Great tips to improve illustrations for children’s books

The market for children’s book has proven to be one of the biggest markets for books. It has been observed that the likelihood of a book for children being sold is more than the chances of a book that targets the adult population. The fact that there are so many schools where children’s books are demanded as a part of their syllabubs is one of the most beneficial points to consider.

 

There is a large demand for children’s books and hence there is a growing demand for illustrations and illustrators as well. Many publishers have been seen switching from selling books targeted for adults to publishing children’s books. And since many publishers old and new are jumping in to this specific genre therefore there has been a large number of people who have failed too. If you want to be a children book illustrator than there are certain things that you need to be careful about and need to follow so that you can do well in this field.

 

Here are some great tips to improve and be a successful children’s book illustrator.

Know your audience:You already know who your audience is. So, create something that you think might be attractive for your target audience. The reason children’s books have illustrations in them is to make the books more interesting and attention grabbing for the kids. Another reason for including illustrations in children’s book sis to trigger the children’s imagination.

 

This is where you have to remember how it was like when you were a kid yourself. Did you not enjoy colorful and playful images and pictures in your books as a kid? Of course you did! That is exactly the case with other children as well. So, make sure you know what your audience is actually looking for in a book.

Listen to your inner child:You know already that you are illustrating for children therefore listening to your inner child will help you get good insight on what a child might and might not like. Most children are attracted by pictures which have bright colors so try and use bright colors in your images and pictures. Make your illustrations as playful and joyful as possible because the idea of happiness is what attracts children the most. Again, you will have to put yourself in to a child’s place and then think from a child’s point of view.

 

Let you imagination run wild:When it comes to illustrations I suggest all my readers to let go of their imagination’s limits and let it run wild. You are targeting children with your images and drawings and the more creative you get the more chances you have to attract a young mind. For example you don’t need to worry if you paint your cow images green and dog images red because this might actually be something that attract a kid’s attention. Remember the cartoons you watched when you were a kid. Most of these toons if you watch them now probably won’t attract you much now as when you were a kid your mind was like a blank page that could easily be triggered in to being as imaginative as it can. But as you grew up you learned to categorize things and a green colored cow might not make as much sense to you as it would have when you were a kid.

 

Be persistent and keep at it:People who give up in life when they hit a dead end are the ones who are more likely to fail than the people to strive to move forward no matter what the situation is. See, it is not necessary that your first children’s book will be a big hit and you will be successful. In fact it is very likely that your first book will be a failure so firstly, don’t keep very high expectations so that in case of a failure you can keep your disappointment in check and secondly learn from the mistakes you have made in your first children’s book and make the next one even better. Don’t give up and be persistent. You might never know which one of your books might be a big hit.

 

Go for a work style that suits you:There are hundreds of software and tools that you can use in today’s world to make flawless illustrations but being a human being you might only be comfortable with only a couple of them or maybe even none of them. So, don’t fret too much about a particular style and use the one that you feel comfortable with. Know that your creativity will only be at its best if your mind is stress free. Try and have fun with your work and that you can only do if you are not worried too much.