4 tips to help you get started with children's picture book illustration
BY Sarah McIntyre
15th Feb 2024
We loved seeing CBC tutor Sarah McIntyre's time-lapsed drawing of an adorable character from her latest children's book series Adventuremice (which she co-authors with Phillip Reeve). Sarah shared this brilliant insight into her process on Twitter/X, you can watch the video here. This video left us feeling inspired to create our own imaginative children's characters!
If you love making up stories and drawing characters for the kids in your life, then you may just have the makings of a children’s writer and illustrator. We're sharing four of Sarah's tips to help you get started with children's book illustration. These tips come from our six-week online Illustrating a Children's Picture Book course.
- Ask yourself questions: Sometimes the best way to get an idea for a drawing or a book can be to ask yourself ‘what if’ questions. Start with something preposterous but then follow it up very rationally. Anyone can come up with a silly idea – the real humour and interest comes from working out the logistical details.
- Experiment: It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, trying to make your drawings perfect – perhaps obsessing over just one or two pictures. When this happens, it’s good to try a completely different way of drawing. Try switching media – for instance, sculpting with clay. Or make a deliberately bad drawing – this might help you loosen up and can retrain your brain.
- Limitations can boost creativity: Try limiting your use of colours – for instance, working with only two or three. That way you’ll have fewer decisions to make about which colour to use, and you might find your work actually looks stronger for being pared down.
- Create a strong, sympathetic central character: Ideally this should be a character that readers can connect with, which touches your heart and which can potentially be used in further stories. Don’t over-complicate your drawings unnecessarily. If you look at the characters people love, many of them are composed of very simple shapes. Think of Mickey Mouse, Calvin, Peppa Pig … And there’s a reason for this: The simpler the character, the more we can project ourselves onto it.
Learn new illustration and storytelling skills on an online courses. Bring new worlds to life on the page as you create stories and characters that capture the imaginations and hearts of young readers.
Our online picture book courses are suitable for complete beginners, aspiring artists and those who want to learn more and improve their skills. Choose from one of our six-week courses in writing or illustration or take the combined ten-week course.