[suana]

 

Hello everyone!

I am new here. I am an illustrator and designer  and lately I have been wondering what the best approach ito reach publishers, editors and art directors. In the past I always sent them a standard cover letter along with some samples of my work and a link to my website. Do we illustrators have to be more creative in our approach [as writers who give a brief about their new MS or project?]
I'd love to here from you.
You can find more about my work here: http://www.suanaverelst.com

Suana

[TH Posts: 245 Status: Offline]

Hi, Suana, and welcome!  I'll let one of the many illustrators on the board answer your question but I wanted to thank you for posting a link to your website. Absolutely made my morning. 

[suana]

 

I can't seem to open a link to your profile... are you an illlustrator/writer ?

[eecoburn Posts: 237 Status: Offline]

Suana,  there are certain things you can't do on the boards (like look at profiles) until you become a member -- I think that is achieved by making 50 or so posts and then one of the administrators having the time to make you a member.  I was confused about this at first, too, when I started on the BlueBoards! Welcome!

[TH Posts: 245 Status: Offline]

eecoburn is right...but to answer your question, I'm not an illustrator (although I love to paint and draw.) There are plenty of 'real' illustrators here, though...maybe one of them will pop by to offer some advice and say hello.

TH

[Artemesia Posts: 4,527 Status: Offline WWW]

Suana,

Your work is wonderful. I'd suggest researching publishing houses that you think would publish books that fit your style and send your samples to the Art Director. (be sure to follow each publisher's submission guidelines, they are listed on their websites) I don't think there is anything wrong with the approach you have taken so far (cover letter, samples and web link) but if I had a tip it would be to have a site dedicated solely to children's book illustration. An AD may get the impression that you do too many different types of work to be able to commit to a project or that maybe illustration is not your main focus. I'm not saying you can't pursue different fields simultaneously, but an AD might not want to search through everything else on your site to find the children's illustration. Just my humble opinion.

Good luck, hope I was of some help. 

[suana]

 
Thank you so much, Artemesia for your comment and advice!
Great help !!

[df]

Suana, I love your work!

I agree with everything Artemesia said, although you might also include those puppets with the children's illustration - they are really delightful. Also, you don't say how widely you have sent out your samples; it's hard to know who will respond, so I'd suggest sending your work out as widely as possible, to both ADs and editors (if you haven't already). That can get expensive with samples, so it might be easier (and cheaper) to send out a knock-their-socks-off postcard every six months or so. I don't think you need to be more creative than that - your work will speak for itself.

Best of luck to you -

[DDHearn]

Hi Sauna,

Your work is unique and wonderful.  I'm sure that you will find your way in the children's field.  I agree with a lot that has already been said, especially about sending postcards every few months.  I need to do that more myself.  You need to keep your name in front of the editors, because a lot of this business is about being in their minds when the right job comes in.  Postcards will do that for you.

Good luck
Diane
www.dianedawsonhearn.com

[mattbequiet]

I'm really glad to have found this post. It really helps to have someone else ask the questions so I can just sit back and reap the benefits. I've been pursuing getting a Rep. I haven't heard back and I'm getting pretty discouraged. I'm gonna try to compile a list of publishers and go the postcard route.

thanks it makes me feel less alone in this process (not to sound dramatic)


www.workingwilsons.com

[SYoon Posts: 721 Status: Offline Novelty and Picture Books WWW]

Your work is amazing, Matt!  Truly is. If you want to specifically get into children's book illustration, I'd have a section JUST with illustrations that would work well for children's books. It's hard for editors to imagine what you might do if you were given a children's book assignment. Best of luck!

[mattbequiet]

SYoon, thanks so much for your reply (and for the kinda words *blush). I'm thinking about building an entire illustration site. At the moment I'm just making due with my current portfolio site. I've been doing more and more stuff geared towards children...I'll make that the main focus soon.

thanks so much!

[mattbequiet]

I mentioned in the last post about building a separate site devoted to my illustration. So I did... http://www.aboyandhisbrain.com

it's my drawing blog.