12 questions for a picture book illustrator
Everything (almost) you wanted to know about illustrating a picture book.
I am proud and thrilled with how my latest picture book turned out — and so much of my excitement is due to the amazing work of the book’s illustrator. I am the author of The Treasure Box, my fifth published picture book and my favorite so far, simply because it is my most heartfelt.
Most don’t realize that a picture book author doesn’t usually choose the illustrator for their book. In most cases, the artist is selected by the publisher. Luckily for me, G.P Putnam & Sons/Penguin selected the amazing and talented Rahele Jomepour Bell to illustrate this sad-but-sweet story.
I knew this book was going to be something special when our editor Susan Kochan shared Rahele’s early sketches with me.
This story tugs at the heartstrings as it explores a young girl’s journey through grief after the death of her beloved Grandpa. Rahele’s work made the story come alive in so many thoughtful and unexpected ways. It elevated what was once just my words on a page into a truly poignant, moving experience.
Since most people aren’t familiar with the process of how books like this one come about, I asked Rahele if I could interview her. She, gushing with enthusiasm, agreed instantly.
Rahele came to United States in 2011 from Iran to pursue her dream of being a free international artist, and she graduated with an MFA in Integrated Visual Arts from Iowa State University in 2015. She recently moved with her husband and young daughter Darya from Iowa to Washington state. There she works as a freelance illustrator in her new home studio.
Rahele saw war in her home country when she was just eight-years old. There were two things that made her black-and-white world colorful. One was all-night family gatherings at her grandma and grandpa’s house every Friday. Her grandma would tell Rahele fairy tales told to her by her mother, which were told to her by her mother—stories Rahele has never found in any book. The other vivid pastime was traveling through books full of images of life and nature made by illustrators from all around of the world, such as Zdeněk Miler and Fyodor Khitruk.
How do you first hear about a book you’ve been asked to illustrate? Does it just get emailed to you from your agent?
Yes, my agent Christy Ewers at The Cat Agency sends me the publisher’s email. Sometimes the publisher sends us the manuscript attached in the email and sometimes they first ask about my availability.
What’s that experience like? Is that a scary process? Exciting? Do you ever feel intimated by the story or subject matter, or are you always confident that you can do something amazing from the start?
I call those happy emails. I am always so passionate to learn about the story. I read them very carefully, and if it hits my heart, with the help of my agent, I will say yes to the offer. Sometimes I have to turn down an offer even if I LOVE the manuscript. That is the hardest thing for me.
When you decide to do a book like The Treasure Box, what do you do first? Character design? Decide on page flow? Or just explore setting?
I separate all the sentences and paragraphs in the manuscript. I find the words with deep emotions in the story that I feel I can add another layer of meaning to. Then I make pictures for those specific sentences in each spread.
I make my rough sketches in small sizes. This way I can see all the pages together and I can get a better sense of how the story will flow in the book.
This book deals with the death of a grandparent; I assume the subject matter of this story presented some challenges?
I cried when I read this manuscript! I felt it with my whole heart. To make these illustrations, I tried to remember my childhood in similar situations as the child character experiences in the story. I remembered that in my childhood it was so hard for me to express my feelings. When the dark clouds were there in our life, I could not jump and run and be so active. Instead, in these situations, I played, but silently. I painted. I watched ants marching. Nature in our backyard was my best friend. All these memories helped me make this book’s pictures. This book is so full of emotions! I want to hug this book and cry!
The protagonist is an unnamed little girl who goes from happy and innocent to devastated and grief-stricken as she tries to process her loss. How, as an illustrator, did you think about her journey and make it feel true and realistic, but not overwhelming?
I am so lucky because I have my child as an inspiration. Again, remembering my own childhood and seeing my daughter and her emotions, her reactions to life’s challenges, helped me a lot. I know children are very smart, they feel things deeply and deal with them differently from grown-ups. They are complicated, but also simple. In the spread that shows a memorial event for the child’s grandpa, I painted her wearing her favorite red rain boots while everyone else was wearing their formal, dark clothes because I wanted to show how, while life is so sad for her, she still has her ambition and hope for life.
Is there anything in particular that inspired you in the process of illustrating this book?
Looking at — no, actually staring at! — Japanese artist Kiyoshi Saitō’s work was a huge inspiration for me in the process of making pictures for this book.
What was the most rewarding aspect of illustrating this book? And, do you have a favorite spread that your most pleased with?
Every book is like having the opportunity of living in and discovering a new world for me. Working with my amazing Art Director Cecilia Yung has been the most rewarding aspect of illustrating this book. The freedom and confidence she gave me encouraged me to explore new techniques and perspectives for making the illustrations for this book. My favorite spread is the one where Grandpa and the child are laughing and having fun together.
I love the way you illustrated the trees in this story. There’s something magical about them. How did their specific look come about?
Trees are my favorite thing on this planet. The form of the trees I painted for this book helped me show the sentiment of the story. The trees in old Persian paintings inspired me a lot!
What materials and what process did you use to create the illustrations? Was anything new in your process with this book?
I used printmaking rollers and printmaking inks to make the textures I wanted. I also used oil pastels to color my colored sketches. I then scanned them and used them digitally. I love using traditional mediums and mixing them with my digital tools.
When you tell people what you do for a living, what is their reaction?
I think they are jealous! Who wouldn’t be? No, I am kidding! They love it! They want to see the books I’ve illustrated. They ask for my website address and where they can see my art.
If there’s one misconception about being a children’s book illustrator, what would you say that is?
It is not just a fun, cute, little, pink butterfly job! It is a very, very, fine, serious, momentous job! Young readers will be greatly influenced by the pictures that I create, that their brains memorize, while their hands turn the pages of the book, their eyes absorbing the illustrations as they go.
Writing this book made me cry on so many occasions, which was embarrassing since I usually write in public at my local Peet’s Coffee shop. How did you want children to react to this story?
I want children to feel the story, and hug the book as they hug their beloved ones. I want it to be easy for them to picture themselves in this book when they need it. I want them to remember this book, to have this book in their memory when they are my age.
To learn more about Rahele, her books and her work as an artist, visit her webpage at rahelestudio.com.
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