what I’ve learned from illustrating my own book

Posted on November 18th, 2008 at 8:58 am by admin

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I have written a book on sensory processing disorder for kids in middle school and young teens. It’s a book for them, rather than for us, so it had to be illustrated.

And by illustrated, I mean illustrated just right, because god forbid if the illustrations are lame.

The process of trying to get the book illustrated has been, um, illustrative. Here’s what I’ve learned.

1. Too many people don’t listen before they pick up a pencil.

The estimates I got were wild compared to the amount of work I needed done. Minimalist, I said. Think stickmen with embellishments. They wanted something for their portfolio.

2. Being lousy at art means a steep learning curve.

But a steep learning curve is also a steep reward curve. I couldn’t draw when I started. But Illustrator is a very forgiving program (Control Z – undo, undo, undo), and a bezier curve can make any line look good. I practised stickmen till I got something good going. And, you know, it wasn’t half bad.

3. Technology is good.

Technology is like the Canadarm on the space shuttle. It reaches out into the impossible to pull things within your grasp. Programs like Illustrator make be proud to be human.

4. Imitating something you’ve seen produces worse results than just muddling your own way.

My first cartoons were complicated disasters. So were the second ones. It wasn’t till I put all the models away and just drew the damn picture that things started looking right.

Originality is the art of concealing your source. But the best “source” is what’s rolling around in your head, combined with a bit of enthusiasm and professional desperation.

5. Whatever you’re not good at, hire it out.

I drew the cartoons for 8 of the 9 chapters, but kind of blew a fuse for that last chapter, plus the comics and icons.

Earlier, I’d had bad luck finding local graphic artists (for reasons listed above). But yesterday, I just picked up the phone, called a graphic art and printing house, and asked for the name of a freelancer. They gave it to me, I met her, we talked and looked at my drawings, and she offered to finish the project for me.

For a great price.

In the next few days.

So the book moves closer to the finish line.