What is your illustrated children’s book publishing process like?

We believe that children’s books must be visually appealing, to catch the eye of the reader, keep them drawn in as well be able to remember the story. The illustrations are the key factor in making them both appealing, memorable and learning aids (think Dr. Seuss). Therefore, a lot of our attention is drawn to that, and extends beyond just the design element of the illustrations.

After the initial review process, if you and our team feel we are a good fit, then we prepare a timeline with usually four milestones:

1. Design
2. Digital files
3. Print copy
4. Distribution

DESIGN PROCESS

The design process starts with choosing what style and medium your illustration would be. Here are a few styles you can consider:

Style

Caricature

Realistic

Whimsical

Outline

Rough sketches

Medium

Watercolor

Acrylics

Freehand digital

Vector

Pen and ink

Pencil

Charcoal

Character Design

What do the main and supporting characters look like?

Storyboard

Layout

It’s time to focus on how the readers would experience your book:

1. Would text and illustrations be on separate pages or on the same page?
2. Would any illustrations be a two-page spread?

3. Would there be vignette illustrations? Vignettes are illustrations with faded or loosely defined edges. The loose edges incorporate the white of the surrounding page to give the image space, lightness and draw the viewer into the scene.

Once the design process is wrapped up, we move onto the print-ready file creation so we can share the book in digital as well as physical copy with you, the author. Once you approve these files, the final step is distribution to Amazon, and other places.

We hope you’ll have as much fun as we have as part of the CaryPress team doing illustrated children’s books!