Advice to An Aspiring Children’s Illustrator

The following is an interview with an art student at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA majoring in Illustration:

1. What specific skills (Artistically) in your opinion do you find most essential for your success in illustrating children’s books?

Empathy. You have to genuinely love people and be able to put yourself in their shoes. The ability to tap into universal human experience is a gift. If you have it, it needs to be nurtured, coached and developed. Find role models, mentors and peers who can help you grow. Read poetry and good stories and look at great works of art that move you and make you want to go create stuff.

You have to love sequential story telling, with an understanding of how images contribute to character and story apart from the text.

You need to be able to identify the emotional tone of the story and create art that enhances it.

Technically, you need to be able to draw — the ability to create a unified visual world with its own internal logic. It may be whimsical, serious, abstracted or realistic, but it needs to be visually unified and compelling to look at.

Be willing to work hard, trying multiple solutions for any given image. Most of my images involve 10-30 sketches, not counting black and white miniature paintings and mini color paintings before going to final art. Like a film director doing multiple takes of a scene and then choosing the best, we also need to do the hard work of finding the best solution.

I’m reading a book by Leonard Bernstein which has a chapter explaining Beethoven’s methods. Beethoven would try up to 20+ versions of a given passage of music before settling on the right answer. Bernstein’s point was that the quality of “inevitability” which characterizes Beethoven’s music was something he paid for with sheer perseverance.

The same is true of Andrew Wyeth, Edward Hopper, and many, many other master painters. They did countless studies in preparation for the final statement. Most of art making is this kind of digging for gold. The greats don’t just sit down and bang out a great image. They work for it.

2. What specific skills (Business Related) in your opinion do you find most essential for your success in illustrating children’s books?

Never miss a deadline. EVER. Be easy to work with. Take feedback like a grown-up – grateful that the art director or editor want to help you excel. The story is king.

If it serves the story, do it. Success in business is at least 80% working well with people. Be kind, express gratitude, be reliable, be friendly. And do good work.

3. What affiliations and/or organizations do you find the most prominent and beneficial to the children’s book illustrator?

Building relationships is the key to success.  People need to know you, like you, and trust you.  Face to face is best, when possible.  The Mazza Museum has annual Fall and Spring conferences where top talent shares insights and where relationships are formed.  SCBWI has local chapters with member meetings and events.

4. Do you attend conventions and/or conferences regularly? Which do you find the most beneficial for yourself and the aspiring children’s book illustrator?

The Mazza Museum conferences have been very helpful.

5. What ways of self promotion have you found to be the most successful?

My web site, blog, Facebook page, and speaking engagements are the main things I do to promote what I do.

6. What is the competitive price range for the work of children’s book illustrators?

It varies widely depending on experience, reputation and track record. You normally get an advance against royalties, with a royalty of 5% of retail (artist only) or 10% of retail (author/ illustrator). If the book earns back the advance, you then earn royalties.

7. What methods are used to calculate the prices?

They will tell you what they are offering. If you need the money, say yes!

On a few contracts recently I have asked for a little more than they were offering.

8. Do you have any advice, thoughts or insights for the aspiring children’ book illustrator?

Expect rejections. Work hard. Experiment a lot. Figure out what you most enjoy doing. Make the work only you could have made.

You will probably need another source of income. Maybe for a while, maybe forever. You never know.

But if you are doing books because it’s what you were born to do, that’s not important. What’s important is that you dig around in your own soul, find the gems down there, and get them out into books for other people to enjoy.

Children’s books create an opportunity for children and their parents and grandparents to come together and make memories that will last a lifetime. It’s an incredible privilege to be invited into a child’s world that way.

This is me reading to my daughter when we were both a lot younger.  :o)