Making a Picture Book from Start to Finish

(NOTE: Please do not contact me for illustration work; I do not take on self-published projects and only accept work directly through publishers via my agent.)

Hello Art Friends! I'm Anoosha Syed, a professional children's book illustrator and today I'm going to go step-by-step in how I illustrate picture books. Specifically, I AM PERFECTLY DESIGNED, written by Karamo and Jason Brown, published by Henry Holt & Co (Macmillan) in 2019.

I will be talking about the following:

00:00 - Intro
03:35 - How I got the Job (Through Twitter!)
05:48 - Character Design
10:46 - Designing a Cover
19:30 - Sketching Interiors
27:57 - Clean Up and Revisions
31:06 - Placing your Text
33:39 - Color Blocking and Color Palettes
35:34 - Final Color
37:43 - When You and Your Publisher Have Different Ideas
39:32 - Conclusion

In my next video I'll be talking about how to get an agent. Stay tuned for that!

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MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO

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LINKS

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MY GEAR

DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you!

All music is from Epidemic Sound
Outro music by Louie Zong

[AnooshaSyed]

Hey guys! Sorry, I know the music in this video is pretty loud; I made the video when I was first starting out and didn’t really understand video editing haha.
All my videos after this have much better audio, I promise! I also have another video going over my picture book process if you’d like to check it out! :)

NOTE: I only take on picture book projects directly from publishers, so unfortunately I cannot illustrate your book idea!

[debbiethompson]

I know why "certain people" ask, "why do you share?" It's because they never share. They like to steal other people's ideas, talents, culture, land then claim them as their own. They're well known around the world this but they never want to share. Thank you for sharing this. You know you're talented and you believe in your own talents. You don't have to be afraid of everyone else's

[AnooshaSyed]

Thank you for watching! I hope this video gave some insight on the picture book process. Speaking of, what are your favourite picture books?

[sg]

As a teacher of children's literature, I find the depth of explanation extremely helpful. The commentary foregrounds the relationship between print and visual elements, which is a key course conversation.

[chayemor]

This was awesome. I am so down for you talking hours about each page spread, this was super insightful. Thank you!

[xmoshyMCCOY]

A couple weeks ago my 4 year old picked this book from the library. As we read it before bed I kept saying to myself “this is why I want to write and illustrate children’s books”. Then I stumbled on your YouTube! My son LOVED this book, and I loved your art.

[crystallineblue]

Thank you for posting this. I've got an assignment to illustrate a picturebook with complete freedom and had no idea on how to go about it. This helps a lot.

[bettspaints]

this is amazing. I'm illustrating my first-ever children's book and I hit a big wall: HOW TO GET STARTED. Then I came across your video and you really inspired me! Thank you so much for this video. It was not only pragmatic but also encouraging!

[marielouiseweeksbattitud]

I so get it when you talked about character consistency from page to page.

[OkayBeckyyy]

Wow, I'm so glad and grateful I spotted you on a Procreate video and searched you out on IG and YT. Fantastic video. I'm off to watch more! 😃

[bmaayan]

Thank you for being so authentic and honest about your work! I learned so much from this video!

[ardoni]

INCREDIBLY appreciative to be able to see your process. I'm not an illustrator (lol) - I'm a musician, but love to see how other people in the arts go about doing their thing. This is great!

[TheChocolatiie]

This is soooo helpful for illustration students (like me)! I honestly can't thank you enough, just trying to illustrate my own book for the first time and the whole process seems so daunting, but watching someone break down their process step-by-step is amazing!!

[ashleydoss]

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I was recently interviewed as a candidate to be an illustrator for a children’s book. I’m hoping they choose me, but so nervous as this would be my first book. Your videos have been great! Thank you!

[zarshad]

I don't usually comment but I have to thank you for having such a big heart and sharing all your trade secrets- you are incredibly helpful! May Allah give you more success ❤ from a fellow Pakistani Canadian

[titaewaz]

MAHALO Anoosha for this! I'm constantly building my portfolio and illustration for children's book was something I was encouraged to do but I still needed a sort of briefing on how to handle it. This video was the KEY to it. Thank you for this resource

[coachcarenfern]

I'm so proud of you, and Canadian too, I have written a few kids books, but still waiting on an Illustrator, so this is amazing to see the process, Thank you :)

[StudioFirstFloor]

Your video got recommended on YT and everyone must be saying this already but YOUR EYES ARE AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL! Also this video is amazing too, thanks!

[Melsincatuation]

Wow..The Little Golden Books. Those were books I grew up with!! Wow its cool to see younger generations being fans of a different time era.then they lived in! Like 80s.music too!! Lol

[RoyalDivine]

That is amazing 🥁❤️. A job well done 🤗