We're often asked how our books come together, where do the ideas come from, and how do we find the authors and artists?
The ideas are the easy part; it's working out how to execute them that is the challenge! Every new project is an idea in need of words and illustrations. We work separately with authors and artists, first drafting texts and then looking for the best person to illustrate them.
Finding an Illustrator
We usually go out to at least two illustrators, give them a brief saying what age group the book is intended for and what kind of 'look and feel' we want. Then we send them specifications for the book (page size and page extent) and ask them to send in their ideas as black-and-white sketches. We compare the two and if we like one or both, the next step is to see colour samples.
Receiving the Colour Samples
When the colour samples come in, everyone has a look at them and at the manuscript and we decide whether we are on track. Sometimes we are. Sometimes we can see that the illustrator has the right qualities but needs to make some changes: maybe some of the characters don't look quite right, maybe the composition is a little unbalanced, maybe the colour palette is not quite what we are looking for. Sometimes the colour samples are completely at odds with what we want and we move on and look for someone else.
Creating the Book
After the colour samples have been approved, it's time for the illustrator to create the book as a whole. Some illustrators are happy to work out their own page layouts (the positioning of the text on the page relative to the illustrations). Other artists find this very difficult and prefer to receive page layouts from us with the text in position. To create the page layouts, we work with graphic designers, looking at different font options for the text, and establishing how to give the book the right rhythm. This varies a lot from one project to the next - books with long texts are the most challenging.
The Length of the Process
Finding the right illustrator is a critical part of making our books. We sometimes spend years looking for the right person! The illustration process itself can also take anywhere from a few months to over a year, depending on the length of the book and the illustrator's technique. As with the samples, we look first at black-and-white roughs, make revisions, and then receive the colour art.
We are always on the lookout for new talent, so if you are an illustrator and you think your style would suit our program, we'd love to hear from you!
