Children Picture Book Illustration Process

This week, I'll chat over children picture book illustration process. Sadly, our job is often underestimated and not appreciated properly. Last year, a man boasting "studied design" said to me with contempt, "Children picture book illustration? They draw a big head child(*=distorted composition). Easy piecy," was all his knowledge about our job. I doubted what he had studied.
Picture book illustration is very time consuming. Usually, 32 pages for a trade picture book. Often 1 year contract. But no surprise, a few years take to finish up one project.

Black&White/Rough
1) text analysis,
What's the theme? Who is the target audience?
Brain storm, rough idea for page divide.
2) character design
Drawing, drawing, drawing! Know characters. From this stage, Illustrator develops a text further than the original.3) Story Board & Dummy Book 
Story board = thumb nailed pages like film cells.
Dummy = miniature of a picture book.  
Lots of experiments. So many drawings. Takes a lot of time. Check the dummy repeatedly to see information flow. Pace and space are important. Decide a text's position.
Make "several" dummies. Often Illustrator makes 5-6 dummies. Please figure out 6 by 32. How many pages?4) Colour
Put colour. Check the dummy. Lots of experiments.In the process, use all what we have---such as emotions, sensations, memories, research data etc, etc, to depict a given text. Editor helps Illustrator and Publisher gives feedback. Then, Illustrator gets back on the project. Repeat 1) to 4) again and again.

So, Illustrator job classified ad should go like this way;

"Want Children Picture Book Illustrator.
Sensitivity : Feel reality & fantasy in physical world & inner world.Skills : Draw everything, anything visible and invisible.
Fast job, preferable ( = keep deadline)."

Now, you get why I always keep sketching anything. Last Thursday, I sketched a watchrepair while he was repairing my watch band. Done in really several minutes. These daily sketches become important references.Seeing is believing.
This Victoria State Library website shows the foremost Australian illustrators working processes. Ann Spudvilas's video shows the process mentioned above in 3 minutes. I really admire other illustrators. My wonderful mentor Ann James is mothering Australian illustrators. Shaun Tan won an academy award last year.
Unfortunately, it seems Australian picture book illustrators are not internationally known. The American market is the place for a big commercial success. But I love Australia.

Friends, tons of unpublished drawings are behind 32 pages. If you come across a picture book illustrator down-&-out from job, please cheer her/him up.
Now, I'm ready for a hand surgery.
Happy painting!!

Children Picture Book Illustration Process