Common Mistakes Made By Picture Book illustrators
The goal of picture- book illustration is to tell a storey. We've all heard the adage "a picture is worth a thousand words." The question is, what storey will your illustration tell in a thousand words? Will you repeat the storey that the text has already told? Will you add your own storey components to deepen the meaning? Yes and no, to varied degrees, are the answers to these questions. Illustration for children's books is a sophisticated and complicated art form filled with responsibilities to the author and readers, as well as perils for the illustrator. This article examines four ways an illustrator can deviate off the path, as well as four strategies for staying on track. Mistake 1: Illustration that repeats the text Drawing an illustration that replicates what the text is saying is a typical error for an early-career illustrator. If the text reads someone is smiling while lifting a spoon to their mouth (a regular picture-book writing error! ), the illustration...