Featured Illustrator

Audrey's work brings scientific curiosity and playful storytelling together in perfect harmony - two things that us CoCos are particularly fond of in kid lit illustrations. We think you'll enjoy her work as much as we do!

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How did you get started in illustration?

I got into illustration accidentally. Back when my kids were toddlers, we were reading tons of picture books. One day, I had a conversation with my oldest about eggs and different animals that lay eggs. I’d been struggling to finish anything for a while, but that conversation felt like it needed to be a book. I’d drawn occasionally in high school and thought I could manage a dozen animal illustrations. That turned into my first picture book, which I published about nine years ago. I really enjoyed working on that book, so I decided to do another book, and then another—and I kept discovering more ideas.

What is your background?

When I started working on picture books, I considered myself an author rather than an illustrator. I was an English major in college and my ‘art experience’ was a couple classes in high school, plus Drawing 101 at a community college. So, I had tons to learn once I started illustrating picture books! Initially, I tried working through things on my own, but eventually, I stumbled across the science illustration program at California State University, Monterey Bay. During that program, I learned so much about drawing and illustration, including basic anatomy and how to use different camera angles. Those techniques really pushed me to stretch my skills and be more creative with my illustrations.

What have you learned along the way? What tips can you share?

For new illustrators, I think one of the biggest challenges is learning that art doesn’t equal illustrations. When I started out, I’d drawn animals before, so I figured a picture book couldn’t be that challenging. Picture books, though, have meld art AND text. The art needs to support the story—and for picture books, it’s often the “show” part of “show, don’t tell.” So, I had to learn how to make the illustration active and how to show more than the text itself says.

How do you stay out of a rut?

Over the years, I’ve looked back at my older projects and realized that the illustrations in those often use the same angle. So, I now work to avoid that. To do that, I like to spend quite a bit of time visualizing the story and doodling ideas before I sketch any thumbnails. Once I start on the thumbnails, I also compare the scenes. If the illustrations start to look too similar (same characters, same camera angle, etc.), then it helps to take the sketches and push them—change out standard views for closeups or move the angle overhead to get a new view on the scene.

What have you learned from self-publishing?

At this point, I’ve been self-publishing my books, though I have a couple new projects that I’m getting ready to send to agents/publishers. I’ve enjoyed the process, but I have also learned that self-publishing needs to be a team effort. With a traditional publisher, there’s already a team in place to oversee editing, book design, marketing, distribution, even bookkeeping! Self-publishing means authors either wear all those hats themselves or find someone to help them with those roles. In the Indie author circles, I’ve found that the most successful authors are the ones that excel at networking—either within the publishing industry or on social media.

What would be your dream project?

As an author-illustrator, I’m lucky to be able to develop my own dream projects. That said, I love working on any kind of nature-themed nonfiction, and I want to illustrate more books about insects—or really, any kind of creepy-crawly.

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