Working with an illustrator can be a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. I was very nervous when I started the process the first time. I found Ian Smiley through Upworks and learned a lot from him. Let me show you how we did it for Carla’s Adventure in Guatemala.
First, I sent Ian my manuscript to read and a file containing some pictures of ideas for each of the chapters. I wanted him to read the story so he could better understand what I was talking about. Here is what I sent him for chapter 1.
Then, Ian sat at his magic computer and came up with some drawings. Here is what he sent me:
I chose the second one because I wanted to go with a little more cartoon-y feel. Once we had it nailed down how she should look, Ian sent me more sketches for the other chapters.
Here’s the final chapter in the book with my ideas and then his sketches:
You’ll notice that he sketched in red first and gave me a couple of options for the worry doll.
The one on the right is the final illustration.
You can see that we switched the direction the doll was laying on her hand. Choosing all the minute details can be time consuming and frustrating if you can’t explain exactly what you want. Having the illustration board was a big help.
It is always a thrill when I get a notification on my phone that Ian has sent me another file of pictures. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with for the next installment of Carla’s adventures!