If I Wrote A Book About You
I would illustrate it
Earlier this week, I shared a cover of the first picture book I illustrated - ‘If I Wrote A Book About You’ written by Stephany Aulenback on Instagram. So, I thought it would be fun to talk about it a little more and share some behind the scenes.
Back in 2012, I was a new mother with a two month old baby and feeling pretty sleep deprived. I was sitting on the couch nursing and scrolling through my phone when I saw that I had received a new email.
It was an editor asking if ‘I’d like to illustrate a children’s book?’ - sounds crazy even when I type it now. Mind you, this wasn’t something that happened to me overnight. I had been working on my portfolio and putting myself out there for many years before this.
Of course I said YES, then proceeded to freeze up for months and not do anything. I had no clue how to start. What was a book dummy, how do I come up with the characters, how do I draw a background?!
This is pretty much how my whole illustration career has gone; really want to be a full-time freelance illustrator, work really hard to get it, not know what to do when you do get a job, spend hours researching and sketching, spend more hours not sure what to do, until finally something clicks. This was all before Skillshare, before Squarespace, before Pinterst and way before Instagram - being an illustrator felt totally fresh and exciting!
So, I finally got my act together and started working. Here are some of my first sketches for ‘If I Wrote A Book About You’:
I was doing research and reading all the books there was on how to illustrate a picture book, when I came across a mentor who offered picture book services. I hired her to help me work on my book dummy and to figure the whole process out. It was exactly what I needed to get over the ‘I don’t know what to do’ mountain. Let me tell you, she gave me the harshest critique in my entire life. Basically she told me the dummy was BORING and I wasn’t putting any effort in. Ouch!
I really woke up after that critique and realized, ‘I can’t be lazy about this anymore!’ So, I sat and I sketched out the book dummy multiple times until I thought I had finally done something good. I was proud that a lot of the book dummy ended up as final art! A lot of it changed as well.
Since that one life changing email, I have had the amazing opportunity to illustrate over 24 children’s books. Ranging from activity, educational, baby board, to children’s picture books.
This first book experience, while hard and incredibly rewarding, has made me so passionate about picture books and equally as passionate about teaching others. Hiring a mentor to help me through the process made me what I am today; hardworking and dedicated to making the absolute best picture books that I can.
I have recently teamed up with Steph Fizer Coleman to reopen our ‘Let’s Make Picture Books’ portfolio workshop. It’s a 12-week portfolio development course that is designed to help you create memorable portfolio art for the children’s book market.
We created 3 new workbooks, that are 40+ pages, designed to help you illustrate memorable characters. Each workbook has a topic; character, movement and emotion. They include discussions and tips on the topics, inspiration, reference photos, and assignments to help you finish your illustration.
You get instructor feedback on your workbook illustrations throughout the 12 weeks together. I promise not to give you the harsh critique like I first received, but Steph and I will be there to provide actual useful feedback!
One of my favorite parts of Let’s Make Picture Books is being part of the community. You’ll make friends with fellow illustrators in a private space — that isn’t Facebook!
We have 4 guest artist presentations:
Holly Surplice will talk about observational drawing for children’s book illustrators
Grace Habib will share how she creates characters, both human and animal, for children’s books
Renee Kurilla will share how she captures movement in her illustrations and how she works to maintain the spontaneity of her sketches in her final art
Stephanie Graegin will share how she captures even the quietest emotional moments in her illustration
Members will have a chance to ask questions at the end of their presentations!
We also have group coaching sessions that include gentle creativity coaching with guided writing prompts and a Q&A session. Recordings are available for those who can’t attend live.
The course is part of the Learn with Steph community and you also get a ton of bonuses when you sign up:
Access to 14 themed workbooks from the first round of Let’s Make Picture Books
Bonus workbooks on drawing topics
Access to Steph’s Skillshare classes without having to bother with a Skillshare account
A collection of webinars about a variety of children’s book illustration topics from coming up with portfolio ideas to choosing colors to creating book covers
and last, access to a collection of short videos where Steph and I chat about our book illustration process
Phew! All of this for a one time payment of $397 or three payments of $133.
Enrollment starts September 15th and closes on the 22nd. I really hope to see you there! Click the button below to get on the waitlist:
You made it to the end!
-Denise
Thanks so much for sharing all these details. And good on you for bouncing back after your mentor’s critique. It took guys to get a mentor and to take their response seriously and productively.