Illustration
Before!
After!
Just like with Zombcorg last week, I decided to go back and remaster my old Pumpcorg piece I did back in 2011. This remastering wasn’t quite as extensive as Zombcorg– I didn’t want to change the original thought of the painting too much.
Before!
After!
The Zombcorg is one of my more popular prints at conventions and shows– I guess everyone loves a good Undead Stumpers.
I don’t typically go back and rework old pieces of mine. But, because I’m going to be adding more to the corgi series, I wanted to revisit this piece and give it some love. I’ve learned quite a bit and have much better equipment from when the original piece (left) was created in 2012!
Lately I finished working with Space Monkeys Down on their new tabletop card game called Topexx Dominions.“Topexx Dominions is a tactical combat card game where you, as the General of your army, are pitted against other armies in a battle for supremacy.”
Sounds like fun, right? There’s steampunk and crystals and all sorts of interesting material in this game. I would assume it’ll take a ton of strategy to play… which sounds hard to me because strategy games are possibly the thing I’m worst at. What, you want me to THINK and PLAN? I spend all that energy on my freelance career, kthxbye.
The kicker is that the cards are in a hexagon shape, which sort of blew my mind. Planning a composition for a half hexagon (with symbols on top of it) is a particular challenge, especially when you’ve got to create art that can be reused for things like banners and promos.
Check out the rest of the illustrations in the collection below (click to enlarge):
Well well, my convention prep has grown significantly since I started doing this. The first pic is an example of my convention gear back in 2011– I could carry everything in one box. The box in the picture, to be exact.
The second pic is what my living room looks like this morning doing last minute prep and pack for Comikaze tomorrow.
Finally able to release the backgrounds I did for the Midnight Mares website! It was really a blast being able to do the same environment in both day and night. My, how things can change with the setting sun. Personally, I’m partial to the nighttime one because moon, stars, and candy. Not that glass barns aren’t cool, I mean.
Just, you know. Candy. Mm.
I just got my new order of business cards, and they’re really shiny and lovely! I’m kind of a nerd with how much I love new cards and promotional materials. However, it reminded me of something that’s been on my mind: I’ve run into quite a few artists in person or at shows recently who have no way to contact them. You need a business card!
“But! But!” I hear you say. You can give me whatever excuse you like, but if you are an artist, you want to get your work out there, and you want to network (hint: you should)… then you need a way for people to contact you.
At my very first show, I made the mistake of having no business cards. There were several other artists and people I would’ve loved to connect with, but I had no tangible thing to give them with my info on it. After the first few hours, I ended up tearing up rectangular pieces of paper and writing in my info to try to give out. Yes, people took them, but did any of those paper scraps survive through the con and then home with the people who really wanted them? I doubt it. They’re easy to lose, tear, and get water damage.
Imagine if an art director had wanted my information about a potential job? I would’ve been mortified. (Of course that didn’t happen, but you see my point…)
“But I don’t have an online portfolio/website.” That’s ok, you can point them to your blog.
“But I don’t have a blog.” You really should, but even in this case that’s ok, you can list your email… or Twitter or Facebook, etc.
“But they’re expensive!” They don’t have to be. My latest cards up there were a fantastic deal. I use OvernightPrints for all of my card needs, and I got 500 double sided, full color, front glossy, rounded edge business cards for $36 including shipping… and I got them a week after I ordered them. They always have some sort of sale or promo code going on so you never need to pay full price.
Other cheap options are Staples and VistaPrint. I haven’t used those services for cards personally, so your mileage may vary.
“But I don’t want to have 500 cards in this design, I’m building a website soon/rebranding soon/changing my email soon/whatever….” A lot of places require you to print at least 250, so a good option for smaller runs is the print-at-home snap apart cards.
My very first business card (the purple one with the butterfly above) was that kind. The pack gets you 250 cards for under $10, and there are 10 cards to a sheet. This means you could print 10 cards each time, changing whatever you need as you go.
The paper quality was quite nice. The design wasn’t good, but that’s my own fault. It got the job done when I was just getting started, though… and that’s what really counts.
Do you have business cards? Feel free to share pics of them in the comments!
“I’ve been working on a children’s book for awhile now, and I’m ready for an illustrator.”
"Oh, my aunt has written a children’s book, are you interested in doing the illustrations?”
“My brother has a great idea for a kid’s book and is looking for possible illustrators.”
Have you heard these phrases before? Have you said these phrases before? Do you (or your friend or relative or neighbor) have a children’s book manuscript that has been toiled on for hours, painstakingly constructed, edited, and reviewed… and now it’s ready to be brought to life with beautiful watercolors, gouache, or digital paint? If so, then this guide is for you!
I get a lot of inquiries about illustrating people’s children’s books. It seems that everyone these days has an idea for a book or is working on a book– including you! Now you want to know if I (or another artist you like) can illustrate it for you.
Let me just stop you right there.
Yes, I mean red light, full stop.
You don’t need an illustrator.
Or rather, you don’t have to find one. Your publisher will find one for you. They have artists that they use regularly, and access to tons more if they’re looking to use new talent. As a matter of fact, publishers get pelted consistently with artwork samples, postcards, and book dummies from illustrators like me! Publishing houses have highly trained individuals called Art Directors who are able to select the best artist for the job once they’ve purchased your book. Plus, they save you the pain of coming up with contracts, negotiating, and paying the artist.
Aha, and there is the meat of all of the emails, messages and phone calls that we artists get.
You’ve written your book and you assume that the next step is to get the entire thing illustrated before pitching it around. “It’s a picture book, therefore it needs pictures,” you say. I absolutely understand that; it’s a common misconception that I’m here to set straight. I mean, novels are fully finished before they’re pitched around, right? Why not your children’s book?
Well, the kid’s book industry is a little different. Consider this: a publisher gets a copy of your manuscript and– holy cow, it’s amazing! She’s floored, and she wants to hand you a three book deal right away! The only problem is that the manuscript came in with 32 illustrations, and they’re terrible. Terrible, awful, no-good, and very bad. Or maybe they’re great illustrations but they just don’t match your writing well.
She doesn’t want to buy the illustrations… but because they came in with the manuscript, they’re now tied together. Womp womp. Into the slush pile your book goes.
When you send in your manuscript with artwork, you now not only have to wow them with your writing, wow them with your friend’s/artist’s illustrations, and wow them with the two paired together. Frankly, you might both be amazing, but if the story and art aren’t well matched, it’ll be a no go.
It’s already difficult enough to have your voice heard in the absolute cacophony that is our world today– do you really want to make your chances at getting published smaller? Even if you really like the illustrator you’ve selected, the chances are your publisher will find a better match!
I’ll let the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators back me up here:
“Except in rare circumstances, it is seldom a good idea for authors and illustrators to collaborate together before publication.”(source)
You can if you really want to, just be sure to note that in your cover letter. If you’ve never been published before though, I wouldn’t. And if you insist that your manuscript needs illustrations to be understood, well… I’ll let the SCBWI back me up again:
(…) If your manuscript doesn’t come to life visually without being explained, then it probably needs work.”(source)
An exception to this rule, however, is if your book is very high concept such as Press Here by Henré Tullet.
It’s a very similar process to how we illustrators get work in the kid’s book (or any) industry. Create content and submit it. Get rejections? Practice your craft, create more content, and submit again. Do your research. Only submit to publishers that are a good match for your work. Take a class, practice, create content, and submit again. If you’d like more information, check the links at the bottom of this article.
Self publishing is absolutely a viable option, but you have to know if it’s right for you. It’s an extremely expensive, difficult, and time-consuming option, even with the ease and availability of digital publishing in today’s market.
Let’s start with the most obvious cost: the illustrations. And yes, you need to pay for them. Please don’t offer “exposure” or profits as payment.
According to the GAG’s Handbook for Pricing and Ethical Guidelines (13th Edition), the appropriate price range for illustrating a 32 page hardcover book (including the book jacket) is anywhere from $3,000-$12,000+.
I’m sure you’re reeling from sticker shock, but that pricing is absolutely not something I bat an eye at. Doing artwork for a book is a really involved process. There’s planning, design, thumbnails, revisions, drawing, painting… each illustration will take a large amount of time, and art supplies aren’t cheap either.
And that doesn’t include printing costs (if you’re going with print instead of digital) or app building for iPad and Kindle (if you’re doing with digital instead of print).
I’m definitely not trying to discourage you, but you need a realistic picture of what this venture will look like. You will have to hustle, promote, and advertise for your book all on your own– it’ll take quite a bit of research and hard work to achieve.
Well if you understand the expense and challenges ahead, by all means! Self publishing can absolutely be a way to succeed and be creatively fulfilled. It may actually be a better option for you depending on what you want to do with it! And if you need help with financing, Kickstarter is always an option.
That’s also totally fine! You can write the book, get it illustrated, then you can print a few copies with a POD (Print on Demand) service such as CreateSpace or Lulu.com. Since the book is mainly for personal use and you’ll be on a tight budget, you might try searching for a student instead of a professional to create your illustrations for you (but yes, you do still need to pay them). You could also try websites such as Fiverr or PeoplePerHour, but realize that you’re going to get the quality that you pay for.
I hope I covered all possible bases here, and that you found this guide helpful to you. A lot of kid’s book questions pop up because there are misunderstandings about the industry and process– but now you are more educated and can forge ahead to make the most amazing kid’s book that you can create!
If I missed any question that you have, feel free to leave a comment or email me. If you like this post, or know a friend who might benefit from the information, please feel free to share it.
SCBWI – Joining the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators will give you access to wonderful resources, publishing house contact information, and a database of illustrator’s portfolios:
Articles with further information about (NOT) submitting manuscripts and artwork together:
http://www.underdown.org/picture-books-illustrations.htm
http://danidraws.com/2009/01/22/how-to-find-an-illustrator-for-your-picture-book/
Information for getting published in the Kid’s Book Industry:
http://www.scbwi.org/frequently-asked-questions/
More information on self publishing:
http://www.scbwi.org/online-resources/the-book/
http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2011/08/13/how-to-find-an-illustrator-for-your-book/
Guide on contacting an artist you’d like to hire:
http://kmcmorris.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/self-published-authors-10-tips-on-how.html
I just finished a piece for a new client, Space Monkeys Down. They're working on a card game named Topexx Dominion. “Topexx Dominions is a tactical combat card game where you, as the General of your army, are pitted against other armies in a battle for supremacy.”
An illustration project like this begins with thumbnails. As you can see, these two drawings are super sketchy and undetailed– why? Because I hate thumbnails. Almost everyone does. But they’re an extremely necessary part of art creation to figure out composition and image placement. I had to be sure my clients liked the pose, and that it worked within the half-hexagon shape required for the card.
Once the thumbnails were approved, I took some reference images and moved onto the drawing. I drew this picture in blue for absolutely no reason other than that’s what color my pencil happened to be. There’s no magic trick there or anything.
Once the AD and I figured out some details in the clothing and tweaks in the layout, I moved onto inks. The client wanted a comic book-esque feel, but with a fully rendered painting underneath. Wooooof, inking all of that lace, the flowers, the stripes, and jewels? I think my hand was going to fall off. And it’s my own fault! I chose lace! I chose it.
Then I moved onto color comps (above) and the color rough (below). I gave the client two different lighting choices for this project, and once they picked what they thought worked best for the character, I roughed in the colors and shadows. Then I rendered and rendered and rendered and rendered and rendered until we got to the finished image!
So I’m totally into the video games series Five Nights at Freddy’s. It’s a point and click horror game where you play a security guard at a haunted, rundown Chuck E Cheese-esque kid’s pizzeria. I have watched endless playthroughs, theory videos, articles, etc. I even played Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 on the Date Knights’ Stream! I got through Night 3 like it was a breeze (it happens when you watch Markiplier play it for like 20 hours– I memorized ALL the strategy!) Anyway, after the recent release of Five Nights at Freddy’s 3, I got excited to do my own cutesy versions of the haunted animatronics that attempt to kill you throughout the games.
Foxy is a pirate fox animatronic that attacks the player by sprinting at them suddenly from his hiding place in “Pirate Cove.” Bonnie is a bunny that likes to creep up on you in hallways and air vents along with his partner-in-crime Chica the bird. They both love scaring you when you just after you think you’re safe! Mangle is a redesigned, “cuter” version of Foxy that was used as a “take apart and put back together” attraction in the Pizzeria. She’s all in pieces and has too many limbs and endoskeleton heads.
Recently I began working on a very exciting and hilarious product that really… MOO-ved me. Battle Cattle™ is a miniatures game that originally released in 1996, and Phalanx Consortium, a tabletop gaming company, is going to handle the newest edition/reboot of the old cult classic.
When Phalanx approached me for the project I could hardly believe my ears. “Cows? With guns? Say no more, I am IN!” Included here is a sketch and color comp of the illustration itself.
Here is the press release for the product:
Feb 12, 2015: BATTLE CATTLE ™ – Reborn!
Some of you may remember the original versions of Battle Cattle™, which was first printed back in 1996, and others may be seeing this game title for the first time. The Phalanx Consortium is pleased to announce that we are the licensed production house for the rebirth of this cult gaming classic. We have begun work on producing an updated and expanded version of the rules which will be set in a timeline that sees our brave bovine warriors answering the patriotic call of their respective countries in a great global struggle of nations. Their fights will move beyond the simple pastures to battlefields that stretch from one corner of the globe to the other.
As a part of this re-envisioning our talented artists are designing a line of whimsical miniatures so you can fight these epic struggles, in all their three dimensional glory, on your table top. Coming in the next few weeks we will start showing off some of the renders and prototypes of these battle hardened soldiers, so you can begin imagining the clashes to come. Stay tuned for these and other updates as we work toward the launch of an Indiegogo campaign set to begin mid to late spring of this year.
“THE COWS ARE BACK AND THEY’RE STILL PACKING!”
