Thought I’d pass this site along for any illustrators keen to simplify their invoicing process by using an online-invoicing platform to send, save and follow up on invoices and quotes. Simplybill is flexible in that it works well for those who charge a flat rate, to those who bill by the hour. It’s also very reasonably priced, with plans starting at $5 a month. (If anyone tries it out let me know! …for now I’m still happy doing my own invoices, am a bit of a control freak when it comes to my invoices :)

I really enjoyed this blogpost by mommy-illustrator, Crystal Driedger… she puts into words just how I feel balancing being a mother and illustrator. She shares some great tips for multi-tasking and time management. Love her last point, it’s true to my heart, too :

“My son is the most important thing and always will be. This means that I will never again take on more work than I can handle… I will not answer a client’s phone call or email if my son is crying… I will lower my expectations on the type of work I can get done… have rearranged my priorities… And, when I see that it’s 10pm and I’m still writing on my silly blog, knowing that my son will most likely wake up a couple of times tonight crying then be up for the day at 5:30am tomorrow I call it a day.” – Crystal Driedger

Crystal’s blog post got me thinking of what I’ve done differently since becoming a full-time mum and part-time illustrator…
• Let clients know my priority is being a mum : Being honest with clients up front that I’m a full-time mum helps then know what they can expect from me. I let them know how much time a week I’m available, and communicate right away if I’m unable to work on their project that week. I’ve had some amazingly understanding clients when occasionally deadlines have had to be pushed.
• Quote generously for projects : I’ve found it takes me twice as long to do anything as I expect, so I quote twice as much time as I did before I was a mum. Not because I’m slower at painting, I just need to accommodate those unexpected interruptions, lost nap times, colds, bumped heads, and even days where I just need a nap.

• Taken my time to enjoy each project : Where before I would churn out illustration after illustration, I’m savoring each project. Because of this, the quality of my work is improving drastically, and I’m more and more happy with the books I’ve been illustrating.
• Post date blog writeups : I really enjoy blogging, but don’t have the time to keep up with it like I used to… so if I am inspired to blog, I post date my entries (like this one!) and space them a few days apart, so that I have several weeks of posts written in advance. That way I can enjoy blogging, but not feel driven to keep up with it every couple days.

• Make the most of nap time : I use my daughter’s naptime for projects / chores that are too tricky to do while she’s awake.

• Share the computer : For those times I have to email my clients, or do some paperwork, my daughter is fascinated by the computer so I put a cartoon on the screen so she can sit on my lap and watch something in the corner of the screen while I reply to emails.

• Work together : Now that my daughter is a toddler and curious about whatever I’m doing, I can involve her by setting up her own paints and crayons while I do small doodles… I spend more time telling her to not paint on mommy’s painting than I spend being productive, but I like involving her in what I’m doing. And at times I have to give up what I’m working on and just sit and draw “baa”’s and “bears” with Hera because it’s just fun.

Will leave this here…  and once again I’m so glad I wrote this article two weeks in advance so I can enjoy taking the day off tomorrow to decorate and bake a cake for my daughter’s second birthday.

I’m putting up for auction on eBay my drafting chair, as well as several illustration books. They are beautiful books, I’m just realizing I’m not using them since pulling back to part-time, and I’d rather see them in the hands of other artists who could use them! Here’s what I’ve got up there in case you’re looking for a bargain! :
• Black drafting chair. It raises and lowers like it should, has a step for resting your feet, wheels glide nicely, spins well! The fabric is in good condition. I’m just downsizing to one art table so don’t need the extra chair. Local pickup in Adelaide only.

• International Designer’s Network IDN magazine “Crime & Ornament.” +DVD It’s a beautiful magazine celebrating modern patterns (can see examples in the photo). RRP AU$15. There is an interactive DVD that comes with this magazine.

• “Artist’s Manual | A Complete Guide to Painting and Drawing Materials and Techniques”. Condition is excellent, with no marks in or out, pages are pristine. I LOVE this book, I just haven’t been using it and could use the extra space. It’s full of gorgeous illustration examples, beautiful photographs of artist materials, example after example of artist techniques. A must have for any artist!

• “The Designer’s Guide to Color Combinations” by Leslie Cabarga. Condition is excellent, with no marks in or out, pages are pristine. This is an excellent resource… 500+ Historic and Modern Color Formulas in CMYK. A real gem of a tool for designers, and inspirational for illustrators!

• Communication Arts Illustration Annual 47. I would say this one is as good as new, with only mild wear on the spine, no bent pages or marks inside. RRP $16. The annual full of beautiful illustrations, I found it to be a wonderful resource seeing what other illustrators are doing with their techniques and styles.

• A retro Grumbacher Colour Compass. It comes with the original paper sleeve. There is a little paint splashed on the compass, but doesn’t take away from the retro feel. Printed in 1977. This is a fun collectable for illustrators, and still very useful to new artists keen on an old-school colour wheel.

• “Norman Rockwell | A Classic Treasury”. This is full of full page illustration after illustration of Norman Rockwell’s classic The Saturday Evening Post paintings… very inspirational for illustrators learning to paint portraits. The jacket is a little worn, but the interior is in very good condition.

I stumbled across this interesting discussion on Amazon.com, where someone asks “Is there a chance that the physical books will become useless use because of Kindle edition digital books?”

I’ve wondered the same thing, whether children’s picture books will become obsolete in the new wave of digital book readers. I’m all for novels, newspapers, and magazine content being digitized, and think it is an excellent way to reduce paper waste. (I also think it would be awesome reading in bed at night, too, as the book acts as its own night light :) I do love paper books, but think that paper novels will soon become collectors items (or print-on-demand) for those that love that smell & feel of old paper, as the digital copies are just so practical and sustainable.

But for children’s books I think digitizing them to read on a screen is a horrible idea!

Being a children’s book illustrator I’m just a little biased… I love picture books, and think there’s something wonderfully tactile about turning the pages with anticipation of what’s on the next page. I tend to cringe at books with added bells & whistles like electronic noise and lights, as I feel there is so much creativity to be enjoyed in the 2D illustrations, subtle textures, and die cuts. Not to mention where will the line be drawn in the future between static digitzed illustrations and animated books? It would be SO tempting for publishers to animate parts of children’s books, and essentially turn digital books into tv.

Being a mum, I value reading and want to pass that onto my daughter. Paper books are also wonderful for helping a child develop their coordination… I’ve enjoyed watching my toddler grow from learning to turn the chunky pages of a board book to now carefully turning pages of regular picture books. The enjoyment I see her have in finding the ladybugs I’ve hidden in the illustrations, to even reciting bits of the stories we’ve read together is hard to imagine on a small digital screen. Heh, I can clearly imagine the blank stare she would have staring at a digital book… it’s the same stare she gets when the tv is on! Nowadays I think we parents rely a lot on electronics to entertain our kids, and I would love books for children to remain tactile.

I received this question from an aspiring children’s book illustrator…

Question : I was wondering if you could post some information about finding a mentor. It would be great to have someone to contact when a question comes to mind or when you need support and motivation.

Answer :  I don’t really know of any one place to get in contact with artists who mentor, but I think you’ve already done the best thing I could suggest…  email other artists and ask them questions about their experiences! Since college I’ve continued to “meet” other artists online by commenting on their blogs and keeping in touch with those who I’ve hit it off with. Of course not everyone has the time to reply, but it doesn’t hurt to drop an email to artists you admire and see who writes back! If you’re interested in just simple critique of your work, you can always post your images up on forums (such as the How Design Forum.)

I received an email from another aspiring children’s book illustrator with a bunch of great questions…

Question : How do you find publishers?
Answer : I look at the back of books that I like and note the name of the publishers, often there is a website listed there so I’ll go visit it to see what their submission guidelines are. But my “secret” resource is an online publisher catalogue I blogged about here.

Question : Do you use a contract or a non-disclosure agrrement (so they won’t use your work without pay you…I have heard horror stories from other artists…)
Answer : Yes, I always use a contract, I actually just recently wrote a post about children’s book contracts here.

Question : Do get get some pay up front?
Answer : Yes, as a rule of thumb I  ask for 50% up front when working with authors. Publishers normally have a set amount they pay in advance on your work.

Question : Usually low long it takes for all your part of the work to be done?
Answer : Before becoming a full-time mum it used to take me about 3 months from first contact to artwork / artfiles delivered to the publisher. You could easily add on another month or two if you’ve done the graphic design and are working directly with the printer. But now that I am illustrating part-time it takes me 3-6 months to complete illustrations for a children’s book.

Question : How long it takes to get the book published?
Answer : The books I’ve worked on seem to take at least a year from first contact with the publisher to when I receive the printed books in my hand. But that’s not counting the time BEFORE I am involved when the author and publisher are working together editing the manuscript, not to mention the author’s initial pen to paper with their ideas!

Question :  How long does it take to get “finally” paid?
Answer : When the work is done! In the final invoice I note at the bottom that payment is due 30 days from the date on the invoice… but it’s good to keep in mind that when working with publishers / major companies that 90 days is normal.

Question :  Do you use Photoshop?
Answer : I use Photoshop for touching up my illustrations (I’m an old-school illustrator so like to do the majority of the work by hand, and just use PS for stitching together scans and adjusting the colour for the printer.) But it’s a wonderful tool, there are many talented digital artists (like Jason MacKay!) who do things with Photoshop I can only dream about!

Question : It would be great if you had an e-book with all the details (how-tos) and sell them…to people like us.. I would love to see step-by step samples of work - drawing, color and photoshop in your e-book.
Answer : That’s a lovely idea, kind of you to think I’ve enough tips to share! At the moment I’m enjoying sharing my experiences (free!) through my blog, I keep the Tips for Illustrators page updated with a list of all my new tips :

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any more questions, eh:)

A signed contract between the Publisher/Author and Illustrator is the very first thing that should be in place before delving into illustrating a children’s book. When you work with a Publisher, they will provide their own contract and terms tailored for your project. But when working with self-published Authors, it is even more important to have a contract. Most first time Authors aren’t familiar with working with Illustrators, and a contract both educates the Author and protects both parties from things going pear shaped.

I’ve been fine tuning my contract (or Illustration Commission Agreement) ever since my first book, and it is still a work in progress, always being adjusted to match the project I’m working on. Feel free to download a copy of my contract (by clicking on the image) and use it as a launching pad for your own contract. The main details I include are :

• • Name and Contact Details of both the Author and Illustrator
• • Title of the work
• • The number of illustrations to be commissioned
• • 1) Commission and Grant of Rights : this section describes that the Illustrator is selling the rights to USE the artwork to the Author… they are not selling the original artwork specifically, and it goes on to state that original artwork belongs to the illustrator.
• • 2) Sale & Purchase of Artwork : States clearly how much money the illustrator will be paid as well as exactly what the illustrator is selling to the Author. It is good to be specific about what currency you are to be paid in, especially when working with international clients.
• • 3) Royalties : establishes how much the Illustrator is to be paid in royalties for various types of sale of the book.
• • 4) Project schedule & delivery : including dates here both helps the author know when to expect the art and give you space during that time, and also gives you a deadline to be accountable to.
• • 5) Illustrator’s Copies : establishes how many free copies of the printed book you will be provided, typically between 10-20.
• • 6) Copyright : states very clearly that the copyright of the illustrations still belongs to the illustrator.
• • 7) Credit : How you as the illustrator wish to be credited in the book
• • 8) Promotion : says the Author can use your illustrations to promote their book free of charge.
• • 9) Failure to Deliver and 10) Cancellation : in the unfortunate event that the book is cancelled or you are unable to finish, these sections set out how much you will be compensated for the work you have completed, as well as what the author can expect from you if you do not deliver what you’ve agreed upon.
• • 11-16) Legal Stuff : covers a lot of legal jargon that is also important. Some of the points it covers are establishing that you are the sole creator of the artwork, stating you will not create competitive works, the Author has control over when/if they publish their book and details on assigning the agreement to another person.
• • Signatures of both the Author and Illustrator

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I’ve been receiving emails from my publishers with updates on the Google Book Settlement, and I’m not embarrassed to say that the whole thing had me feeling a bit overwhelmed by the detail and muddled as to whether it was a bad thing for me as an illustrator that Google was scanning books and making them available in digital format. I did a Google search (ironic) and found “The Google Book Search Case for Dummies*” by David Weir, which I found was an easy to understand (and funny) overview. So I’m left with feeling like there is middle ground to be had here… on the one hand I want the publishers, authors & illustrators to be compensated for their work, and on the other I think it’s wonderful to make books available to anyone around the world who mightn’t have access to them otherwise. Whether you opt-out or opt-into the settlement, you’ve got till March 2011 to get informed and decide.

“*That would include me.” –David Weir

As another year fast approaches its end, looking back I realize how busy a year 2009 has been! I kept my paintbrush and pencil busy with completing just under 100 illustrations… wowsers, that’s a new illustration every three days! The illustrations include three children’s books (Celebrate! by Rubicon Publishing, Riley’s Lost Tooth by Diane Cantrell, and Spotty & Eddie Visit Percé by Lisa M. Chalifoux), a collection of green themed illustrations for ImageZoo, and several more little illustrations for my illustrated diary of Hera’s outfits. Looking forward to 2010!

Erica over at Outright.com sent me a great bookkeeping checklist… perfect timing, as I was just updating my business budget with the last invoices and receipts for the year. The tips were very helpful, with the pointed reminder that “if you don’t record it, in the eyes of your bookkeeping, it doesn’t exist!” This checklist has specifics which will be helpful to US illustrators, but with my business based in Canada it’s still a good general reminder of items to not forget.