Att. Illustrators and authors of Children's books

Kiwi13

Fri, May 07 2021, 9:12 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Can you explain what you mean by art direction document?

For children’s picture books it’s the breakdown of text per page with corresponding image descriptions. They’re usually very detailed, sometimes including sample image or clip art to help explain. For example, when I’ve worked with overseas illustrators, including a sample image of a siddur or sefarim bookcase was important to help the illustrator understand the look. For characters, art direction doc specifies what’s important to include such as Approx age of character, personality, etc. Depending on the project, color schemes might be specified, facial expressions, locations of specific objects relative to the rest of the scene. Each book is unique, but there are commonalities when it comes to art direction. As part of my freelancing business I develop illustration storyboards professionally for authors and illustrators to help streamline the process. I’ve also developed storyboards for books and comics/graphic novel serials for magazines and publishing houses. (Not a business plug, just explaining where my experience comes from.)

amother

Dodgerblue

Fri, May 07 2021, 10:42 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

What do you mean you co illustrated?

I illustrated the characters and someone else did the backgrounds. A little weird, but that’s the style the author specifically wanted.
As far as digital/traditional, the traditional look is WAY more beautiful quality. But it probably will take more time since you can’t make quick edits. So this decision is really the author’s decision (or publisher; whomever is hiring you). If the author/publisher values traditional art and is willing to invest more money/time to the project, then by all means, go that route. Just for your own frustration and time management, remember to always get multiple drafts approved before going on to the next step so you don’t have to redo an already finished piece of art. And believe me, there will ALWAYS be revisions.
Another tricky decision is how to charge; whether by hour or by project. If this is your first time creating commissioned art, you will likely find it will end up taking a lot more time than you estimate.
Hatzlacha and have fun with this amazing opportunity!

amother

Navy

Fri, May 07 2021, 11:05 am

I wrote a book and a relative of mine who was in art school at the time illustrated it. I did reach out to professional illustrators but couldn't afford their rates.

I echo what others said to make sure the author is very clear on the type of pictures she wants and to provide her with sketches or rough drafts before you start working on the final product. Unlike copy editing a book, where it's easy to substitute a word here and there or correct mistakes, it's very hard to redo a picture once it's already drawn. In my case there were a lot of subtleties in terms of tznius, how characters were dressed etc. There were certain things I just let go because it wasn't worth having her redo the art, but other people pointed it out once it was published.