Children's books
Children's book illustration: characters first, spreads second, finishes last.
Picture book illustration is a discipline, not a style. The order the work is done in matters as much as the drawing.
What this is
A picture book character has to be recognisably the same person on every spread, from every angle, in every mood, drawn dozens of times. That is why we build character sheets before anything else, and why we storyboard the whole book in rough before a single finished illustration begins.
Working the other way round — beautiful finished art from page one — is how illustrated books run over budget and end up with a hero whose face changes halfway through.
Children's Book Illustration
What you get
What children's book illustration actually delivers
Character sheets first
Turnarounds, expressions and proportions locked before any spread is drawn, so the character stays consistent.
Full storyboard in rough
The whole book planned as spreads, with page turns and pacing tested while changes are still cheap.
Text and image planned together
Space for type designed into the artwork rather than dropped on top of it afterwards.
Print-aware colour
Palettes chosen to survive CMYK printing, so what you approve on screen is close to what arrives in the box.
Style matched to the readership
An approach suited to the age group, from board-book simplicity to detailed picture-book worlds.
How it runs
The process, stage by stage.
Each stage finishes before the next begins, and you see the work at the points where your decision changes what happens next.
Text and spread plan
The manuscript broken into spreads and page turns, usually to a 24, 32 or 40 page structure.
Character development
Sketches, then character sheets, then your approval before anything else proceeds.
Rough storyboard
Every spread thumbnailed, showing composition, pacing and where text will sit.
Line and colour samples
One or two spreads taken to finish so you can approve the final look.
Full illustration
Remaining spreads completed to the approved style, then prepared for layout and print.
Questions
About children's book illustration
Yes, and we will give you an honest view on whether the style suits the age group and the story. Samples are agreed before full production starts.
Typically artwork on every spread, so a 32-page book means roughly 14 to 15 spreads plus cover and endpapers. The spread plan makes it exact.
The rights you receive are set out in the engagement before work begins. Ask specifically about future editions, merchandise and translated versions, because those need to be covered explicitly.
Yes. We will work alongside them on spread planning, file specification and print colour.
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