The Joys and Woes of Illustrating a Children’s Book
I have, for my whole life, been in love with cartoons and cartooning. Cartoons are usually free and fun but when you are asked to consider illustrating a children’s book you are crossing a line.
No matter how casual or “just between us Buddies” the invitation seems to be, remember when your cartoons are in the pages of a book they are illustrations for which you should be paid. I hurry to add that your sketches and character development scribbles and time in meetings and all of your ideas are a runway for the possible future success of the book.
You can spend an incredible amount of time and energy just to get to the pencil sketch stage and the finished color rendering is a giant leap yet to be made. A few loose sketchy pages are OK and you usually need to do those just to get your mind into the book. Once you have passed from “sketchy” to rough or “final pencils” you had better have at least a rudimentary contract, sincere hand shake or an “agreement” that you are to be paid for your time and talent.
I have illustrated 10 children’s books , some have been done on a handshake and some via contract. Early on I learned that either by word or written contract it should be very clear what I am expected to earn. I have noticed that there is an even bigger danger to the artist and that of an author getting you all lathered up to do their book … You go off and pull a couple of all nighters and when you next meet with the author he/she has lost all interest and you are left with a handful of pencil rough pages of a book that will never be published.
I will post often about the joys and throes of illustrating a children book.
