpretation of a text. - include a book cover design - strong, character-led, appealing to buyers - Don’t put too much in - better to have 12 strong pieces than 20, 8 of which are, at best, mediocre. - Don’t squash them in - think about design, don’t be afraid to use white space. - If you don’t like drawing something (bicycles for example) don’t put them in! Sods law is you'll get comissioned to illustrate a 100-page anthology of bicycle stories as your frst job! - Put your best piece FIRST and your second best piece LAST in your portfolio. Good first impressions and lasting impressions count. Include the same characters in different situations and compositions. These images are from Mr Super Poopy Pants, due out next month. Remember EACH piece in your portfolio must show; - illustrations that are full of life and personality - evidence of good composition and storytelling skills (vary from close-ups to panned out views, vary lighting, vary angles, vary settings and backgrounds) - ORIGINALITY - skill in your chosen medium - good imagination - complete understanding of the compositional and practical needs of a children’s book illustration - i.e. room for text, nothing in the gutter, action moving left to right, similar proportions to a children’s book (not A4!).... see last week's course. When you have a great PHYSICAL portfolio, now is the time to start marketing your work... Digital Portfolio Very few successful illustrators have no ‘web presence’ - if a publisher hears about you, they want to look you up on line, if they meet you and see your portfolio, they’ll ask for your website to keep up-to-date with new pieces, if a publisher is trawling the internet looking for new talent, if you’re not there, they won’t find you, etc. etc. There are plenty of ways of doing this for free - try; Behance Network Carbonmade deviantART FigDig Flickr Krop Virb etc. etc. You just need your artwork , contact details and a brief biography Digital Age Even if you’re not a digital artist it’s now almost impossible to be an illustrator without a computer, scanner and some image editing software. You need a computer for; - marketing and networking - emailing pencil roughs and final artwork to clients for approval - keeping business and finance records - project scheduling - invoicing clients - joining discussion boards, forums and social network sites - there's plenty like you out there, 'meet' them and share ideas - research and advice - sites like the Purple Crayon etc. are invaluable. If possible get your hands on Photoshop or a cheaper alternative for cropping images, cleaning them up, moving elements of your design, trying different colour schemes etc. Marketing Ok, so you have your fantastic physical portfolio, you have your digital portfolio, you now need some jobs! Sending samples to clients - Research first which publishers might be interested in your style - put together a promotional pack and send to each publisher - this should include; - covering letter - short, professional -who you are, what you’re including - 2-3 sample sheets - your work (4-6 samples per sheet), your contact details on each - maybe include a postcard and/or business card (I recommend Moo cards) - include a stamped SAE - check you've included enough postage! - check publisher’s website - some accept samples sent via email or via their website - most have specific submission guidelines Other Marketing Strategies include; - Buy Children’s Writer’s and Artist’s Yearbook for lists of addresses and tons of advice. - keep a record of who you sent samples to and when - follow up after 3 months with a polite letter. - keep rejection letters! Can give helpful advice, can also give you the name of commissioning editors/art editors to send to again. - Think about buying a page in an illustration annual - can be costly but can pay off quite quickly - some judge your work first - see Creative Review annual, AOI Images Annual, Picture Book directory (US) - Try to arrange to meet with commissioning editors from publishers with your portfolio - phone, email, write - line up a few for a day in London - Go to The Bologna Children's Book Fair! Agents Getting an agent can be invaluable for finding you work - but often just as difficult to get as a publisher. Again addresses and submission guides can be found online or in The CWIYB - They take between 20-40% - will do all the promotional stuff for you - will guide your work and give you feedback - again, research to find which ones might suit your work Getting a commission Yay!! Your work has made a good impression on an art director and you’ve been asked to produce some work for them. - First they’ll contact you , ask if you’re available and give you a brief idea of the work and budget. - Next they’ll give you the detailed brief - Don’t be afraid to ask questions! Make sure you know what they’re after and the schedule - and don't agree to it unless it’s possible! - The detailed brief will include the text, some art direction (possibly in the form of sketches), size of the page and date due - most likely to be asked for a cover and spread or two first before the whole book is commissioned - this is common - they'll take them to book fairs (Bologna, Frankfurt, London) and if buyers are interested they’ll then commission the rest - but they MUST pay you for the presentation work. Avoid doing speculative work for nothing if poss (sometimes unavoidable). Questions to ask; - the schedule (for pencil roughs and for final artwork) - how they want it delivered (scanned or originals) - are royalties being offered or is it a flat fee? - what is the payment plan - usually in 3 equal parts - on signature of contract, delivery of pencil roughs and acceptance of final artwork. - who owns the copyright at the end - you or them? - who owns the artwork - you or them? When you get a contract - read carefully and check everything against the above questions. Feel free to negotiate on schedule, fee and copyright ownership. ALWAYS get work in on time - extremely important, if there are any problems with the schedule tell them well in advance After your work is finished send them an invoice with your contact details, the amount to be paid and terms of payment (standard is 30 days from invoice) Illustration as a career Be resilient and determined! You will get knock-backs, rejections etc. - try to learn from them rather than being down-hearted. It will take time. Good things always do. It is undoubtedly a wonderful job but there are downsides; - no sick pay or holiday pay! - you have to do your own accounts (get an accountant! and as soon as you start earning register for tax) - fees are often paid very late! - No guarantee of earnings - have to be self-motivated - have to be constantly creative! But, all that said, it is, for me, the perfect job. Maybe it is for you too. Homework Become a full-time self-employed children's book illustrator. ;0)
Drawing on Frosted Mylar I first used Frosted Mylar years ago when I was creating technical illustrations. My first job was at IB...
Before having my third (and FINAL!) child and finding that I no longer have time to brush my hair let alone do anything else, I used to run a 6 week evening course on how to write and illustrate children's books. Being a fan of reuse, recycle and re-hashing old material I thought I might blog the course so that anyone out there who might be interested in taking up this noble profession (which according to my husband amounts to little more than 'colouring in') can glean what they may from my musings. The first three weeks are how to write a picture book, the following three are how to illustrate one. Obviously this is, at best, a brief introduction to the discipline but I hope it might serve as a starting point for a few who may have the talent and inclination but be a little lost on where to begin. I was at that point 14 years ago when I started self-teaching myself by reading just about every article I could lay my hands on and quizzing any professional who didn't take out a restraining order. There will be homework! If you chose to do it, great, if you want to send it to me for my perusal please do and if I get the time to get back to you then we'll both be doing well. Picture Book Writing Course Part 1 What Makes A Good Picture Book It's Tough! True story; Dr Seuss was at a dinner party when he met a Brain surgeon, the brain surgeon said ‘oh, are you that guy who writes those little books for children? I’ve always thought that when I had a free afternoon one Saturday I’d love to write one. Dr Seuss replied, ‘ ‘Ahh yes, and I’ve always thought when I had a free afternoon one Saturday I’d love to do a little brain surgery’ I'm not suggesting that what I do is brain surgery (it's actually more like rocket science;) but there is a misapprehension that it’s easy to write for children and get published. I thought so! Until the harsh realities and rejection letters beat my optimistic spirit violently down. The truth is that writing picture books is a particular artform with it’s own rules and requirements - it’s a craft that takes a long time to master - (and clearly I am in no way near to mastering it yet). It is also an EXTREMELY competitive field. I spoke with a small publisher a few years back who told me they get 100 unsolicited (i.e. not through an agent) manuscripts a week - of which 2 a year might get published. It took me 2 years of hard slog to get illustration work and 8 years of writing picture book manuscripts before one was published - and this is quicker than many. So why do so many people think they can do it? 1) Every parent/grandparent/teacher/aunt with a grain of imagination has made up stories to adoring children and thinks they would be good enough to be published. Unfortunately kids love the attention of anyone making up stories for them whether the stories are any good or not. We all have the ability to make up a story, but this doesn't make us all writers. I can make beans on toast - doesn’t make me a chef! 2) People think their book will change the world! People often get into writing children’s books with projects they are truly passionate about - pets, family anecdotes or memories, or a moral they wish to impart and then take it terribly personally when they hit their first wall and refuse to compromise or take advice. 3) People think it’s easy because unlike a novel, it’s short! But just because there aren’t many words doesn’t mean there isn’t much story. Children's author Mem Fox once compared writing picture books to ‘writing War and Peace in Haiku’. A slight exaggeration, maybe, but one of the most difficult books I've ever written is Zoo Girl - and it's told in only 20 words! But trying to get the story right first, with emotional ups and downs, cliff-hangers, a strong beginning, middle and end, character depth etc. and then condense that down and tell as much as I could in the pictures rather than the words was an immense challenge. It's easier to ramble. As this blog entry is proving. 4) People think it pays well - true if you have a big hit like The Gruffalo but this is exTREMEly unlikely and many books go out of print after their first print run so the writer gets no royalties and may be paid an advance of just £1000 - £3000. Why do most people fail? The fact is that most would-be children’s writers have no idea what they’re doing. They simply haven’t taken the time to learn about writing for children. Let's face it, you wouldn't try to fly a fighter jet without first taking flying lessons. So why do so many people think they can write a children's book without first learning how? (I admit this is a terrible analogy - no one, so far as I know, has ever died a horrible plummeting death from trying to write a picture book without the proper training, but you get my point.) So what’s the secret? Simple - In order to get your picture book published, you MUST find out what publishers are after and then give them EXACTLY what they want. And, the good news is, children's book publishers are desperate for good children's books, because, as I’ve said, most of what they receive is rubbish! Children’s books like anything else are a business (a really fun one, but a business none the less) and as such we need to be creating products which will be appealing to the target audience - not just the children (although they should ALWAYS be at the forefront of our thinking) but the publishers, editors, booksellers that all come before a child even sees it. Hopefully in this course you'll get a strong idea of what publishers want, and how to create it and present it to them. It's also worth saying at this point that if you can overcome the odds, do the research and break into the business - it's one of the most rewarding, enjoyable and fun jobs around! This first session is What Makes a Good Picture Book? - If you don’t know this, how are you going to create your own one? The only way to do this is to research - know your market, love your market, visit libraries and children's departments in book shops, start collecting picture books that catch your eye (charity shops are a great source). If you don’t love children’s books, if you think they're beneath you, if you're scared of being stared at as you spend hours in the children's section of the library, leave now, this profession is not for you. Different kinds of picture books: I regularly get emails from people who have written 'a children's book' and when I ask what kind of children's book and what age it's aimed at they're a bit stumped, or the material in no way goes along with the age they tell me it's aimed at so you need to learn the difference between... mass-market activity books, board and novelty books, Early Readers, picture books, YA novels etc. etc. You'll get to know these by visiting those libraries and bookshops again and seeing what's in each section, holding them, looking at the blurb on the back, etc. In this course it's high-end trade Picture Books we're interested in - these are generally - 32pages, 12-14 full colour spreads, with full-colour, quality illustrations, and original tales told in less than 600 words. But within picture books there are of course different genres, for example; Humourous (eg. Dave, The Monkey With the Bright Blue Bottom, Olivia, Naked Trevor) Action adventure (eg. Gruffalo, Where the wild things are, ) Snuggly bed-time story (eg. Guess How Much I Love you, I love you Daddy, Cub's First Winter) and lots more besides, and many books of course span the whole lot. But it's worth thinking about what kind of book you want to write and which market you'd be aiming at. Characters Your picture book will need a main character and generally these are; Children - the same age or a little older than the target audince (which for a picture book is usually between 3-6 but can be much wider) Animals - usually young animals or an older animal with a child-like outlook Creatures - monsters, fairies, robots etc. Adults - very rarely the main character (Percy the Park keeper is an exception but he looks quite chubby and child-like! There are other notable exceptions but i think best to avoid as your main character) ok to include parents, teachers, doctors etc. - Adults children have come across in their own lives. Inanimate Objects - Again, there are notable exceptions but generally I would avoid writing your picture book about Simon the Stapler or Billy Banana. It's old-fashioned, it's dull, it's of little interest to publishers. The important thing is your picture book needs at least one character the child reader can identify with - so whether it's a robot monkey or bespectacled duck make sure they make choices and deal with emotions like a 5 year old child would. So what makes a book work well? THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS TO EVERY RULE HERE by generally a great picture book must be; Original - publishers are looking for a new hook or concept Well written - we'll go into more detail about this next week but each word must be perfect. Beginning, middle and end - Straight in, exciting progression, pleasing ending Fit nicely into 12/13 spreads with action on each spread Attractive and entertaining to children and adults Children/main character solving their own problems, not adults stepping in to 'save the day' A Simple idea told clearly Engaging characters GREAT ending We will be looking at this list and going through it in more detail next week but for now; Homework! 1. Look at a selection of (fairly recent) picture books and as you read them and study the illustrations ask the following questions; What kind of book is it (funny, adventure etc.) What’s the basic plot? What is the atmosphere of the book and how is that conveyed? Why and how do the images and text work together? Is the book appropriate for its audience? Why? Is there a character the child can relate to? What is the child meant to gain from the book, if anything? Is there an underlying message or moral to the book? How does the narrative work - is there a definite beginning, middle and end? 2. Come up with 3 vague picture book ideas - include a main character and a rough plot line. Next week - How to Write a Picture Book
Here's when you need to find and illustrator for your children's book and who's job it is to find them. Plus, where to look when you're ready!
Emilia Dziubak graduated in 2010 from Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan (graphics faculty). She is interested in book and press illustrating. Her illustrations have fans all around the world.
Unlock the secrets to creating stunning digital illustrations and propel your artistic journey forward! Delve deep into the art of digital creation!
