Getting Pictures for Your Book

Posted by Sarah Turner May 28, 2008

I'm working on a small creative writing project, and thought it would great to have some illustrations to accompany the text. In my mind I can imagine exactly how I'd like it to look. But when I try to draw, I quickly remember why I nearly flunked art class.

So I start e-mailing friends. I email every artist I know – which brings my total to two people. One agrees to meet for coffee. “So,” he says as we settle in, “tell me about this project of yours. What are you looking for?”

“Well,” I stutter. “Pictures, you know. Black and white. Drawings. Like, simple ones.”

It's at this moment that I understand the complicated process of explaining creative vision.

And I suddenly appreciate the collaborative work of writer/illustrator teams such as Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake or Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko.

I stumbled through the conversation with my friend, and ended by shoving a copy of the text in his hand. “Read this,” I said. “Draw whatever you feel like.”

A few days later he emailed me a few images in different styles. Once we had a departure point, it was much easier to articulate what I wanted and what I didn't want. We're well into the process of collaboration now and I think I'll be pleased with the final product.

Anyways, here's an article by children's book author and illustrator Tammy Yee about the collaboration process from the artist's perspective. Perhaps I should have read this first.