Do You Want to be a Children’s Book Illustrator?

Are you interested in knowing more about how children’s book illustrators work? Here’s a step-by-step process and how to get involved in this exciting field.

 By Carolyn Edlund

Cherish Flieder, a Colorado native and children’s book illustrator, spoke with me recently about her career and how she has developed her full-time business.

What’s the process of illustrating a book? Cherish explained the steps, in general:

1. Break the manuscript into a storyboard layout, creating a thumbnail sketch of what happens on each page spread. The focus of this step is to make sure the story flows visually.
2. Get the publisher’s approval of the preliminary work.
3. Research and acquire photo reference to create final line drawings for each illustration.
4. Develop character model sheets.
5. Work on black and white value studies. This adds drama to the illustrations and carries the concepts throughout the story.
6. Color versions are created for each page. Working with the publisher, they show the finished set and consult on any changes that will be needed.
7. After any modifications are made, the final illustrations are produced.
8. Scanning of the illustrations is done by digital image capture. A color press proof is made and final files are delivered to the publisher on disc or FTP.
9. Cherish and Ben may design covers and packaging for the book as well, taking the project from concept to final product.

Please read the rest of this article:

Do you Want to be a Children's Book Illustrator?

Enjoy!
Kateri