Amanda Hall's website had an FAQ section that tackles many of the processes and issues involved in illustrating a book including the common practices of publishers in relation to how they find and interact with illustrators. this site was really useful, it explains the best ways to approach publishers with your and work and what to expect in terms of responses. She says that publishers will often keep your work on file if they like it so they can contact you at a later date if they have a project that would suit your practice but they may not reply to you to let you know so it is important not to become disheartened.
"Q - How do you actually work?
A - I usually get a grid and a written brief and sometimes a visual brief from the designer too. I start work on a series of rough ideas in pencil, trying to get as much energy and animation into the image as possible, while thinking about the requirements of the brief. The roughs evolve into a final design, which these days I scan and e-mail to the client. Illustrators vary in how sketchy they are with their roughs, but I like to get all the lines resolved clearly. There’s usually then a bit of a wait before getting comments back: it can take a long time, particularly with educational publishers, as they often have to send the rough/s round to a lot of people for approval. The client might then want small details changed at this rough stage, or a more complete redraw, but this is relatively painless as a pencil rough is quicker to amend then final artwork. When I get a rough approved I then go to the artwork stage. If I’m working on board I usually reverse the rough on a light box and trace the lines, transferring the image onto the surface I’ve decided to work on. For more on the way I work see Illustration Assignments and Materials & Media.
Q - How do the pictures get into the book?
A - Once I have painted and drawn the illustration/s I send them to the publisher, either by sending the original artwork, or by scanning the original myself and sending it to them as a digital file. I usually do the latter now for clients in the US, as it saves everyone time and money. Once the publisher has my original artwork, the illustrations are placed into position by their designer. When the whole book has been designed in this way, it is sent off to a printer – often in the Far East these days. The book will then be printed and bound in the quantities the publisher thinks they can sell. The finished copies are distributed to shops and retailers, who sell them to their customers. Books are frequently published in different languages, and these are called co-editions. This is a license that another foreign publisher buys from the original publisher so that they are entitled to publish the book as well, but in their language. These deals are very often done at book fairs like the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in the spring and the Frankfurt Book Fair in the autumn."
These two questions were particularly useful as they go into detail about the interaction between illustrator and publisher during the design process. The first answer highlights how you have to open to changes during the process, receiving feedback after roughing and making the adjustments needed. It is also important to create roughs that clearly communicate your compositions to the publisher and author. She also mentions being given an grid, written brief and sometimes a visual brief at the beginning of the process. We are set briefs for our projects but none of them as rigid as these briefs are likely to be. researching these processes shows me how important the tutorials and crit's are and how important it is to be able to respond to them and be open minded and willing to making changes throughout the design process.
A - I usually get a grid and a written brief and sometimes a visual brief from the designer too. I start work on a series of rough ideas in pencil, trying to get as much energy and animation into the image as possible, while thinking about the requirements of the brief. The roughs evolve into a final design, which these days I scan and e-mail to the client. Illustrators vary in how sketchy they are with their roughs, but I like to get all the lines resolved clearly. There’s usually then a bit of a wait before getting comments back: it can take a long time, particularly with educational publishers, as they often have to send the rough/s round to a lot of people for approval. The client might then want small details changed at this rough stage, or a more complete redraw, but this is relatively painless as a pencil rough is quicker to amend then final artwork. When I get a rough approved I then go to the artwork stage. If I’m working on board I usually reverse the rough on a light box and trace the lines, transferring the image onto the surface I’ve decided to work on. For more on the way I work see Illustration Assignments and Materials & Media.
Q - How do the pictures get into the book?
A - Once I have painted and drawn the illustration/s I send them to the publisher, either by sending the original artwork, or by scanning the original myself and sending it to them as a digital file. I usually do the latter now for clients in the US, as it saves everyone time and money. Once the publisher has my original artwork, the illustrations are placed into position by their designer. When the whole book has been designed in this way, it is sent off to a printer – often in the Far East these days. The book will then be printed and bound in the quantities the publisher thinks they can sell. The finished copies are distributed to shops and retailers, who sell them to their customers. Books are frequently published in different languages, and these are called co-editions. This is a license that another foreign publisher buys from the original publisher so that they are entitled to publish the book as well, but in their language. These deals are very often done at book fairs like the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in the spring and the Frankfurt Book Fair in the autumn."
These two questions were particularly useful as they go into detail about the interaction between illustrator and publisher during the design process. The first answer highlights how you have to open to changes during the process, receiving feedback after roughing and making the adjustments needed. It is also important to create roughs that clearly communicate your compositions to the publisher and author. She also mentions being given an grid, written brief and sometimes a visual brief at the beginning of the process. We are set briefs for our projects but none of them as rigid as these briefs are likely to be. researching these processes shows me how important the tutorials and crit's are and how important it is to be able to respond to them and be open minded and willing to making changes throughout the design process.
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