Children’s book illustrations 101

The front Cover

Story time: creating the title page/front cover of a book sounds simple. Or at least I used to think it was simple and easy to create. After writing two books and crafting both cover pages with my illustrators. OH goodness it can be a very complicated, overwhelming task to complete.

But, not to fear. I am here to help you navigate this challenge.

I got you~

How to Illustrate your title page

First! Write the story. It’s not 100% necessary with every author. However, knowing what the story is will help create the book cover atmosphere.

TIP: Get used to not being 100% sure if you love the cover page. (More on this further down in the blog.) 😉

Know your audience.

I’m specifically writing these blogs for the Children’s and Ya Authors in mind.

My first book is a children’s book.

My second book is a YA.

Of which book book covers I helped create by sketching the original cover ideas. I hired two amazing artists to help me with my books. We worked closely together on every detail.

One thing I am very happy about accepting as a new Author is: OUTSOURCING.

Seriously, you are not perfect and sometimes, it’s better to ask for professional help to get a book completed better then doing it all on your own. I tried doing it all on my own. I hated it, it was lonely, and I didn’t like the end result. Once I gave up the perfection idea, and the need to have full control over everything. Creating and writing books became less stressful. It turned out to be quite fun and always an adventure.

Build a team and create books!

Story Time: Cover pages are made to grab the readers attention especially if you’re writing children’s books or Ya books. So again, know who you are trying to talk to. Think, colors, what your audience age tend to look at first. Get curious about your audience.

I went to my bookcase of books, then to a few libraries to get some information about what books are being picked. What books stood out, I took note of certain colors, cover size, gloss, or no gloss. There are a ton of elements that go into good book cover.

Anyone can make a book cover. However, knowing your audience will take a good cover, and elevate it to a great cover.

Then I gathered the information, and dove into the creation for my book cover.

TIP: Ask for help. I hired two artists to help me with my two books.

Story time: Tanya, Illustrator, crafted my first book cover. I sketched out a few designs I wanted first. Then Tanya took these sketches and turned it into the front cover magic you see now when you buy my book.

She did an amazing job. I love being able to sketch out my vision then being able to let another talented more experienced Illustrator do her magic.

TIP: Purchase all illustrations from the illustrator. Make sure this is a specific detail in the contract you make with the illustrator.

Building a cover image

For me, I picked a big scene of one character doing something or holding something that would give some information about the story. Thus, the grandma, sewing a blanket became the cover for “Grandma’s Magic Blanket”.

Gotta say, choosing the words for a cover and where to put them can sometimes be such a pain in the tush. Options everywhere, and then you have to pick one hoping it looks the best. haha it’s fun, but also a tad stressful.

Read through the story, highlight just the big moments. Pick the one that would capture your book theme or vibe the best. Blow it up into a big and add the title to it. VOILA~

You have a rough first draft of a cover.

I liked using sticky notes because they are small and sketching out an idea could be quick. Verse’s trying to do a full sketch on a 12 x 10h white paper.

This is super flexible. Pick another big scene, maybe toss in some easter eggs. Maybe no image just colors and text? Sky’s the limit.

Again, look at your own library, find inspiration around you. What stands out to you as a reader. Think of your audience and keep narrowing down ideas for a cover.

Get used to not being 100% sure if you love the cover page.

TIP: Give yourself a day or 3 not looking at the cover page before you make the final decision to more forward with it.

I love both of my book covers now. They are beautiful and well made. They have the elements I wanted to capture the readers. However, I did not love my YA cover at first. It was the 2nd book I’ve written and published. New characters, new book layout and a much harder audience to capture. I liked it when I hit publish. But, I didn’t love it. And that is okay.

The book cover was hard for me to narrow down to what you see today. In the end, I had to step away for a few days. I needed to forget about the cover and how much of my perfectionistic tendencies was trying to take over and delay the book completion. I liked my cover, I thought it was very good. However, at that time, I felt like I could have worked on it for another two months.

I did not. After the few days, I came back. And decided it was time to complete the book and the cover did not need to be perfect. It just needed to look great for the readers. And it does.

Another talented amazing Artist, and fellow Author, Mandi. Worked on my Ya book cover. Mandi did an incredible job with my ideas and sketches, I knew what I wanted however, so many other ideas and possible layouts flooded my brain. In the end, the book cover feelings is what I like to call “A me problem”. Mandi, did her job very well. I was the one trying to figure out the cover based off more feeling. She corrected everything I asked for, she switched things around, lightened, darkened the images. I was still feeling torn on if the cover looked perfect to me or not. Which is why I ended up taking a short break, making a final decision and going for it.

To clarify, I liked the book cover. I just had a hard time knowing it was not 100% yes feeling for me. Which can be a huge issue for some people. Perfect isn’t the point. So it’s good to let go and see what happens.

Now, over the next few months the cover grew on me more and now, I don’t know if I’d change it. It’s not perfect, but it published and being read. That is more important to me. That my stories are being read and enjoyed.

TIP: Remember, if you end up not loving your cover after the book is published, there can be many reasons why you might feel this way. Remember, you can always change the book cover later. It’s more work, however, the book is out and being read. So the cover isn’t stopping you from getting the book in the readers hands. You can always, change the cover later. Small updates, full cover re-do. It’s a power you and your illustrator have.

In the end, You, the author, have the power to approve or change whatever cover or illustration you put in your book. If you don’t like something, change it. But, remember, illustrators are people too. Be kind, respectful, and understanding. They are human too, just like you.

Book covers need to reflect your target audience. If it does not speak to them, there’s a huge chance your book will not get read. So keep in mind, you want to like your creation, but the book is meant to capture the readers eyes.

Experiment with a few cover page ideas. I had a few ideas for a cover page, it took some time to narrow it down.

For Lily’s Guide Book, I had a trunk only on the cover page at first. Then thought of adding Lily to the picture. Then ended up with the beautiful cover you see now.

Be patience and explore.

I am a self published Author of two books looking for people to share her stories with. Check out my books on amazon or on my blogs.

2 books down, cookies made, and who knows how many more to come.

Thank you for reading until the end. As a self published Author/blogger any and all support is appreciated!

Have a comment or thought to share? Type away in the comments. 🙂

Write on~

Cecilia