I've created the illustrations for four books now (Grief is a Mess, Nervous Nellie, Grandma and the Green Frog, and Ten Tiny Piggies).
Three of those books I made for first-time publishing authors. The process of brining someone else's ideas to life is exciting. However, it is also very different than illustrating for myself. When I illustrate my own books, I know exactly the kind of image I'm trying to capture. When I illustrate for an author, I'm trying to capture a vision in his or her head.
To help bring the author's vision to life, there are a series of steps. In my post, The Process of Illustrating a Kid's Book, I go through each step in detail.
Written word is lovely, but I decided to make a video where you can actually see the steps I went through to make the book Grandma and the Green Frog.
I hope you enjoy!