The successful book illustrator starts by understanding his author’s flight of fancy, then rendering the ideas and actions imaginatively in pictorial terms. This unusual and inspiring book was written for art students and ambitious beginners. It instructs on methods of developing both imaginative powers and the technical artistic skills to produce high quality illustrations that will please authors and children’s book editors. Separate chapters focus on:

Media, materials, and techniques

Developing different drawing styles to fit specific storytelling methods

Instilling visual personality traits in story characters

Creating effective sequential images for storyboards and picture book outlines

Design, typography, and preparation for print

Illustrating story books for older children

Illustrating nonfiction and educational books

Breaking into the children’s book publishing business Here is solid, practical instruction for students of book illustration, enhanced with more than 250 how-to illustrations in color and black-and-white....

Once dismissed as a cozy world of teddy bears and fairies, the arrival on the scene of numerous highly original, contemporary, and 'cool' graphic artists in recent years has transformed perceptions of children's book illustration. Children now grow up with a more informed and sophisticated visual diet—with cartoons, animated movies, comics, TV, and computer games—consuming a vast range of stylistic approaches, and illustrated books have moved to match the demands of a more discerning market. Equally, artists who in the past may not have considered the children's picture book as an appropriate vehicle for artistic expression are increasingly drawn to the area.

This book showcases some of the most interesting work emerging within the genre from a range of cultural backgrounds. It examines trends in use of media—both digital and traditional—and discusses the variety of approaches to subject matter....