While you are searching for paid work, it may be valuable to do unpaid jobs which will help you build up for portfolio. If you wish to be paid for your work, try contacting anyone you know in the business of publishing or editing books to see if they can help point you in the right direction. You can also contact a publishing company by phone or letter; in doing this, you may get a chance to have your portfolio considered. You are likely to be rejected many times, so be persistent!
You will repeat this step many times throughout the process. You will need to show the author/s and publishers samples of what you have so far in order to agree that it is moving in the right direction.
Make sure the contract includes pertinent information such as when you should be finished and how much you should be paid. Make sure to get a copy of the contract which includes the signatures of all involved parties and the date it was signed.
Your method for illustrating may be completely different, and that is OK. If you are successfully creating illustrations, there is no reason to try to change anything.
Sometimes it can be hard to receive feedback from others, especially if it is critical; however, you should try not to take this personally. They only want the book to be as good as it can be.
Be sure that the illustrations will fit the dimensions of the book! If you draw the image too big, parts of the image will be missing from the book, and the effect may not be the same. [5] X Research source
Regardless of what book you choose, make sure you spend plenty of time reading and analyzing the story. Try to imagine what the author pictured when it was written. Try to imagine how you would draw the picture as you are reading and re-reading the story. Another option is to write a story of your own. Many writers enjoy the process of both writing and illustrating. One advantage of this is, that if you write your own story, you know exactly what the author is trying to portray, which makes it easier to portray the story in images.
It may be helpful to take notes of what you’ve sketched so far, with what characters, and in what settings so that you can keep track throughout the book. Especially if the book is a long one, it may be hard to remember the details of what you sketched in an earlier part of the book. If you’re not sure exactly what the characters and style should look like, try sketching out several different ideas so you can see them on paper (or computer).
Since this is for your own enjoyment, the style can be any you choose. However, it is often a good idea to choose a style that matches with the book. For example, if the book is about drama and murder, you probably won’t be using a lot of bright colors. Instead, in this case, you might consider using darker, more muted shading, and less cartoonish characters. If you’re illustrating a children’s book, on the other hand, you don’t want to draw characters that will frighten children.
If you are doing this in order to build up a portfolio, you should try to work towards creating a style that is unique to you. [7] X Research source If you want to improve your illustrations, you can also ask for lots of feedback from friends and family too! They may have ideas you hadn’t previously thought of. [8] X Research source
Alternatively, if you have chosen a book that you are unable to edit on the computer, you can simply put the drawings into the book where you wanted to include them. This way they will be in the story next time you read it. [9] X Research source
There are many websites that will let you create your own blog for free. Simply search on Google for “free blogging websites”. Make sure the site you choose will easily allow you to share your link with friends! You can also create a physical portfolio if you wish. There are many ways to do this, but if you plan to present it to potential clients, make sure that it looks clean and professional.
