Can You Upload Illustrations With Your Novel on Tapas
As I illustrate many of my own children'south books, I frequently become asked how I practice this. Then today, I'd beloved to share with yous my own stride-by-stride process that I've developed over the years, then y'all too tin can see how you can get most illustrating your own children'southward book. I'll also bear witness you the specific things I'thousand using and what works best for me and my types of children'south books.
Past the end of this article, you'll be able to:
- Decide whether or not illustrating your own children's volume is something you might exist interested in doing yourself
- Know where to look for an illustrator, if you decide the DIY method on illustrating your own children's book is not for y'all
But before we dive in, I'd like to mention and address three important things to consider:
- Illustrating your own childrens' book may prolong your book-creation procedure, particularly if yous don't have much time to brainstorm with.
. - Please be honest with yourself! Not anybody is necessarily artistically inclined. And that is absolutely okay! But if you make up one's mind to illustrate your own beautiful story, you should have a certain skill level. After all, your illustrations are meant to visually enhance, underline and support your beautiful story.
. - I'thou not a professional illustrator, then there my be some steps professional person illustrators would exercise differently, omit, or add together. I'm sure we all have our own style that nosotros've adult over the years. So delight remember that I'yard simply sharing what works for me and my children's books.
Illustrating Your Own Children'southward Book: What Y'all Will Need
There are just a few things you'll neeed to get started correct away. And I will explain each in more detail below.
- Pencil + Eraser
- Paperclips
- Sketchpad
- Ink Pen
- Light Table
- Graphic Software or App
1. Pencil + Eraser
Any pencil will practice here. I usually utilise a regular #two pencil to sketch out my individual illustrations. You practice want to make sure you have a separate eraser, though – not the i at the end of your pencil. A soft eraser is best, to continue your sketches as clean and smudge-costless as possible without damaging the paper after repeated erasing. I use the white version from Paper Mate, and it works quite well.
2. Paperclips
I apply clips to hold my pieces of paper together during the tracing process (I explain what that is in a scrap). Y'all can employ unproblematic paperclips. I personally prefer using small paper clamps, because they are less likely to scratch or damage the newspaper.
three. Sketchpad
Here, you lot can go all out and go a professional sketchpad, or you can practise it like me and simply use the paper yous apply for your printer. It doesn't really matter, considering we'll digitize these illustrations afterwards anyway! But brand certain to apply truly white paper, and not cream or off-white, since this will make the illustration procedure harder one time you accept scanned your work into your calculator.
4. Ink Pen
To trace your pencil sketches, you will want to use a black ink pen. Y'all can buy a whole fix of pens with unlike tip sizes. I personally use a dual brush pen, and it works slap-up for this particular purpose.
5. Calorie-free Table
Aportable and extremely slim illuminating pad is the perfect solution to help you with the tracing of your illustrations. But you can also practice information technology old school and simply hold your paper against your window glass and trace information technology that way.
Alternatively, yous can also take a large (larger than your slice of paper) and clear Tupperware box, plow it upside downwardly, and put a flashlight or battery-operated tap light underneath it. I've used this method many times and it will definitely practice the trick.
6. Graphic Software or App
That'south where all the magic happens. I personally use Autodesk Sketchbook to size my pages, insert my outlines, color my illustrations, and add my text layers. The elementary version is absolutely free. But any software that tin practise that volition do. Many people use Adobe's programs to do the same. The reason I'one thousand using Autodesk is because (1) I've been using information technology for ages, and (2) information technology's a lot more affordable than Adobe.
Other Things You lot May Need When Illustrating Your Own Children's Volume
If you're coloring your illustrations directly on your newspaper, you'll also demand some color markers. I dearest this Dual Marker Set right hither, and this slighly more than professional Hethrone Set up correct hither. And if you lot're ordinarily using colored pencils, then I recommend this vibrant color set up by Castle right here.
Your Options When Illustrating Your Own Children's Volume
At this point in the process, I already have my storyboard as described in my book How To Self-Publish A Children's Book ; so I know exactly what scene of my book each illustration will portray and the details that volition exist included.
At that place are ii ways nosotros can go nearly creating our illustrations. I've used both before, each serving a dissimilar purpose.
1. A-to-Z Illustration Method:
I phone call this method "A-to-Z Illustration Method" considering this strategy has united states of america creating our entire illustration on a unmarried piece of paper before nosotros scan it into our computer.
This means that we first sketch and outline our work, and and then as well colour it directly on the paper itself. Then nosotros scan our completed piece of work into the calculator.
To use this method properly, nosotros volition have to make sure to use the correct orientation and dimensions for your paper, so that our completed illustration fits our chosen book size perfectly.
2. Dissever-Illustrations Method:
When I work on my children'southward books, I like to create the backgrounds and characters separately; significant I create illustrations for the characters, and so completely split up ones for the background. The reward here is that I can (re)use the background and the characters separately in other scenes also. Simply don't worry! I'll show you what I mean in simply a scrap.
Step-by-Step Procedure When Illustrating Your Own Children'due south Volume
I'd similar to go over ii examples with you: One example where I sketched out an entire scene for my five.2 10 viii″ centre grade chapter book, and one example where I created the characters and the backgrounds separately for one of my books for 3-5 year olds.
Both examples were kickoff sketched out by paw on a piece of paper, and then finished with my Autodesk Sketchbook plan I mentioned earlier.
Example i – Illustrating Your Own Children's Book:
(1) PENCIL Drawing: For this vertical illustration, I decided to sketch out the entire scene before scanning information technology into the reckoner. I used a regular-sized white piece of paper. I knew that I would later have to trim off some of the edges to brand the illustration fit my 5.2 x 8″ volume, so I fabricated sure non to accept any important parts of the image toward the edges of the page.
(ii) INKED OUTLINE: One time the sketch looks exactly how I want information technology to look, I put a second slice of paper on height of it, secure information technology with a clip or ii, and, using a lite table, I carefully trace the outlines with one of my ink pens. Notation that with this particular example, I filled the entire folio, and that I drew the outlines only. I didn't fill in or shade any of the areas as of still.
(three) COMPLETED: After completing the inking of the outline, I browse my illustration into the computer. I select the loftier quality, 300 DPI, black and white setting.
And once the illustration is digitized, I open up information technology in my graphics software. Over again, you can use whatever software you feel most comfortable with. I propose, however, you use one that has a layer capability, as this will make things so much easier for y'all.
Layers are useful because they allow yous to movement and manipulate parts of an image. For instance, I use a layer for the outline, and and so create a split up layer for each object I'one thousand coloring. Having a separate layer for the wall'south colour, for example, allows me to change the colour afterwards on without affecting any of the other objects in the picture. How yous handle this is of course up to y'all, but using lots and lots of separate layers has e'er served me well, and is one of the best advice I tin can requite you when information technology comes to creating your own illustrations.
Before starting to make full in the colors, I beginning increase the brightness of the entire image, and also increase the contrast settings. This helps to really bring out the outline, while making the background truly white, without whatsoever potential shading that may have occured during the scanning process. I also get rid of whatever small smudges or dark grains that may be visible, which are really just small clay smudges from my scanner surface. I essentially clean up the unabridged layer before filling in all the colors.
Every bit yous are now working on your illustrations, you lot volition want to make sure of two really important things:
- Be sure you're now using the correct dimensions for your illustrations; meaning you lot will want to apply the required dimensions of your called book size
- Exist sure your program's quality settings are set to 300 DPI. This volition give yous the best quality without going overboard file-size wise.
Example ii – Illustrating Your Own Children's Book:
(1) PENCIL Drawing: For this particular children'due south book, I decided to first sketch all my characters for each scene individually, including all their unlike poses and angles. I then also created each background scene separately. I do so for most of my children'south books, because I similar being able to reuse my individual characters and groundwork settings for different scenes, and using this illustration method allows me to do just that.
For this, the size of the paper doesn't thing, just I ordinarily use regular-sized white pieces of paper.
(ii) INKED OUTLINE: Merely like with the first example, I repeat the process of advisedly inking each illustration's outline. Once more, I draw the outlines only and don't fill in or shade any of the areas during this particular pace.
(three) COMPLETED WITH BACKGROUND: After completing the inking of the outline, I browse my analogy into the computer. Here as well, I'll select the loftier quality, 300 DPI, blackness and white setting.
And once I digitized my analogy, I open it in my graphics software. Just as before, I first 'clean up' my outline illustration by increasing the brightness of the image, and also increasing the contrast settings.
One time I take completed all the individual pieces (usually each every bit a separate file), I then go virtually 'assembling' my scenes by creating a new file. Here, I first create a layer-groundwork by importing one of my backgrounds I created earlier. And then I add together a new layer for each boosted grapheme I'1000 adding on acme of that scene.
This is what my entire spread of characters looked like for one of my children'southward books. It may look similar nothing but a bunch of random characters, and some rather sparse looking groundwork images. And that's considering the actual pages won't be created until I take combined my individual elements into an bodily scene.
Again, having a separate layer for each grapheme gives me the freedom to motility and resize them as needed without having to redo the entire analogy.
And but as before, we'll desire to make sure of the following:
- Correct dimensions, so your illustrations fit your called book orientation and size
- Setting of 300 DPI
Adding Your Text When Illustrating Your Ain Children's Book
All that is left for us to practice now is add the text to our image.
Hither, we take two different choices:
- Text as function of the prototype
- Text and image separate
If your text is going to be divide from your analogy, meaning your text volition not be shown direct in an illustration itself, so you lot can simply skip the stride that is about to follow.
If, all the same, you want to straight integrate your text into your analogy, nosotros but have to add a new (text) layer on top of your epitome. Here are two examples of how we can add text:
Having the text in the epitome itself makes formatting much easier, because nosotros don't have to worry about page breaks or font sizes.
You lot can use whatever font you want, and the text can get anywhere on the folio, making it fun and engaging for petty ones' eyes.
Bear in mind, however, that this method does make editing the text a chip harder – whatsoever changes or corrections take to be made within the image itself.
PRO TIP
Nosotros want to make sure the text is easily readable on top of our analogy. To do and then, you can either simply use bold fonts and colors that help your text stick out from the background, or you lot can add a box right below the text, and lower its opacity, so we can still see your illustrations below that box.
Letting Someone Else Create Your Illustrations
If y'all experience like y'all don't want to practise this alone, or just won't accept the time, don't worry! You tin can always commission professional and talented illustrators. Here are just a few excellent platforms where yous tin find the perfect illustrator for your beautiful children's book.
- Freelancer
- Upwork
- Instagram (follow me here to discover more talented illustrators)
You lot can likewise find them in children'due south book specific social media groups:
- LinkedIn (creative person and illustrator groups)
- Facebook (artist and illustrator groups)
- Goodreads groups
- DeviantArt
Conclusion
Exist patient with yourself! Illustrating your own children'south book is not easy. If you've never done annihilation like this before, it is perfectly normal for it to accept a couple of tries in order to get your illustrations to where yous want them to be. Just that's okay!
Whatever route you end up taking, retrieve that this office of the creation process is meant to be fun. Information technology'southward where your volume'south characters take shape visually for the very first fourth dimension. It'due south where they truly come to life. So I hope you lot take a moment to enjoy this creative stride within your journey of becoming a children's book author.
And if you experience y'all'd like further support with this analogy process (whether or non you end up illustrating your own children's book and would similar to take a await over my shoulder to see how I do information technology, or if you would like back up with the hiring process of your very own illustrator), then you may notice myIdeation & Illustration Perfected very helpful.
xo
~ Eevi
You may besides be interested in:
Do I Need A Website (And How to Go One For FREE)
The BEST Tool For Children's Volume Authors
Create the BEST Children'south Book Writing Space
If you establish this helpful, yous may be interested in my weekly share I transport out every Dominicus. It's one of my clients', students', and readers' favorite resource I offering. If you'd like to join, but add your name and e-mail below. I tin't expect to see yous in your inbox!
Source: http://www.eevijones.com/creating-illustrations-yourself-for-childrens-book/
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