I am a published author of more than 75 children's book. One of my writing projects has not found a publisher and now I want to self-publish it. Thus, I need an illustrator to illustrate a traditional format children's picture book.
The book is 309-words, 32-pages. I see the orientation as being landscape (horizontal), not vertical. I have art notes for some of the spreads. Some spreads will be more simple in their concept, while others will be more complex. I don't have strong feelings about what the illustration medium is (perhaps it would be watercolor-ish or more like a painting) but I think I'm seeing in my mind a more naturalistic approach, not computer generated and certainly not cartoony or digital looking in anyway.
I would like the illustrator to have experience / expertise with graphic layout, text placement, etc. to help me get the books set up for printing and then transition the book to an online publishing platform like Kindle.
The book's title is On My Bike and it is for young readers ages 5 to 7. Told from the vantage point of a child narrator, the book explores the universal experience of bike riding, taking readers through city and country terrain, connecting readers to bikes throughout history and with bike riders around the world, and sharing the common experiences of joy, excitement, adventure, and reflection. The book combines fact and fiction with gentle humor. There’s plenty of action and adventure, too.
While On My Bike is character driven, it does not give a name, gender, or look to the main character. Because the character is unnamed, the illustrator has leeway in determining gender, race, and the general and specific details of the main character or characters. I'd like the character to appeal to a diverse universe of readers - maybe the look of the main character would change across the pages? Or maybe their would be two or three main characters. I am open to discussing option, in fact I would prefer discussion, before the main illustrating begins.
I would also like to discuss my notes, the layout orientation, and anything else that comes to mind once the illustrator has read my text, considered my notes, and mulled over illustration options. The book's text is attached as a MSWord file.
Here's a little more about the book: On My Bike combines realistic fiction with historical fact, simply showing the joy, adventure, and freedom that children around the world and throughout history feel when they ride their bikes down a street, over a ramp, and along a winding country road.
Zooming past barking dogs and neighborhood bullies, racing startled horses along a winding split-rail fence, daydreaming as you quietly roll below a brilliant blue sky, when you are on a bike, the world is yours!