Illustrations

Stage One: Illustration Proof and Storyboard
Once the artist has reviewed your Illustration Questionnaire, they will create one sample image with full color & detail and rough storyboard sketches for the remaining illustrations. Once completed, these will be shared with you, and you will be asked to look over the illustrations to ensure you like the style and scenes.

Stage Two: Color and Details
After you approve the sample and storyboard sketch illustrations, the artist will add color and detail to the remaining sketches. After the updated storyboard is shared with you, please take the time to review each illustration thoroughly, noting any corrections for the background, scene, or characters. Don’t worry about not getting it right the first time; nothing is set in stone, and we can make changes throughout the process!

The initial illustration stage will take 2-4 weeks. After that, it depends on the level of alterations and how long an author needs to review the illustrations. Custom illustrations and artwork can be time-consuming to ensure our authors get the highest quality product.

Like with our editors, your Publication Coordinator is the conduit between the author and illustrator. Having a trained and experienced person handling all communication is ideal. Our specialist and technical staff, like editors, designers, and marketers, focus only on their specialty and do not engage directly with authors.

While we encourage authors to only work on one book at a time, many have done multiple books simultaneously. Authors should keep the time commitment in mind, so all the books remain on track and are completed in a timely manner.

Here are some styles our illustrators specialize in:

Cartoon or Humor: This style is fun and could make you laugh. It can be used across many genres since it includes parodies and caricatures. It can overlap with juvenile or whimsical styles.

Fantasy: This style mixes imagination and reality. Common words used to describe are fanciful, dreamy, and wistful. It is a more mythical style.

Juvenile or Whimsical: This colorful style is playful and lighthearted. It is commonly used in children’s books and fairy tales. It can overlap with cartoon or humorous styles.

Naturalistic: This style is the opposite of the fantasy style. It shows people and things in a realistic way.

Science Fiction: Like fantasy, this style requires imagination but adds futuristic concepts. It can include robots, technology, extraterrestrial lifeforms, time travel, or parallel universes.

This is known as a double-page spread. Unlike some publishers, we will count the illustration as one image unless it is overly complex.

This is your chance to communicate your vision to the artist. Being detailed and thorough is essential to keep your timeline on track.

In order to focus on your book’s artwork, our illustrators do not read through each manuscript. This is why your descriptions on the Illustration Questionnaire are so important.