When I asked a trade picture book art director what she looked for from illustrators, she responded, "Good drawing, good composition, good color." Seems obvious, doesn’t it? But it’s amazing how many portfolios she and I see that don’t have these basic elements exhibited.

Let’s assume you have studied art technique and you practice to get better all the time. Samples are EVERYTING! It is very difficult to get a book assignment, or any illustration job, if the buyers are not seeing plenty of good pieces. Have 10-12 strong samples of your style in your portfolio. For children’s publishing, these samples must show character development, interaction, real space and a narrative feeling. Character development can be shown by differing expressions on the same character’s face and by body language. I like to explain interaction by noting that the characters in a story are not aware of our presence observing them. We are looking at them "acting" within their world. This is their "real space"…the foreground, middle ground and background of their lives. There does not need to be a written story, just the feeling of one which makes it a narrative.

You must have a promotional piece that the buyer can keep for their files. Printed color pieces are best. There are companies that affordably offer 500 large post cards for about $200 plus. But you can mount photos or good color copies attractively as well. I sometimes mount 5x8 standard white cards with a 4x6 photo and my logo sticker and artist’s name beneath it. An 8x10 black page with perhaps two or three color copies cut and arranged on it is also most effective. Black and white composites on an 8x10 card stock sheet are nice too. It’s a good idea to send a different promotional piece out two or three times a year to interested editors and art directors. When you can afford it (or even before!), DO take out a page in an appropriate promotional directory and order the reprint pages to send to buyers.