Illustrating Children's Books: Creating Pictures for Publication

by Martin Salisbury

The successful book illustrator starts by understanding his author's flight of fancy, then rendering the ideas and actions imaginatively in pictorial terms. This unusual and inspiring book was written for art students and ambitious beginners. It instructs on methods of developing both imaginative powers and the technical artistic skills to produce high quality illustrations that will please authors and children s book editors.

Separate chapters focus on:
Media, materials, and techniques
Developing different drawing styles to fit specific storytelling methods
Instilling visual personality traits in story characters
Creating effective sequential images for storyboards and picture book outlines
Design, typography, and preparation for print
Illustrating story books for older children
Illustrating nonfiction and educational books
Breaking into the children s book publishing business

Here is solid, practical instruction for students of book illustration, enhanced with more than 250 how-to illustrations in color and black-and-white.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Reference, Writing, Design, Childrens, Picture Books

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Martin studied illustration at Maidstone College of Art (now part of the University of the Creative Arts) in the 1970s. He has worked as an illustrator and painter ever since. In recent years his work has focused mainly on the area of children’s book illustration, painting for exhibition and writing on the subject of drawing and illustration.

Martin regularly contributes to Artists & Illustrators magazine, Books for Keeps and the Journal of the Association of Illustrators. Along with colleague Wendy Coates-Smith he founded the graphic arts journal, Line which has been internationally acclaimed as an important contribution to research into illustration and drawing.

In 2004, Martin wrote Illustrating Children’s Books, a major guide to the practice and theory of the art form published by A&C Black in the UK. In 2007, Martin Salisbury was a member of the judging panel for the prestigious Bologna Ragazzi Award in Italy. The following year he joined the international jury for the CJ Picture Book Awards in Seoul.

Martin currently acts as External Examiner (BA Hons Illustration) at the University of Westminster and Southampton Solent University.

Reviews

[Niloufar · Rating 4 out of 5]

قبل از هرچیز باید بگم ترجمه‌ی فارسی‌اش -که خانم شقایق قندهاری ترجمه کردن- خیلی خوب نیست و بعضی جملات احتمالاً اشتباه و گیج‌کننده ترجمه شده، با اینکه کتاب متن ساده و روانی داره.
خود کتاب، با این حجم جمع و جور و نه چندان قطور، اطلاعات خوبی به خواننده و علاقه‌مند به این موضوع میده. راهنمای کامل و قدم به قدم و کافی‌ای برای تبدیل شدن به یه تصویرگر نیست و با این دید نباید رفت سراغش. از هر مبحثی یک مقدار مناسبی توی کتاب گنجونده شده که بیشتر از آشنایی ابتدایی و صرفه. خواننده‌ی علاقه‌مند یا هنرجو با کلیدهایی که نویسنده بهش داده، می‌تونه بره بیرون از کتاب بیشتر در مورد هر مبحث یاد بگیره یا روشون کار کنه. نمونه‌های تصویری زیادی توی کتاب وجود داره که خیلی به درک متن کمک می‌کنن؛ البته من گاهی بین خوندن هم‌زمان متن اصلی و حاشیه‌های مربوط به تصاویر گیج می‌شدم.
از خوندنش راضی‌ام و دوباره بهش رجوع می‌کنم.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book if you're interesting in illustrating children's books (and seriously, good luck). This book breaks down many of the aspects you need to consider when illustrating for books. Each chapter it loaded with illustrations and examples of what you should do. There are also several case studies featuring successful illustrators, giving insights into their methods.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to get an overview of what is involved in creating a book for publication and this satisfied that very well. This book by Martin Salisbury is paced very well, with a lot of examples of different illustrators and approaches. He is very knowledgeable about the craft, business and is an illustrator himself. If you are hoping to get an in-depth treatise on illustration, then this book isn't for you. You may be better off looking at "Writing with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children's Books" by Uri Schulevitz (written in 1985).

I will probably use this book as a reference - it is very good to flip through and get some ideas if you are trying to do some illustrating and are stuck.

[Linda Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a synopsis guide for the student artist. I have yet to get that if a book has color throughout, and is a teaching tool, the print is going to be hard to read. There was a lot of thought given to design of the interior, and that makes it harder to read. This is a taste of various media, with plentiful examples of sketching on location, from memory, motion studies; but there is too much "everything you ever wanted to know about pictures" in one book. The art tends preponderously to the Golden Age style of illustration, although the copyright date is 2004. The credits are a nightmare - try searching for the book referenced on page 47 with an illustration by Graham Handley. For a beginner, a student, a person interested in the field, this book is a dandy catchall, if you're looking for an overview.

[Jennifer]

This book is an enjoyable general overview of illustration, with everything from a history of picture books to various illustration techniques. I particularly like his ideas about observational drawing and transforming those ideas into stories, and the chapter on character development.

[Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give this book an even higher rating, but 'Writing with Pictures' trumps it as a comprehensive overview of narrative illustration, so it gets a well-deserved four-star silver.

[Rachel Groves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very inspiring books with case studies and examples. Interesting for a novice to get some idea of what is involved and covers lots of topics perhaps not in great depth or detail though.

[Celina Buckley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changed my life.

[sarkasmuz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really old (it's so funny to see the first ever tablets and so on in a book). But regardless of it's age, you can get a lot of value out of this one. Depending on what you are searching for and how advanced your artistic skills are, I guess. It was fun to read, explore and take notes for my own project and getting a few tips and tricks how to start.

"Originality does not consist in saying what no one has ever said before, but in saying exactly what you think, yourself." p. 76

On the importance of sketchbooks: "Through drawing you find your own voice." p. 39 and nothing could be more accurate than that quote!

[Lệ Lin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this book was published in the early 2000s, it still covers a wide range of invaluable information for children's book illustrators. I jotted down many helpful notes while reading, there are some techniques/ the process of book-making that I'd never heard of.
•
My favourite chapter is the making of novelties and pop-ups, what an interesting challenge! You can surely find a lot of these things on the internet but the book serves as a good checklist to review all the basic skills and a good overview of all the possibilities you have as a book illustrator.

[Sarah Mare'y · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected a little more of this book.
It will feel very rich if you were absolutely new to the idea of illustration, meaning you have no idea about what mediums you can use, how to make a dummy book, what to illustrate .. etc
But if you tried illustrating a children’s book once then guess you’ll probably know most of this
What I mostly liked though was the case studies..
It’s always nice to know how other artists think and what is their process

[Elisha Dunham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a very broad overview of children’s illustration, with quick presentations on the common mediums and types of picture books. I mainly enjoyed the case studies and found it a brief but helpful summary of the artist’s role in bringing stories to life. The examples of different illustrators and styles are numerous, and while many new artists have entered the scene since the book was published (2004), I’m happy to have a list of artists to further research and study for inspiration.

[a dog who learned to read · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice, thorough book detailing many aspects of illustration for children's books - from a history of the medium to various artistic techniques and industry advice. It's fascinating and has lots of cool little footnotes and annotations peppered in to give it a nice coffee table book/journal combo feel. A great overview with plenty of varied and beautiful illustrations to look at.

[Vera Kabushemeye · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good overview of the various ways you can tackle a career in writing picture books for children. Very insightful and great foundational read. There was a lot of name dropping though that was not helpful, though.

[Kaitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

read for college

[Hussaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is an informative book which shows the big scope of children book making. I like the variety of different children book sample.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the step by step in this book. I might keep this in mind for any kids books I may write...

[Dustin Tramel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspirational but not all that helpful. It's a very simple, concise introduction that covers a wide variety of topics but without depth.

[Aina Nabila · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so useful!

[Simona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!

[Emily Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s good, great for someone looking into how to start their ideas. But I think it’s a little dated now.

[Nicola · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good insight to the workings of a children's book and how to gain success through the creation and publishing side of things.

[Just Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally a book that dives purely and thoroughly into the visual considerations of making children's books. I appreciated the business basics at the end too.

[Kiara Selena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read page 80 to 83 (on August 9, 2022)

[Megan Shjerve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read and packed full of expert advice, Illustrating Children’s Books is a definite keeper! It will remain dog eared and warn on my shelf always!

[Josh Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very thorough and can guide someone from the history of Children's Books, to how to draw and use various mediums and techniques all the way through attempting to get published. It's giving me a lot of starting points and showed me what I need to work on in my own endeavors in illustration.
The one drawback, at least for someone like me, is that I don't seek a book like this to learn how to draw or paint, but in order to know what steps I need to take to get published. This book just touched on that at the very end of the book. It's good info, but there are still questions when you're done reading the book.

[Belcky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-rounded book that has a bit of everything from history to publishing, even if it is a bit dated now.

This was never required reading in college, but it was recommended and the instructors did provide us with excerpts. I liked the excerpts so I bought the text, though I was too busy to ever read it through until now. Turns out the excerpts held all the most enlightening parts, and I personally found the rest of the book had too much focus on drawing from life and different types of media... things that are, for someone who's been through art school, a bit redundant (though I agree they are important for any illustration career). If you're looking for a book that deals specifically with how to get published alone, I'd say pick up a Writer's Market or join the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and browse their online content.

I wish I had read it in my first couple of years of art school. Students and new hobbyists would find it useful, so I would still recommend it.

[Sebah Al-Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

لا أجيد الرسم، لكن وددت الإطلاع على الكتاب من باب التعرف على الفن ذاته و ركائزه. الكتاب نفسه لطيف، يتحدث عن الرسم بشكل عام، ثم يتطرق للعوامل التي تحدد الرسم لكتب الأطفال منها الشخصيات و الأفكار و كيف يؤثر كل ذلك في الرسم أو يتأثر به.

أعجبني اقتباسا لرسام أورده الكاتب في المقدمة التاريخية للرسم:
"At the Cambridge School of Art it was drummed into us that we should not move, eat, drink, or sleep without a sketchbook in the hand. Consequently, the habit of looking and drawing became as natural as breathing."
--Ronald Searle

فكرة معايشة الشيء على مدار الساعة تستحق التفكر/التأمل. قرأت مرة أن الطنطاوي رحمه الله كان دائما في يده مذكرة صغيرة وقلم، كلما لاحظ شيئا أو طرأت له فكرة، دونها بشكل مختصر.

و للجوزي أيضا كتاب بعنوان "صيد الخاطر" إن لم تخني الذاكرة، أيضا سلك فيه نفس الأسلوب بتدوين كل ما يخطر على باله بشكل دوري.

[Tandava Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I skimmed some of the parts that I knew I wasn't interested in or that didn't apply to me, but overall there's a lot of good stuff in here. Lots of examples not only of published illustrations but also of preliminary sketches, mock-ups, etc. This makes it also a good source for illustrator names to go find at the library for further investigation. I would have liked more in-depth coverage on some topics and less on others, but it actually does a very good job of evenly covering probably every aspect of the job.

[Charlee-Ann Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little outdated in parts perhaps, but as this was the only book on illustrating children's books my library had I'm really happy to have read it.
It breaks everything down into easily digested sections meaning you can skip over any that are irrelevant to you. It's informative, visual, and just really helpful and accessible to someone without a degree in art or illustration.