Illustrator talk

Sarah Horne children’s book illustrator

 Sarah Horne’s work has very strong characters and is humorous. Her main media is pen and ink. She does a range of books from pop up to young adult and tends to do a lot of work she enjoys which is something that comes with experience over time.

  Thought out her talk Sarah gave us a lot of helpful tips:

-Draw from real places and then add your own spark this is the best way to make magic feel real

-Mix up what you do, try not to get type cast, do one off drawings that will go in your portfolio

-Get a good work routine

- If you’re working on a book always do the cover last

-In young fiction the cover is very important

-Draw lots

-Craftsmanship hone your skills

-Keep a sketchbook on you at all time

-Draw for fun

-Observe everything

-Keep a visual diary of daily things

Character design tips

-Who, what, where, when, know your character inside out see them in 3D

-Beware of culture bias; think internationally a bear is good international animal a hedgehog is not

-Eyes! They need to be readable because they are a strong contact point; it’s how we relate to characters.

-Don’t ignore tips from publishers about style are something to consider, don’t ignore them.

The client

-It’s a small world and clients talk so be nice because reputation is important

-Take on board all comments

-Don’t just goes with any publisher find the right one with a good working relationship

-Be easy to work with

-Input as much as you can, show you’re inactive and bring more to the table than required, it will be appreciated and remembered.

-Do your best work all the time

Earning a living

-Always keep track of your tax and money

-Spread your nets try new things like editorial, cover art, licensing, events and school visits

-Look for avenues for passive incomes like royalties and PLR (PLR – Pays out when your book is rented out a library, you agree this with the author and editor.)

-Pick your battles

-Learn that the sky won’t fall if you say no to a job

-Schedule work carefully, build up a view of the year in advance so you don’t get swamped or say no when you need work

Art directors

-Have influences and be inspired

-Take a risk, have faith and be brave and experiment learn new skills

-Always beware of copy write and idea thieves don’t put all your ideas online

-Be patient, don’t force and idea go with what you've got and watch it unfold. Fully formed ideas picture books can take days or years.

  After this talk it has helped me to see I don't want to just do children's books although it is my main goal, I want to do comics and other work just to keep my ideas fresh and to break up what I am creating and working on. I will also take that I must be nice to everyone as people talk and a bad reputation wont get me work. I feel after hearing this talk I am more prepared for what might happen when I meet children's book publishers and show them my work.