The Art of Illustration

So, you’ve written an amazing book and now it's time to illustrate it. Thinking of adding pictures to your book might make you a little nervous, especially if you don’t consider yourself “artistic”. After all, the images in the book are almost as important as the text and are often what comes to mind when people think of a certain book. Who doesn’t picture the elephant in the tree when someone mentions Horton Hatches the Egg? Illustrating can be easy when you have a few tips from the experts and understand the Elements of Art and the Principles of Design.

Theodore Giesel (1904-1991), also known as Dr. Seuss, is a well known author and illustrator of over 60 children’s books. He was also a political cartoonist, illustrator, poet, animator, screenwriter, and filmmaker. He was uniquely talented in that he could do both the writing and the illustrations in his own books. Check out this video to learn more about the life and the works of Dr. Seuss. When you’re finished, take a virtual field trip to the Dr. Seuss museum to check out even more of his works.

For this project you will be working on illustrations for your own book. As you work, you will need to pay close attention to some basic tips for illustrators and you will need to incorporate the elements of art and the principles of design into your illustrations.