Inside the Illustration Process
I’ve worked in and around publications throughout my career, but I had no clue what to expect when it came to working with an illustrator on a whole book. Especially a book that held so much personal meaning for me.
Here’s a look at how I navigated the illustration process:
I started by creating a mood board.
Who were my favorite illustrators (even if I could never afford them)? Which books had the look and feel I was going for? Did I want illustrations that were super lifelike, very abstract or somewhere in between?
Then I looked through potential illustrators’ portfolios.
Instead of looking through an entire universe of artists, I had Wise Ink as a shortcut. They gave me a shortlist of five or six artists whose work reflected parts of my mood board. Without that help, it would have taken ages to find the right illustrator for my book.
I asked my favorite of the bunch, Adriana Predoi, to do character studies of Morty.
I loved how she drew humans and inanimate objects like trees and buildings but there weren’t too many dogs in her portfolio. The character study cost a little extra money but I wanted to make sure Adriana could perfectly capture Morty’s essence. The results were worth it.
Adriana’s character studies of Morty (left) and Leilani.
I met Adriana “in person” (via Zoom) before officially partnering with her.
I wanted to make sure we were a good fit, personality-wise. We found time to talk through her process and how she likes to receive direction and feedback. After that meeting my project manager handled the contract, payment, and communication with Adriana, saving me a lot of time and stress.
Then I … waited.
My Wise Ink project manager helped me keep things on schedule, but the truth is that high-quality illustrations take time. Illustrators are often working with multiple clients. Waiting is inevitable. The wait was tough, but my patience was rewarded (as you can see!).
Mortimer the Terrier, getting himself into trouble.
Finally, I had to get comfortable being a critic.
This is tough when your default personality is “people pleaser.” But if I didn’t stand up for my vision, no one else would. I made sure to keep my comments constructive but clear when something missed the mark. In the end, Adriana delivered work that’s damn near identical to what I had in my head.
The illustrations, including the front and back cover, took the better part of nine months to complete — quite a bit longer than I expected. But working with a gifted artist like Adriana, who so readily understood and shared my vision, was a real joy.
Have questions about illustrations or any other part of the book-creation process? I’d love to chat. Send me a note at kristin@kristinhansonwrites.com.