Frequently Asked Questions for Illustrators

Updated Jan. 2011

Is my work ready to compete with published illustrators?

Do your homework. Read lots of picture books and study the styles and composition. Art directors are always looking for new talent, but your portfolio needs to be as strong as possible, filled with images that not only showcase your visual talent, but which also  tell a story.

Be honest. If your work is not ready, but you are committed to becoming an illustrator, then work at your craft. You can strengthen technical skills, learn business strategies, and be the kind of artist with whom clients and art directors want to work. A talented but difficult artist is unlikely to survive in a collaborative industry such as publishing. Invest in yourself, be patient, and keep evolving.

I have a great portfolio and I am seeking work in the children's book industry. How do I market myself?

According to the latest information from art directors, they recommend the following:

• Advertise with the work you want to pursue. In other words, if you are targeting art directors for children's books, make sure your website and portfolio do not emphasize other types of illustration.
• An easy-to-use website is important. Provide simple navigation, good pay layout, and quality images. Do not use technological bells and whistles if they set up obstacles for some users. A simple, clean website is fine; your images are the most important. Make sure they are JPEGs that can be saved by the art director. If you are worried about your images being stolen or copied, watermark the image and/or add metadata in Photoshop.
  
• Many art directors enjoy reading blogs about your creative process. 
• Use social media to promote yourself. Place new work on Flickr, Tumblr, or Facebook, and tweet the good news via Twitter or LinkedIn. Illustration Mundo is another good resource.
  
• Send postcards a couple times a year. Many art directors save your postcards until they find the right project. One iconic image works well; if they are interested, they will study your website.
• Attend conferences to meet art directors and agents, and display your portfolio. Local, regional, national, and international conferences are available through SCBWI.
  

Is my picture book manuscript publishable?

Art directors and editors assess what to acquire by many factors. They consider what's needed by their imprint. Study each imprint carefully to evaluate what they publish each year and how much. Does your work match their mission? Is it too much like their current list of books? Is your work tasteful and age-appropriate? Tasteful does not mean safe or dull, but work for children cannot be as explicit as work intended for adults. Also note that some imprints publish a small number of books each year, so competition is high.

Currently, picture books are getting shorter, 300 words or fewer, which puts more emphasis on the images. Art directors are looking for character-driven stories, non-fiction, stories for girls with lots of pink (seriously), humor to appeal to boys, and something unexpected, a story or illustrations that are new and fresh.

Do I need an agent or art rep?

This decision is a personal one. Many illustrators are not represented; others are thankful to have an advocate to help them find work and negotiate favorable terms. One way to find a good agent is to attend conferences. You can meet an agent, check out his or her style, and determine if you would want to work with this individual.

What about apps?

An app is not merely an e-book or "enhanced" book; it's a separate product based on a book that adds interactivity and/or games. Many children want the book after playing with the app. It should offer more than a visual experience, but offer something for kids to do and enjoy more than once.

Many books now have apps, but they are expensive to produce, hard to find, and not yet standard. Books with well-known characters (such as Disney characters) are more likely to have apps. If you are interested in illustrating for apps, your work should be easy to animate. Flat color, simple shapes, and images built in layers are easier to manipulate than a painterly style. Some publishers look for compositions with a single horizon line through the story. That said, the book usually comes first and remains the most important product at this time, so the first consideration is to offer your strongest style.

We are still in the very early days of app development and trends; use caution if approached to work on an app and make sure the contract terms allow you to retain rights to your work if the development company goes under.

What about licensing?

Some illustrators license their images to a manufacturer for mass production: images used on gift bags, textiles, toys, etc. Consider attending a trade show like Surtex to learn more and research licensing for artists. To track color trends, check the gift bags at Target on a quarterly basis; Target is seen as a leader in color trends.