{"id":3346,"date":"2022-10-17T06:05:09","date_gmt":"2022-10-17T06:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qinprinting.com\/blog\/?p=3346"},"modified":"2026-01-08T16:21:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T08:21:19","slug":"how-to-find-an-illustrator-for-a-childrens-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qinprinting.com\/blog\/how-to-find-an-illustrator-for-a-childrens-book\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Find an Illustrator for Your Children's Book"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Self-publishing a book for children? We show you how to find an illustrator who will be a perfect match for your book<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"How-to-find-an-illustrator-for-a-children's-book\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Children’s Book Printed by QinPrinting<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t

Do you need an illustrator?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Many children’s book authors are also artists. But unless you have well-developed skills and some experience in illustration, you may prefer to engage the services of a professional to handle this side of your publication. The visual aspect is central to most children’s books, so they need exceptional artwork. No matter if you’re writing an MG chapter book which will have only a few illustrations and the cover art or a full-spread, full-color picture book for younger readers, the artwork must be high-quality to compete in the marketplace and do justice to your story.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t

Know what you want<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

This might seem obvious, but it’s important to figure out in advance what kind of style and treatment you want for the illustrations in your book. Artists and illustrators have widely varying styles and approaches, work with traditional or digital media, and often specialize in certain subjects or age groups, for example. Having in mind a clear idea of what you want your illustrations to be like will help narrow down your search and also provide a benchmark to evaluate each artist you might choose.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t

Think about the technical aspects of your book<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

If you are engaging the services of a third-party professional children’s book illustrator, you’ll need to provide them with a creative and technical brief. So, they’ll need to know who many illustrations you want, what the final dimensions of the pictures should be, where the text will be placed, and so on. You’ll need to know the overall dimensions of your book, the binding style\u200a\u2014\u200afor example saddle-stitched or perfect bound\u200a\u2014\u200athe trim sizes and the orientation, either portrait or landscape. If you’re not sure of these technical requirements<\/a>, talk to us first<\/a>. We’ll be happy to help you and can also send you a design template<\/a> to share with your designer based on your book’s needs. We don’t charge for this service.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t

Create a samples portfolio<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

It’s a great idea to create a small portfolio of, say, six to a dozen already-published children’s book illustrations which are like those you’d like for your own book. Compile images on a “mood board” on Pinterest or download them into a file on your computer, to share with your chosen illustrator. Make sure you only use the images for private use and you don’t breach copyright laws by sharing them in public. You want your artist to use them only as a reference, not to copy them!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t

Work out your budget<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

You’ll need to work out your budget in advance. Original artwork can get quite expensive, so it’s worth knowing exactly how much you can afford to spend before you begin negotiations with a potential children’s book illustrator. You may need to adjust the number, size, and color specifics of your illustrations based on your budget. Realistically, expect to spend at least $1,000 for a complete book as an absolute minimum. The upper end could be in the tens of thousands. A benchmark average for a standard children’s picture book, including the cover design, would be between $2,000 and $6,000.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t

Not all artists are illustrators!<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Remember that not all artists will be good illustrators. Illustration is a specific artistic discipline and requires specialist training, knowledge, and experience to understand how to extract the right images from the text, how to present them and make them support the story and integrate with the overall design of the book. There’s more to it, in other words, that just making pretty pictures! So, make sure that any artist you work with has experience with illustration and always ask to see both examples of previous projects on which they’ve worked and testimonies from clients.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t

How to find an illustrator<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Once you’re ready t begin your search for an illustrator for your children’s book, there are several viable options for finding talented and reputable freelancers. Here’s a helpful list of options you can try to get started. And don’t forget, you can always make a direct approach to an illustrator whose work you’ve enjoyed by contacting them via their publisher.<\/p>