Illustrating A Book: How Client & Artist Work Together

I just read a great Steve Jobs quote. It comes by way of Ian Leslie from his book, Curious:

“… (Some people think) that a really great idea is 90% of the work… (and if you just tell it to other people), they can go off and make it happen…

the problem with that is that there’s just a tremendous amount of craftsmanship in between a great idea and a great product…

Designing a product is keeping 5000 things in your brain and fitting them all together…”

The above quote highlights the importance of collaboration, back-and-forth, and revising and fine-tuning ideas.

It also sums up why you should avoid content mills like Fiverr (Get a logo for $5!!) and hire professional designers, illustrators, writers, et. al., for creative work.

Because collaboration, shared goals, and a commitment to craftsmanship are what’s required for an end result that works.

What do collaboration and craftsmanship look like? Here’s a good example:

I recently illustrated Copyediting With An Attitude by copywriter and USC marketing professor Freddy Nager.

Freddy loves cats, and wanted a cat character for the illustrations (“You can’t have a book on attitude without them.”). Specifically, he requested “a cat wearing sunglasses holding a large pencil.”

I began by reading the book (Freddy sent me the manuscript). Then I let my mind roam free and made some thumbnail sketches.

I did more thumbnails, and tried to incorporate some of the book’s key points.

Things started to get more fluid at this point. The cat’s not necessarily holding the pencil.

I needed to define the cat character more clearly. I came up with 9 concepts. Freddy liked #4.

It was time to send Freddy some rough sketches.

The book contained an Introduction and 4 “acts” or chapters.

One of the tips that jumped out for me in the Intro was: “Proofread, edit, then wait at least 24 hours to proofread once more.”

So my first rough sketch was based on that idea: cat with a hourglass on his head, holding the kind of sign used by a flagman.

Freddy liked it, but asked to see an idea for a different tip: the wisdom of proofreading your copy out loud.

That second sketch is on the right below; that’s the concept we used for the final illustration.

The second act or chapter talked about creating a “brand bible”: specifying naming conventions, including acceptable abbreviations and acronyms for your brand; guidelines for using slang; whether it’s ever acceptable to mention competitors, etc.

My first rough for Act 2 referenced the brand bible concept.

Act 2 also talked about the importance of consistency: formatting all items in a list the same way; sticking with the same tense (past, present, future); the same voice (first, second, third), etc.

Freddy asked to see a rough for “evaluating consistency” (below, right); that’s the concept we used for the Act 2 illustration.

I did a total of 5 illustrations. One of them (below) highlights the importance of using active verbs to energize your copy. It was also used for the cover.

The above sketches and revisions are a “nutshell summary” of client-artist collaboration. They also show how I work.

An illustrator (or a designer or a writer, or any outside contractor) should be an invested partner. A collaborator who shares the client’s goals (in this case, producing a book that stands out, attracts readers, and racks up sales).

A client can proceed with confidence when he knows the artist will do all he can to achieve that shared goal.

I “invested” here by reading the book, identifying key points, creating an appealing cartoon character, submitting ideas in sketch form, and then revising those ideas based on client feedback.

Since its publication, I’ve also been promoting the book (at no extra charge) by posting about it on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I also created a promotional graphic (below).

I had a great time working with Freddy. He’s written an excellent guide. Not just for copywriters and editors and creative directors, but for journalists, bloggers, students,
and anyone who wants to become a better writer.

You can order it here.

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About Mark: I’m an illustrator specializing in humor, branding, social media, and content marketing. My images are different, like your brand needs to be.

You can view my portfolio, and connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Questions? Send me an email.

Follow @mrstrongarm