After 11+ years working in illustration and developing 500+ children’s books, I start project conversations with the story, the reader and the scope. This guide helps you prepare those decisions before commissioning artwork.
How much does children’s book illustration cost?
The scope determines the quote. A spot illustration, a detailed double-page spread, character development, and a full cover require different work. The number of illustrations, complexity, agreed revisions, usage rights, and final formats all need to be discussed.
Ask for a written breakdown covering artwork, cover design, formatting, revision stages, file delivery, and payment milestones. Source II Studio quotes each project individually; a fixed price is agreed after reviewing your requirements.
Request a quote for your book →How long will the illustrations take?
Availability, page count, scene detail, and feedback rounds affect the schedule. Build time into your plan for character exploration, rough layouts, revisions, final colour, and file preparation. Confirm milestones and a delivery date before committing to a launch.
If you already have a deadline, tell us at the start. Ask which stages need your approval and how quickly feedback is needed to keep the project moving.
What should you prepare before hiring an illustrator?
- Your manuscript or story summary, with the intended reader age.
- A page plan or approximate number of illustrations.
- Character descriptions and a few relevant visual references.
- Your preferred book size and print or ebook format, if known.
- Your publication target, budget range, and cover or formatting requirements.
- Any usage-rights, credit, or confidentiality requirements you need agreed.
Choose the trim size before final artwork whenever possible. If pictures run to the edge, discuss bleed and safe text areas before composing the pages. Check the publisher’s current specifications rather than assuming one file works for every edition.
Amazon KDP: trim size, bleed, and margins ↗Which illustration style suits your story?
Choose a style that supports your reader age, mood, and characters. Soft watercolor can suit gentle scenes, while expressive character art can highlight action and humour. A consistent cast and clear storytelling matter more than following a trend.
Browse our watercolor and character samples and published book covers. Send the examples you like and explain what appeals to you: colours, expressions, atmosphere, or page composition.
How should illustration revisions work?
Agree what you will approve at each stage: character studies, rough spreads, colour direction and final artwork. Gather your feedback in one place and refer to page numbers, character names and specific changes.
For example, changing a character’s outfit during the sketch stage is a different request from redrawing that outfit across completed colour spreads. Confirm revision rounds, feedback deadlines and how additional work will be priced before approving a stage.
Who owns the artwork, and which files will you receive?
Do not assume a commission automatically includes every use or editable source files. Put the agreed rights in writing: print and ebook editions, promotional use, languages, territories, exclusivity, illustration credit and any merchandise or future series use. Confirm whether the agreement grants a licence or transfers copyright.
List the deliverables separately: interior illustrations, a front cover or full cover wrap, formatted print PDF, ebook files and any source files agreed in the scope. Ask when rights take effect and whether the illustrator may display the work in a portfolio.
Illustration, cover design and book formatting: what is the difference?
Illustration creates the characters and scenes. Cover design brings the artwork together with the title, author name and other cover elements. Interior formatting arranges text and pictures for the chosen edition. A quote for one does not automatically include all three.
For a print cover wrap, confirm trim size, binding, final page count and the printer’s template before preparing the spine and back cover. For an ebook, confirm the required layout and test its reading order and legibility on the intended devices.
Explore children’s book covers and Amazon KDP formatting →A simple illustration brief you can send
“I am creating a picture book for [reader age]. My manuscript is [status], and I need approximately [number] illustrations plus [cover or layout requirements]. I like [portfolio examples] because of [expressions, colour or atmosphere]. My intended format is [trim size and print/ebook], my budget range is [range], and my target date is [date]. Please confirm availability, milestones, revisions, usage rights and final files.”
Do not know the illustration count yet? Send the manuscript and say you need help planning single pages, spreads and text space. Share confidential manuscripts through an agreed channel.
See examples before choosing your illustrator
Compare expressive characters in Life Stinks!, the music-themed Little Leo cover and emotion-led storytelling in Miles and the Grumpy Pants. These cover examples show different visual directions; discuss a separate, agreed sample if you need to test the fit for your own story.
Tell us about your story →