Well, if you are thinking about becoming an illustrator for children’s books, then there is one thing that you have to be absolutely sure about – you need to be a master storyteller. You will be telling the story through pictures, and they will be so vivid that the illustrations will speak for themselves. When it comes to children’s books, especially books which are targeted for children between 3-8 years of age, the use of text is minimal, and hence, the entire thing depends on the illustrations. So, if you want to become an illustrator of children’s storybooks, you need to be able to tell a story with your pictures.
So, how can you master this art of storytelling as a Children book illustrator?
Step 1
The first thing that you will need to do is read the story through and through. You will need to know the story by heart. No matter how small the story is, go through it over and over again, until and unless you begin to see the story in pictures in your head and they keep getting cleared and clearer. Once you have a clear picture of the story in your head, that’s when you start illustrating.
Step 2
Have you been able to grasp the spirit of the story? Well, then the next step for you would be to develop a particular style of illustration for this book. The style of illustration that you choose should be one which captures the spirit of the story.
Step 3
It’s time to take out your pen and paper. Yes, that’s right; first, you need to create thumbnails, just like when scripting for an animation movie. Scribble one illustration after the other and see whether they can tell the story themselves, even without the text. The text is just a facilitator, and the illustrations need to be able to speak for themselves. Imagine if you take the text way, are the illustrations enough to tell the story? And you will need your pen and paper for this and then transfer it to the digital medium. Why? Well, that will help you to develop a more distinct style for your book.
Step 4
Just like people face writer’s block, as a Children’s illustration agency you too might feel stuck at any point. If that happens, make sure you have a trusted resource of references to fall back on and draw inspiration from them. This is important for any creative process. You will not copy from the references, but they will give you ideas on which you can build your illustrations.
Step 5
Choose your color combinations very carefully. It is important to remember that colors will attract children. When illustrating for children below say 5 years of age who have a less attention span, you need to use bright colors to keep them glued to the books and the tones can start becoming more subtle as the age increases.
These steps will definitely go a long way in building on your illustration process. Try them and become a master storyteller yourself!