Step 4 in the ‘How do I self publish a Children’s Book’ series.

(The words and opinions of this blog are that of the author and her experiences. This is not professional advice, and should not be used in lieu of that.)

Let’s do a quick recap. You now have…

Your manuscript written, proofread and edited.
Decided what print house you have decided to use and set up an account, briefly navigated their site and decided the shape and dimensions of your book (and know what the file type, dimensions, templates, and bleed requirements are).
You know your file type, page size, and requirements.

Lets get into a very important part of picture books - the pictures! As an artist this is my observations, experiences, and opinions. Every artist is different. Some may resonate with this entry word for word, others may roll their eyes and not make it to the bottom.

What do I need to know before I start the illustration part?

Having the page shape, size and orientation helps with laying the artwork out, particularly I think it is so important to have aesthetic, harmony, and connection between the art and the words. 3 things I feel are critical to know before you begin are:

Layout.

Working out how much of each page is art and where the words are going to sit in respect to the art and how much room they’re going to take up. If you are illustrating or outsourcing to an illustrator, you may want to provide the file with the page size and text locations if you have strong preference where the words would be on the page. At the very least provide the manuscript grouped into the pages.

Font.

Also deciding what font you are going to use and the size of the letters. If you are using an existing font, I recommend researching and using a public domain font that way you don’t have to pay any royalties or commissions to use another font. My font is actually my own handwriting! I turned it into a font using Calligraphr and uploaded it to Procreate to use. Font is a powerful aesthetic - a thriller written in curly, sweet script would enhance the emotion the way a sharp cornered, angular style chilly font would. It doesn’t need to be locked in stone right now, shortlist some potential fonts or at the very least keep it in the back of your mind. If you are giving the artist liberty on how the words and pictures will interact, the font size helps to as it allows that artist to see how much room they have to work with.

File requirements.

If you are outsourcing to an artist, you need to provide the file requirements, the borders, and the bleed if it is needed. The art needs to be 300 dpi in clarity/quality, regardless of the artwork medium. The Step 3 of this series entry covers this, visit it here.

Budget.

How much does it cost to illustrate a book? Well, it’s the same as asking how long is a piece of string? Illustrating a book has SO MANY variables. Are you illustrating digitally, watercolour, other medium? Do you have these materials already or are you having to go and buy what you need? Are you illustrating yourself or bringing an illustrator on board? Art is subjective and so is its value. More experienced and notorious artists will charge higher rates, up and coming artists may be more collaborative and lower rates. What I am saying is, YOU need to set your budget that’s within your capacity and it should not financially break you.

Now, it’s time to start illustrating or sourcing an illustrator if art isn’t your forte. The next couple of parts of this blog is for my illustrating buddies but if art is not your strength - jump ahead to ‘How do I find the right Artist for me?’ down below.

What medium & what do I need to illustrate?

Any! Whatever you like, in your preferred medium - as long as the end version ends up in the correct PDF format. Going with what you know and like is the best case in my opinion, you are going to be learning so much in this journey and tackling a whole new art medium in the process too could overload the system.

If you are illustrating traditionally, painting, paper art, etc. create in the shape that you need, then you’ll need to transfer to digital via either quality photography or scanning. I feel then you need to use a program like Procreate (my preferred) or Canva, InDesign, etc. to then layer the text over the top and balance the colours.

So far, I have only illustrated digitally. I use Procreate, I love it, I am comfortable in it and I know it well. I can completely customise the page dimensions, make my own digital brushes, mimic various mediums, have the colour set to RGB or CMYK, and work on it where ever I go.

But, I actually have a book in my mind that I want to illustrate with a combination of watercolour and paper art - would you like me to take you on the journey of that, step by step? It’s a story about grief and I feel it needs this soft and intimate approach to the art, which to me feels it should be in watercolour. There’s not a lot of hiding you can do in watercolour, so it feels as sensitive and exposing as the topic.

My key tips and takeaways:

Match the right dimensions, scale can be amended in the file building.

Remove the pressure on yourself. Internalised pressure can be a BIG contributor to the dreaded ‘Art Block’. Illustrating a whole book can be an overwhelming and daunting task. Start one step at a time, whether its page one, the page that inspires you, the page you like the least… work to your process.

A quote that lives rent free in my brain comes from a fictional character from the TV series ‘Jane the Virgin’ (absolute phenomenal series). The character is Rogelio de la Vega, who is played by an actor whose voice I love called Jaime Camil. Rogelio is a telenovela star and father of the main character Jane, he is a bit narcissistic, however, he does anything he can for the people he loves. He can be quite ditzy at times but then drops these gems that just made my jaw drop.

Being paid to make art is tricky. Money can buy a lot of things, but passion is not one of them. Rogelio de la Vega.

How do I find the right Artist for me?

Artists can be elusive little things, but we are out there - you just need to look for us… BUT WAIT! Hold those horses for a second!

Before you go sliding into the DMs of anyone, I want to prep you with a bit of direction and knowledge.

Find your art style.

When you find an artist, you don’t just latch onto the first one you find. You need to do a bit of research on what art style you like. Don’t know? That’s ok, you have Google, Pinterest, Instagram… whatever you prefer to use. Start by searching relevant topics on those platforms (like illustration, artist, character art, children’s book illustration etc.) and start saving all the ones that you immediately love or match the vision in your head. Build a board, then even if you don’t know what you liked initially, there will be a common thread eventually that will highlight what to look for in an artist.

Find an artist / shortlist of artists.

Now, to find the Artist. Instagram is commonly an artist’s preferred platform because its visual - use hashtags like #DigitalIllustrator #NeurodivergentArtist #Illustrator #ChildrensBookIllustrator #WatercolourArtist #CharacterArt as an example, refer back to the research you did on finding your art style. You want to find an artist whose art you LOVE. Like you’d barely change a thing when you look at their creations, it’s like magic to you. Reaching out to the first artist you find immediately and go ‘hey I love your art, I see you draw angular 1940’s style cats in block colours but I’m looking for hyper-realistic humans painted in watercolour’. The artist may have that versatility, but the style they advertise in is often the way they prefer to create. Or they may not create in the style you want at all, and your DM will be left on read, ignored, or just told no. This is unneccessary dejection you have set yourself up for.

You want to find an artist that sits naturally in the style you love. Trust me, that’s when you’ll get your best results. Follow them on their most active socials, and get to know them and their style for a little while before you reach out.

My Art Style:

Here you can see 4 different books, (3 in print and 1 still in creation process) all illustrated by me! I personally believe there is versatility to my art, and to me as an artist.
But, there is also presence of a ‘style’, a distinctiveness throughout my art that if someone who knew me and my art, would look at these 4 books and immediately know that I am the illustrator.
Lucy and Liam Explore Empathy is a revisit to the late 80’s - 90’s hyper-cute style in a digital watercolour.
A Good Goodbye (COMING SOON) cartoon style with lead pencil outlining.
Sometimes Play is a scrapbook style block layering.
My Brain is a Race Car, my modern take on mid-century style art.

Also my ‘style’.

I am actually not too sure what I am proving with these two sets of images.
Hopefully it is simultaneously showing that Artist’s can have versatility in what and how they create AND that there is a ‘style’ of an artist - their essence - that will be present in anything they create.
The right artist for you is one where you love their style.

Compatibility.

There’s a huge opportunity here in finding an artist that ‘matches’ you, as well as the compatibility of your relationship. Essentially, there is TWO audiences you have the chance to connect and tap into - yours and theirs! If the artist feels loved and respected and valued then they will organically tell their world about this book too - BONUS (but should not be an expectation unless included and compensated in the contract)! I’ll go into this more when we talk about marketing in another blog soon.

Cross check their availability and requirements with your expectations and budget.

An artist may have a submissions form on their website, or instructions in their social media bio, or they may unfortunately have ‘commissions closed’ - where you need to make the decision to wait for the commissions to re-open or find another artist you love. Having as much information as possible will help the initial vetting process for both you and the artist.

For example; "Hi (Artist’s Name), how much will it cost for you to illustrate a book for me?” is like asking ‘how long is a piece of string?’, incredibly vague and puts it on the artist to ask a lot of questions in a long email response or give no response at all as it sounds slightly scammy (artists get a lot of scam commission requests) or un-researched. Lack of sometimes indicates a lack of financial understanding and appreciation for art.

Instead; “Hi (Artist’s Name), I have a 26 page plus front and back cover children’s book I am self publishing and I wanting to be illustrated. It is about a snake who wears a top hat to feel taller around his friends with legs. I love angular mid-century art like the ones I see you create, I in particular love this piece of yours (attach screenshot of piece you are referring to), and I have attached a small mood board of reference images and colours. If you have capacity and are interested I would love to talk to you about your fees and/or preferred contract negotiations.”

From there, the artist may give a ballpark figure and preferences. If this works with you and your budget, you may set up a phone or video call to ensure you are on the same page or continue conversation via email. Drawing up and agreeing on contract terms is key and even if you are friends, think of it as an automated insurance so it lets you just keep being friends.

Contract / agreement.

This is going to a unique situation between you and the artist. It needs to be a contract where you both feel valued, appreciated and have received what you feel you are worth. When you purchase art from someone, traditionally you buy the art but the copyright remains with the artist. This means that you have the rights for the images to be made into the agreed children’s book but unless you have also purchased the copyright or specifically stated in the contract, you cannot use those images further to make other products - like merchandise.

Purchasing art and copyright is a lot more expensive than just buying the art, as you are ceasing any further profit potential for the artist. Purchasing the art only potentially limits any further plans you may have for your book, if there is those opportunities or necessities at all.

Purchasing art at lower amount, and offering an royalty percentage to the artist. This can become a beautiful relationship if both parties like this idea. You may pay less of an upfront fee, but tehn share the royalties and profits with the artist. While that sounds not ideal, think two completely separate but equal investment in your book’s success now exists.

Find what works for you, contentment of decisions the contract need to sit completely well with you and if you feel uncertain in yourself at any point - reach out to a professional for some legal advice. The artist will also only step ito what they feel suits their best interests, it just needs to all align.

Work out how to work with your artist.

How strong is your visions of how the pages in your book will look? If you have specific and detailed ideas, write them all down and use your manuscript as a guide! The pictures amplify the words and add details that cannot be included in short story word counts. Some things, don’t need to be said, but just seen. These are the opportunities to include them in your brief. The more detailed you are, the better chance we have at understanding your vision and recreating it in our style.

How does the artist like to work? A deadline? Page by page? (Legit, ask your artist, it helps both of you manage your expectations).

I like to start by designing my character, then do chicken scratch drawings of my quick inspiration pages and the visual layout. From there, the I will do a refined sketch / line work of pages - here is where I like the conversation of big reviews and changes as they’re still easy to do. On wards from this I then begin my colour work, completing page by page - not in order chronologically, but by inspiration.

“Nell! I just don’t know how I want it to look, otherwise I’d draw it myself!”

Ahh, I’ve heard this sentence before and in these cases creative liberty is what you want to give to the artist. This can be SO INSPIRING for the artist unless creative liberty is ‘given’ but then the client micromanages the process. That’s not creative liberty that’s ‘I actually do have a vision of what I want but I haven’t put the time into realising what it is’. achieving your vision can be just as fun as creative liberty, just let us know what it is you want.

A plea from an Artist to understand us better…

The elephant in the room (well for me, I can see the elephant and I have to call it out).

I am a big believer in karma and integrity. The choices we make when nobody is around and we think nobody else is going to find out, affects our lives and what comes back into them. Bad luck happens absolutely, so please don’t think one bit of bad luck means there’s bad karma happening. Good luck though, aside from finding a coin on the side of the road is the intersection of hard work and recognising opportunity.

What I am saying is don’t let this opportunity and your hard work be tainted by taking advantage of other creatives hard work.

Don’t let that artist in your life illustrate for little to no money and leave them wayside when you’re done.

Don’t drag an artist and tell them they’re too expensive or not worth the amount they have set themselves if their prices are too expensive for you. It’s not that they are to expensive, it’s they are too expensive for you. If that artist values their art at that amount, who are we to say otherwise? There’s artists out there far outside of my financial capacity and it bums me out too, but who knows maybe one day I’ll win the lottery that I never buy a ticket for and they won’t be.

Don’t go on Upwork or Fivver etc., put a job add up for illustrations and ripping off an artist from another country who are unaware of their talent and the value of their work. I’m not a fan of Fivver at all, as the name alone denotes a low value. If you do go on there and find your perfect artist - GREAT! Just PAY THEM RIGHT. Set up a contract where they receive royalties from book sales, or pay them for full copyright and PAY THEM RIGHT. Please.

Don’t ask for amendments in a negatively critical way, like ‘that dog looks like a horse’ haha, can we change that to something more dog like? Instead just ‘can I have a revision on the dog in this image I’d like it to look like (insert breed, or reference photo).

Don’t gate keep your artist if you find one (I actually saw a self-published author refuse to share their artist’s details in a video the other day as she ‘ might want to use them again and she doesn’t want them to get too busy and not be available for her’.

EXCUSE ME?! She alone sparked this section / rant / plea.

The world needs artists, yet every era artists are the most downtrodden as a collective (what I mean is from the few that hit fame and reach celebrity status). What I am going to say next may be cheesy but it is also true - the Earth without art is just Eh.

I say this with all my love to you, but with love and a burning wish for art and artists to be valued as well. Was this blog helpful at all? I feel I shifted more into ranting than educating, but I hope there’s some pearls of wisdom and directive steps. I’d love you to let me know!