These few tips are a good reminder of techniques, style, principles, and everything else you might need when drawing. Let’s get started.
Coloring? Not so fast.
Coloring illustrations for a children’s book is always the best part of the job, provided you have a good outline. Remember, you can always change something at this stage. Once the outline is complete and each illustration for a children’s book has been colored, any changes are quite problematic. Make sure to first create a quick sketch, then a sketch, and finally color the sketch. Read the text carefully. As a children’s book illustrator, you must not only illustrate the scene but also show what’s not visible.
Don’t draw the same thing.
Don’t be afraid to experiment and look for different types of expressions to bring your character to life.Remember that simply coming up with a character and designing it isn’t enough. Do you want your character to always look the same? If the scene is going to be sad, neutral, or happy, simply changing the smile, eyebrows, and eyes isn’t enough. Give your character a lot of expression.
Character design.
The main character is the most important part of your book. Next comes the layout and placement of the illustrations, a quick sketch, and a rough sketch. Many people start with character design, but I think I’ll add a separate post about it because it’s a very broad topic. The point is that a good-looking character with distinctive features is striking, attractive, graceful, and simply captivates. Many people forget this, so if you’re looking for an illustrator for a children’s book, suggest they start with character design. You certainly won’t regret it. This way, you can test the illustrator’s skills before you team up and create the book together. A sample is a good idea.
Wrong color.
Research different colors and choose the best one. Quick coloring is the best approach. Once a character is ready, it’s difficult to change skin tone and hair color. You might find something you don’t like after you’ve finished coloring. Why does your character have dark hair when lighter hair suits them better? Why didn’t you notice this at first? Because you didn’t try another option. Researching colors early and coloring quickly is a good idea if you’re lacking experience.
More passion.
Sometimes, funny scenes, interesting characters, and a simple background are all you need. Not every illustration needs to be incredibly detailed. A skilled hairdresser cutting a multitude of different people can be depicted in a hair salon, but if the book is funny, spice it up a bit. Children don’t like sad and boring illustrations. Waiting in line can be boring, but you have to be creative.
Sail, sail, your… finger.
Try to work slowly and remember that everything you see online is artificially sped up to grab your attention. It catches your eye, so you’ll like it and keep scrolling. Not everything works that way. Illustrating children’s books is work, and it doesn’t take 10 seconds, but 10 hours. It’s great that you show what you draw. Others do it too, but they focus on quality. Less scrolling and more practice will definitely help.
This isn’t a one-shot
You should remember that a character you create may appear in multiple books if the first installment is successful. I usually illustrate several books for the same author, often for a series of children’s books. If you think it’s a one-off project, you’re wrong. I often have to re-do a character after another illustrator because they can’t draw the character for the next book. They’ve changed their style, they don’t have the time, they don’t draw anymore. You must always apply the same level of dedication to your work and design the main character and their world as best as you can. Remember that this character may appear in subsequent books.