How to Choose and Collaborate with the Right Illustrator
The KidLit Creator’s Chronicle – Issue #06
Hi authors!
Imagine this: You’ve poured your heart into your story, and now it’s time to turn it into a real book with beautiful illustrations. But the process of finding an illustrator can feel overwhelming—and sometimes risky.
I see too many authors get burnt when they choose the wrong illustrator. Specifically, I see authors get ripped off on Fiverr, ending up with clip art instead of original illustrations, or hiring illustrators who disappear halfway through the project. And now there’s a new problem—AI art being paraded as hand-drawn illustrations. This is all over Facebook, in posts from authors looking for help, and posts from “illustrators” posting their AI portfolios. It’s frustrating (heartbreaking, really), and can completely derail your book.
I don’t want this to happen to you!
Choosing the right illustrator is one of the most important steps in creating your book.
They can make your story unforgettable, but the wrong one can be unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.
So, let’s talk about how you can avoid these problems and find an illustrator who’s a great match for you and your book. I’ll walk you through how to find, evaluate, and work with an illustrator to ensure your book is everything you dreamed it would be.
Finding Your Illustrator
Choosing and working with the right illustrator is a critical part of creating a beautiful children’s book. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Step 1: Looking for the Right Illustrator
It’s important to search in the right places. Use trusted platforms like my company, GetYourBookIllustrations, or platforms like Behance and Upwork. These sites showcase portfolios from illustrators who often specialize in book illustration.
A few books illustrated and designed by GetYourBookIllustrations.
Optional: If you’re unsure of which illustration style(s) you like, go to the library or Amazon, and look for some styles you love. This will give you a better idea of what to look for when you start looking for an illustrator.
Once you’re ready, start by reviewing portfolios. When reviewing portfolios, pay attention to these key details:
- Style: Find a style you love that matches your story’s tone and audience. For example, whimsical illustrations might suit a lighthearted story, while detailed, realistic artwork could enhance a more serious theme.
- Consistency: Do characters look the same from page to page? Inconsistent character design can make your book feel disjointed. Does the illustration style remain consistent from page to page, or from illustration to illustration? (Some illustrators have more than one style, but in one book, they should only use one style.)
- Storytelling ability: Look for illustrations that convey emotion, movement, and atmosphere. A strong illustrator can tell a story through their art, even without text.
Illustrations that show character consistency and tell a story from Ralphie Moss’s Garden by Nancy Pushkar. Illustrated by GetYourBookIllustrations.
- Book experience: Check if they’ve worked on books before. Illustrating a book is different from standalone artwork—it requires understanding the flow of a story and working with text. If it’s unclear if they’ve illustrated books, ask them for books they’ve illustrated.
- Budget: If their pricing is not listed anywhere, get at least a ballpark figure from them, so you know if it will be an option to hire them or not.
*If you didn’t read the previous edition of the KidLit Creator’s Chronicle about AI art, I highly recommend you to check it out to avoid being scammed by someone selling AI art as hand-drawn art.
Be Cautious When Hiring Inexperienced Illustrators
Working with a less experienced illustrator can save money, but it’s important to ensure they understand the specific requirements of illustrating for books. Just because someone can draw doesn’t mean they know how to illustrate a book. Creating artwork for a picture book isn’t just about drawing beautiful images—it’s about telling a story through the illustrations and understanding the technical aspects of book design.
Here are a few things to watch for:
- Storytelling: The illustrations should enhance and expand on the story, adding depth and emotion to each scene, rather than simply repeating the text.
- Text placement: The illustrator must leave adequate neutral space for the text. This ensures the story is clear and easy to read.
- Margins and bleed: Professional illustrators know to extend artwork slightly beyond the page edges (bleed) and to keep key elements within safe margins to avoid essential elements being trimmed during printing.
- The gutter: The gutter—the centerfold where the two pages meet—shouldn’t obscure any crucial parts of the illustration, like a character’s face or important details in the scene.
If you’re going to work with an inexperienced illustrator, ensure they know or learn exactly how book illustration works. And learn for yourself so you can check that it’s being done correctly, or get input from a professional illustrator or book designer.
This extra step can save you time, money, and frustration later in the process. (I promise! I’ve had to “save” quite a few authors who ended up with illustrations that needed extensive work to be able to place text and be printable.)
Step 2: Communication
A good working relationship is key to a successful project:
- Schedule a phone call or chat via email: Talk to potential illustrators before hiring them. Share your vision and ask questions about their process. Do they seem professional, clear, and easy to work with?
Key things to look for include:
- Do they answer your questions clearly?
- Are they personable and easy to work with?
- Do they respond promptly?
- Discuss their process: Ask how they approach book illustration. Will they provide sketches or storyboards before finalizing illustrations? How do they handle feedback and revisions?
- Check for technical knowledge: Make sure they understand:
- Leaving room for text placement.
- Margins, bleed, and gutter requirements.
- Creating artwork that meets the printer’s specifications.
Step 3: Contracts and Agreements
Before starting, protect yourself and the illustrator by signing a clear contract:
- Ownership rights: Specify whether you’ll own the illustrations outright or if the illustrator retains certain rights (e.g., to use the art in their portfolio).
- Revision limits: Define how many revisions are included in the price. This prevents unexpected costs down the line.
- Deadlines: Set clear timelines for sketches, revisions, and final artwork to keep the project on track.
Here’s a contract template you can use and edit.
Working with Your Illustrator
The Four-Step Illustration Process
Once you’ve chosen the right illustrator, I recommend following the following process. Following this process step by step helps ensure you get a result you love and prevents unnecessary revisions. Giving your illustrator feedback at each stage allows you to make changes early, so you only move forward when you know you’re on the right track.”
Character Design: Before moving into full illustrations, start with character concepts, sketches and then colour. This step ensures your main character(s) fits your vision. Giving feedback early helps avoid major changes later.
Character concepts, sketches and colour for Toffee Vale Tales: Cyril & Regal’s Peppermint Pond Adventure by GetYourBookIllustrations.
2. Storyboard: A rough, black-and-white sketch of the entire book lays out how illustrations will be positioned across the pages. This step helps establish pacing, composition, and text placement. Making structural changes here is much easier than later in the process.
Example of a storyboard created for the Little Fish’s Fruity Roll Song by Saniya Chughtai
3. Sketches – Once the storyboard is finalized, I recommend having your illustrator create more detailed black-and-white sketches for each page. This allows you to refine the details before moving on to the final artwork.
4. Color – After approving the sketches, the illustrator will add color, depth, and texture, bringing your book to life. This is the last stage for adjustments before preparing the illustrations for print.
By following this process, you and your illustrator can work together smoothly, ensuring a polished, professional-looking book that captures your vision.
Maintaining a Good Working Relationship
Respect their expertise
Remember, you hired the illustrator because you admired their work and trusted their ability to bring your story to life. Let them do what they do best. While it’s natural to have a vision for your book, try to give the illustrator room to explore their creativity. Fixed ideas can sometimes limit the illustrator’s ability to deliver their best work, so be open to their instincts and expertise. Keeping an open dialogue about your vision will lead to better results than micromanaging every detail. Trusting your illustrator can often bring wonderful, unexpected elements to your story.
Provide clear instructions upfront
The illustrator needs to know certain essential details upfront to ensure their work aligns with your vision. It can be very frustrating for an illustrator if the author gives almost no instructions, letting the illustrator feel they may create freely, and then to have to change everything because the author decided what they wanted in advance, but didn’t communicate their ideas. While it’s important to give the illustrator creative freedom, be sure to clearly outline anything you absolutely want included in the book. For example:
- Main character details: Is the main character a boy or girl? What’s their age? Are there any distinguishing features (e.g., glasses, hair color, or specific clothing)?
Character concepts and final colour character by GetYourBookIllustrations for “Meadow Meets Mitsy” by Gail Weil & Sheila Kenney.
- Cultural or environmental elements: If the story takes place in a specific cultural or geographical setting, the illustrator should know about it to ensure accuracy and relevance.
- Other must-haves: Is there a specific mood, colour scheme, or recurring theme you want to see throughout the book?
Limiting these requirements to what is truly essential will allow the illustrator to bring their own creative flair to the project while ensuring the final illustrations align with your vision.
Provide clear feedback
Once the illustrator begins creating, be specific about what you like and what needs improvement. Instead of vague comments like, “This doesn’t work,” focus on actionable suggestions, such as, “Can we make the character’s expression more excited in this scene?” Remember, illustrators aren’t mind-readers, so clear communication will save time and avoid frustration on both sides.
Understand the difference between preferences and “right” or “wrong”
It’s important to recognize that your preferences are just that—preferences. If an illustrator envisions something differently from how you imagined it, that doesn’t mean they’re wrong. Their interpretation is based on their creative expertise and perspective and may add depth and creativity you hadn’t considered.
However, if after thoughtful consideration you feel strongly that their vision doesn’t align with yours, it’s okay to communicate this. Just be sure to approach the conversation with respect. Avoid belittling their work or assuming their perspective is “wrong” simply because it differs from your own. Constructive communication is key to maintaining a positive and productive collaboration.
The same character or scene can be envisioned in many different ways. Character samples by GetYourBookIllustrations.
Be responsive
Timely communication is essential to keep the project moving forward. Respond promptly to questions or requests for feedback to avoid unnecessary delays. A good working relationship depends on clear and consistent communication.
By following these steps, you’ll not only find an illustrator who can bring your vision to life but also have a successful and collaborative working relationship, to create a book that both you and your readers will love.
Don’t skimp on your illustration budget. I understand that it’s tempting to choose the cheapest option, especially if you’re feeling financial pressure, but cutting corners almost always leads to a lower-quality book. Don’t take a route where in a year or two, you look back and wish you’d invested a little more to create a book you’re truly proud of.
I’ve seen so many authors end up in frustrating situations because they tried to save money by hiring low-quality or unprofessional illustrators. Some hired people who completely disappeared mid-project, leaving them scrambling to finish their book. Others ended up with illustrations that weren’t usable—characters that changed from page to page, text areas that didn’t fit, or artwork that didn’t meet printing requirements like bleed and margins.
Investing in a professional, experienced illustrator may cost more upfront, but it’ll save you countless headaches in the long run.
Illustrations are one of the most important parts of a children’s book, and they’re worth the cost. High-quality illustrations can bring your story to life, make your book stand out, and give it a timeless, professional feel. Even if it means stretching your budget a bit or waiting a little longer to save up, the result will be a book you’re proud to share with children for years to come.
Books illustrated and designed by GetYourBookIllustrations.
Real-Life Examples or Case Studies
For this edition, I thought a few testimonials from GetYourBookIllustration clients may be the perfect way to showcase what it can be like when you choose the right illustrator.
“I had a very clear vision for my picture book and needed the illustrations to match the story. GetYourBookIllustrations was an absolute dream to work with.
“The illustrator was amazing and brought my vision to life with so much care. The book designer added fun and creative elements to make the story shine, and my project manager answered all my questions—even during the publishing phase. The entire process was collaborative and enjoyable, and now my dream project is a reality. Every time I look at my book sitting on the shelf, it brings tears to my eyes. I can’t recommend GetYourBookIllustrations enough to first-time authors or anyone looking to create a beautiful book.”
– Cassandra Troughton, “The Tree Spot”
“I began collaborating with Karen’s team at GetYourBookIllustrations in May to publish my debut book. The timeline was ambitious—completion of illustrations, book design, cover, and more within just one month. To my delight, the team not only met the deadline but exceeded my expectations through their exceptional professionalism.
“The illustrator’s work was fantastic, and I’m thoroughly impressed by the originality and skill. Karen’s team showed immense patience and dedication to accommodate all my ‘last changes,’ and the final product is incredible. Whether you’re a first-time author or experienced, I whole-heartedly recommend GetYourBookIllustrations. Their professionalism and commitment to delivering high-quality work amazed me.”
– Benjamin Who, “The Philosopher’s Odyssey”
“My dream was to create a book that autistic and non-autistic children could enjoy together. Karen and her team made my vision come to life. Anastasiia, the illustrator, blew me away with her work—it’s like she read my mind! She added thoughtful details I hadn’t even mentioned… Kezia, the book designer, was equally amazing and made custom adjustments that brought everything together. I was emotional when I saw the final product. Words can’t express how happy I am.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you for making my dream a reality. I recommend GetYourBookIllustrations to anyone who wants to see their imagination brought to life—it’s like magic.”
– Moza Himid, “Hunting Orange”
Over to you!
What’s the most important quality you’re looking for in an illustrator? Hit reply and let me know—I’d love to hear your thoughts!
If you’re ready to get amazing illustrations delivered with friendly, efficient service, check out GetYourBookIllustrations. We have a proven track record and love what we do!
