7 Ways I Messed Up My Children’s Books
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- čas přidán 27. 07. 2024
- I've illustrated over 30 children's book for national publishers and I'm going to share the things I did wrong early on. If I could talk myself back in the day - this is what I would say...
My online illustration classes svslearn.com/
My Website: willterry.com
My Blog willterry.blogspot.com
Twitter: / willterry333
Instagram: / willterryart
facebook: / will.terry.733
1 Cover not “reading” from a distance
2 Not exploiting the graphic designer’s work
3 Telling ancillary stories that distract from the main story.
4 Not having consistent character Consistency.
5 Using arbitrary colors.
6 Getting too dark behind the text - or too busy with detail.
7 Not spending enough time - books can last forever.
8 Not creating enough illustrations to tell the best story.
9 Not valuing the team.
“Let’s dive right in” at 6:30 lol
exactly
Actually more like, 8:00
Subscribed!
I want to illustrate children's books, and although I'm a graphic designer and already know these things, they're good points to keep in mind so you don't forget while under pressure. Thanks for the tips! :D
Kasey Golden !!! I can't believe I found you here!!! You're the reason I even looking into this stuff lol. Thank you for inspiring me!!
I hope you do get to make a children's book one day!
Kasey Golden kaseyyyyyyy you really should follow your dream, ad mak that book! I would buy it. I love your videos, vavourite chanel on youtube
Omg every video I click
It’s happened like 9 times now
Very very valuable!
I just came here from your video @katnipp thank you both for sharing your experiences!
Actually pretty cool to see @Katnipp here too
I’ve actually been asked to possibly illustrate my first kids book! I subbed! This is really helpful😊
Another innthe great series of Will It! Man, you know how much I love your work and the thought behind it is always fascinating. The lessons learned the best yet.
Thank you! Really appreciate it!
This was really helpful! I've never really seen an artist go through their book before an point out important details. Thanks so much.
Also! Blacky Widow is SOOOO cute. Oh my gosh.
I couldn’t wait through the personal stuff.
Yeah that's why I stopped clicking on Will's videos too. He takes too long to get to the point. The part about his college years and part time jobs etc should have been a separate video.
Love all your work and advises Terry.....just starting in this businesses after years of commercial work an you're a great inspiration
Thanks for sharing this great info... and when you grabbed the bass I’m so glad you let us hear it! I worried for a moment you would just show it to us. :) Have a great next book!!!
I love all this great Notes, Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us! I'm just begining this Journey and is very helpful.
Adorable!!! Love this new style. It's so sweet and easy to follow.
Thank you!
I love it how you showed mistakes from the past through a positive example.
Great teaching right there.
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🖤
Great video, so nice of you to share your book and process with us!
Thanks for sharing all these details. As an art director, I came from the world of Toys and have worked with many freelance illustrators (from packaging to animation). I love that you mentioned client deadlines & understanding the decision makers "behind the scenes". I had defend and protect 'my artists'... haha! It may seem easier, but it can get complicated with even style-guides provided. About 1 year ago, I quit the corporate world to focus on my own creative projects (inc. making kids books!). You ignited a spark in me, talking about color! Thanks again. Love your work & channel.
Always such great information, thank you for sharing! So glad I joined SVS :)
Really great and informative video, Will. Thank you. I'm sure the book will do well, and will be reading it to my kids real soon. soon.
Great tips! Thank you for sharing, Will. So so helpful.
THANK U WILL
WE HAVE NEVER MET
BUT U KEEP ON INSPIRING ME
THANKS A TRILLION
Hi Will! I just want to thank you for your generosity and
for being so open about childrens books!
It is of great help and very useful information!
Thank you! =)
Super helpful, thank you for sharing, what a wonderful book!
Very helpful and insightful. Thank you for sharing this advice and for being so open and honest about some of your mistakes I order to teach others.
Thanks for sharing - I work on indie comics and wear a lot of “hats” - I’m working on a few kids books now and am working on my art direction skills. This video has been more helpful than I thought it might be - again thank you :)
I loved this. Interesting and I loved looking at your illustrations! Thanks
I`m working on getting better on drawing and painting AND I`m into bassplaying too...but I need to practise. Thanks for your videos and sharing your knowledge...do I need to say that I like what you do? Yes !! Love your stuff, Cheers!
This book is awesome! Thanks Will for all those insights. I felt like talking to myself, all the things I have been trying to achieve over years, but it feels easier when actually someone else thinks the same, it somehow confirms one's thoughts, accentuate the value of them, make them weight more.
This is so valuable. Thank you Will!
Thank You Will Terry 😊 It is really really helpful !
Thank you for everything you tell us about you're process ❤ This content is gold for me, you not only teach me a lot of things about the picture books, you motivates me 🌟 five years since you share this 😊🎉 (sorry for my english)
I am starting to illustrate my own book also because I really want to create my first children's book to share it with the world. Your video is inspiring and your Bonaparte book looks great. I love the simplicity of the book that flows through out the story.
Loved this!!!!! Thank you so much. J feel a lot more confident now honestly
Great insights. Thanks for sharing. I think you did a great job with the illustration. The red hat makes the character (Bonaparte) memorable long after a child reads the book.
As someone that wants to be an illustrator I just want to say thanks for the advice.
You did a great job, i dont think your advice is supreme....but it works for you and thats awesome.
Go dog go was my favorite book as a child! And I did the same thing: just stare at the end page! That's inspiring to think of, thank you!
Thank you so much! This is so interesting and useful!
Thank you Will. This was super helpful information.
My first video of you and I subscribed! Thank you for all the tips!
Loooove this video thanks alot really learned alot from this and by the way your illustrations are AWESOME!!!
Thanks for all this information! I've wanted to do children's books for years, and then ended up going into gaming. I'm trying to find my way back to my original inspiration. I understand what you're saying about the white space and not distracting, but after my 4-year old son and I have read a book multiple times, we start playing with counting background picture elements or finding different colors as a game along with reading the book. It adds another level of fun to the reading. I do like how you've made room for the text. Some of the most beautifully illustrated books can hide the text a bit too much.
Sounding good on that bass!
I learned a lot. Thank you for sharing!
When you turned to the last page, the first thought I had was 'Go Dog Go' a dog party! I, also, loved that page! And, just last week I read that book to my grandson!
Excellent video - Wish I'd seen it before making so many mistakes in my book.
Thank you, very good information. Making your illustrations Perfection, with Simplicity☺️!
That book looks so awesome! Great video and very valuable information! 😍👍
PhantomDrawing I got so triggered when he skipped pages (I was actually reading it lol)
hey men this is just awesome work you are doing for us i am been learning from you all the time this is just awesome.
i want to illustrate children's book as well. and i am just learning a graphic designer and i already doing some of my design .
i would love to send you ,
thanks men for all your work and help.
Wow wow wow wow wow, im so impressed of this book. And im greatful amazon have it in the german store, so i could buy it tonight to have it in some days. As a former librian I now many good children books and always was impressed of the less unique illustrators they dont do the boring always same illustrations. Im so in love with ur book. I will be happy to have it. Thank you Will for ur great talent!
This video is maybe a little too long and rambling.. sorry XD
Will, thank you for this video, it's really helpful!
And this book is so cool, I love how it turned out! Main character is so cute :) thank you for the inspiration
P.s. those first and last pages called "endpapers" I believe :D
This was super helpful, thanks for sharing. 👌🏼
Thank you; this is very helpful; an excellent topic to share.
Will, I'm so glad you shared these tips. I have admired you as an illustrator since BEFORE I took Business Practices for Illustrators from you back 2012. You gave me so many ideas for how to grow my business as an illustrator and even though I took it at a rough time in my life and I might not have been the most motivated at that time, I'm still super grateful for the privilege of having taken a class from you. It was so insightful and I was just so honored to be in a class by one of my all-time favorite illustrators!
I was going to say EXACTLY what Teju said, lol. so DITTO, Teju! Thanks for this will. Agree with absoulutely everything. When I first came to it, I wanted to combine my lettering with the illustrations, so it was all integrated. This book is BEAUTIFUL! Congratulations to you and Margery!
Thank you Agy - Confession - I thought it was Dr. Seuss as a kid - when I started illustrating books I started looking back and when I read his name on that book I was like: "this can't be right" HA!
Also - end papers...I knew it was such an easy name... :)
There's some really great advice in here, thank you! Congratulations on your success with this book, it's especially exciting that it was on an endcap!!! Think of how many other thousands of books they chose yours out of to display right there. Wow! =^.^=
Thank you so much for the effort in sharing this! So many nuggets in there! I do have a problem that hope you would have answer to: My printer asked me to make the total ink density below 240 but I'm not sure how to achieve that by not scarifying the vibrancy of my illustration. Do you know the solution to that? And what is the best way to transfer a RBG illustration to CMYK? Thank you!
Very interesting points, and helpful video!
Wow, great video! Thank you 🤗
I used to play the cello in school, until my teacher said to my parents I'd never be another Jacqueline du Pré !
So I took singing lessons.
And then I went to Art school after leaving school...
Evolving for me has been doodling, and writing books and children's books
So well done for getting back to making music!
With regards to tips...
1, Thumbnail visuals do need to show tltles so folks can buy it!l
(and your author name)
2, Communication is The Key! How the dream works!
3, Side stories add layers and texture to your world, but...
Clear Space is needed for the child's imagination!
4, Draw positions so the characters keep their integrity
5, 'arbitrary colour ' emphasises the action or point.
6, Keep text weighted correctly, and visuals away
7, Take the time to make it the best it can be, it's a time test!
(you don't have to admit how far along you are)
Bonuses:
8, Make sure you have enough illustrations to work from, multiple panels, yes!
9, Value the entire team. keep consistency, integrity of the story, listen to other people on the team. They, too, have their input!
Thank you Will! 😊
You make those changes - more room, adding elements, etc. - at the sketch phase hopefully
Yes - all on the sketches.
Nice base playing! Awesome! =)
This is so funny, I moved to a different state 1 year ago around Halloween an the first thing me an my toddler did was go to the library an we read this book an here I am a year later thinking about writing childrens books 😂
Really helpful advice!! Thank you!!! Especially the "go the distance" part. Can I be cheeky and ask for a possible future video on making sure the digital illustrations print true to what you've created on your screen? And do you work in RGB or CMYK?
I'm not very techy even though I use tech... I've been lucky with good art directors and good printers who interpret my files spot on. I haven't done anything on my end. I work in RGB and send RGB files...
That actually makes me feel better. I'm on my own with everything right now (no designers or art directors) and it's overwhelming. Thanks for your honesty!!
Great work, and inspiring video!
Blessings from Poland :)
Thank You very, very much for Your videos and ART :)
Kiara
Just checked out your online portfolio and I must say I love your work!! I've just gotten into pursuing a career in children's books as an author and I'm very nervous as it's not a conventional path but I'm very optimistic about the future! Any advice, i'm also thinking about illustrating my own books but i haven't been drawing in years :(
Wasn't it Dr. Suess's "Go Dog, Go!" that had the tree in the end with all the dogs?
Great book by the way! I love the pictures.. You did awesome! I should buy it for my grand daughter... Hmmmm
You would think - but google it - PD Eastman ...at least I remembered something right :)
Will Terry OMG... Your so right!! All these years I thought it was Dr. Suess's book... Lmao... Thanks Will!
Hi Will thank you very much for the precious tips where are all excellent.
I’m working to write children pictures book, with the consistency of the drawings where do you recommend to join to learn this skill?
how do you download your drawings onto your ipad without it looking like it was just a picture that was taken of the drawing
Geez your work is Awesome!!
I made Campfires as a very young kid, once in the Kitchen!
No lie, seeing this book made me want to have kids to share this book with, lol. Great work as always Will!
Dope man. Thanks for your time
Thanks for always sharing what you have learned as an illustrator. You have no idea how valuable it is to us who are interested in illustration but don't have connections to the publishing world. (I am also enrolled in SVS Learn for good measure.)
And though I appreciate your humility, don't call yourself an idiot! You are clearly not, and furthermore, you are brave enough to share your improvements, even at the expense of your former self. My theory on the "end papers" problem is that being in art mode makes it hard to access stored vocabulary. Then later, when you're cooking dinner or something, you suddenly remember and say, "Oh, of course!"
And lastly, Go Dog, Go! has been a favorite for at least two generations in our family. As a kid I used to stare for ages at the dogs-in-a-maze scene and the dog party scene because the colors and textures looked so edible (remember those opaque Jell-O salads?). And all those animal limbs poking out of the tree really do evoke a sense of serendipitous fun. Life really should be "A big dog party!" But until it is, at least we have children's books.
Laura Alderson Thank you Laura!
I love how you just start playing the smashing pumpkins 🎃 🙃 love hearing the personal bits too. Apparently not everyone's cup of tea though lol.
It's really cool that you put an illustration on the same page as the copyright.
Can I ask you some questions about what size and file type do you submit your images in? And how many pages are required for children's books?
love your videos and your work! I really love this brush, could you share It or let me know the qualities?
Great video, very helpful :)
Thank you ..interesting points you raised..I have
written my first Childrens
book...and now working on the artwork..".Life sentence " has struck a cord
so yes ...I am proceeding with caution ..thanks for all the info...Ella Fynes......fynesartphotography
I play guitar and and draw as well. I'll be damned if I ever give up my Gretsch. I love that thing so much. I realize I won't be able to dedicate too much time to it but I know in the end, she'll be waiting for me.
Hi! Do you know what fonts your graphic designers used in the books?
Thanks for the video. Im not the greatest comments researcher but I have question about Children's books and "industry".
Do You have to write Your own story and texts (in general/most common) or You get the idea for the book and story line, and we (the artists) just make illustrations ??
Can I do illustrations with markers and colored pencils? I’m going to do some different textures like cut outs with scrap paper, stamps etc.
Thankyou for sharing.
ummm.... btw how much you paid to get in to the project?
Sometimes, quoting price is a thing...
great art work
Subscribed! Hope to see more videos like this
Thank you Will for all the insides you give - what a wonderful video when you just start illustrating book like me. My biggest struggle ist colorpalet do you have any more tipps for me? I'm also not sure if I illustrate in RGB or in the color format the book shook be printed? Anyone want to give me advice? I would be very grateful for any mentoring.
Amazing artist...how long did all illustrations together take to
hmmm you could have done a really faint full moon in the background as you wanted.... maybe having it faint would have given it more visual depth to the scene? i love your backgrounds on the over pages
I have been watching lots of your videos and learned a lot, but I have to say, I regularly come back to this one XD I kind of use it like a checklist as otherwise I would stay ignorant of many of my mistakes I make. "Oh, Will said he drowned the title in a picture? Let's see if you did too... yes you did, now be a good illustrator trainee and go fix your picture" :D :D Big big thank you for sharing your valuable knowledge with us.
good stuff. thanks! I'm working on a kids book as we speak. Would love to share it with you when it's complete
As a child, I was also fascinated by that same illustration in "Go Dog Go".
Do you communicate with the author while doing your work?
Great tips👍🏼
What procreate brush do you use?
How were your sales?
No worries on the counting. We're here for the pictures 😉
Can someone just list yhe key points in the video?
Looking forward to getting my copy delivered. Congrats on being #1 in new releases on Amazon! Question: Does the publisher request you to produce artwork at the exact trim size or with a bit of bleed? Or do you just get the aspect ratio approximately the same as the trim size and leave it to the graphic designer to size the artwork to specifications?
Hi Joshua - thank you! ...so - if the art bleeds off the page you really need to include bleed image so they can trim it as I'm sure you know - since you mentioned bleed :) ...With less experienced designers they'll muck up the spread by using said bleed - for this reason I make more bleed than I send the art director - if they ever say they need more I can send them the un-edited file.
Will Terry Makes sense. Thanks for the nuts and bolts insight.
Very talented musician