- On conflicting portfolio advice: don't cater yourself to too many people's ideas of what a good portfolio is! Be confident in your portfolio style, people can pick up on tentative-ness. I aim, personally to keep it simple.
- For children's illustration, I might consider having a unique portfolio to take to that kind of publisher/ AD. Not strictly just children's illustration if I have other pieces that are relevant, but there's no use in showing them pieces that wouldn't be suited to them. I suppose this essentially fits for all areas I'd like to work in.
- If you're going to pitch a children's book you will propose it with a dummy similar to the way the Carmelite prize is structured (a script, a mock up of sketches with three or four spreads completed).
- PACING IS KEY! Not every spread in a children's book has to be wild or full of things. Pacing the book with dips of quietness and wildness will, in turn, make the pages stronger in their own personality from the contrast.
- It's good to work extra from the text, make it interactive, have something for the child and parent to talk about. But don't be gimmicky either, just for the sake of it.
There is A LOT of stuff in children's books. It's a huge market, saturated at times with some things that are... not so interesting. A list of publishers to investigate
- Osbourne
- Bloomsbury
- Flying Eye
- Penguin
- Little Tiger
- Pushkin
- Walker Books
- Candlewick
After now completing the work for the Carmelite prize, I can say that my interest in working in children's publishing is piqued. I wonder how I can sustain a practice that involves children's illustration, without necessarily giving all of my practice over to it.
No comments:
Post a Comment