Children's Book Art Process

Congratulations on having a children's book project that inspires your passion and love of quality literature for kids. My passion is providing quality art that immerses children in your story. I approach each illustration as if this will be the one that inspires kids to dream and draw.

What does it cost?
This is often your first question. Before we can talk about price, I'd like to get you familiar with my process.

Early Planning

Before I can accurately gauge the cost of your project, we need to spend a little time together planning a rough layout of your book. I'll take your final edited and proofread copy and place it into the structure of a standard 32-page picture book (or something different, depending on your project). Then, I map out what kind and how many illustrations will be required. Once we agree on the layout, we can discuss the artwork.

The result will be a 17-page PDF mockup, and look something like the thumbnail examples below.

Artwork

I work in a realistic, whimsical style, reminiscent of classic "ink and wash" children's book artwork. But since I work digitally, I have much more flexibility than I would with watercolor and ink. The cost of your project is heavily dependent on the complexity and detail of the artwork. I've provided three examples for you to consider below. The "low" end will be the minimum that best represents my style of ink outlines and "watercolor" fill. The "high" end represents a detailed "ink" drawing under a tightly executed layer of color.

Low: 32-page picture book, 14-17 illustrations; $2,500 to $4,000
Medium: 32-page picture book, 14-17 illustrations; $3,500 to $6,000
High: 32-page picture book, 14+ illustrations; $6,000+

Contract

Once we agree on the structure and art style/complexity of your project, I'll provide a contract that details the work, cost, revision process, schedule, and rights of the finished project.

Initial Deposit

In most cases, I'll require a 50% deposit before work begins. I use an online business bank that securely accepts nearly all forms of payment.

Rough Dummy Stage

The next major step is the construction of a complete "book dummy" that shows rough sketches of each illustration. The dummy will typically also include one or two nearly-complete illustrations that showcase the style and color palette. Once we agree on everything in the dummy, another 25% will be due before I move on to the final artwork.

Examples of typical rough sketches are shown below.

Completed Dummy Stage

The completed dummy will provide you with a look at all the finished artwork and story copy for final approval. Once you sign off on the dummy, the final 25% payment will be due before the final artwork is provided.

Revisions

Throughout the project, you'll be updated on various stages of the rough sketches and final artwork, so that, by the time you see each dummy, there should be no surprises. Most of my flexibility for revisions will be during the rough sketch stage. The cost for extensive revisions of the final artwork will be outlined in the contract.

Getting Started

Fill out the form below, and we'll kick things off with a quick Zoom meeting to see if we are a good fit.

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