As a children’s book illustrator, one of the most rewarding aspects of my work is bringing stories to life through engaging and expressive characters. In this blog post, I’ll share how I develop characters for children’s books, focusing on my process for My Brilliant and Magical Thoughts: Choose to See Bigger, a heartfelt story written by Brook Beam. This book follows a little girl who struggles with the changing seasons, feeling sad and frustrated as autumn arrives. However, with her mother’s guidance, she learns to see the beauty in change, transforming her perspective and finding joy. Join me as I take you through my creative journey of designing characters that connect with young readers and enhance the storytelling experience. Understanding how I develop characters for children’s books is crucial for creating relatable figures that resonate with children!
1. Understanding the Story and Characters
Before I start sketching, I take time to understand the story’s theme, emotions, and character personalities. In Choose to See Bigger, the main characters are a mother and her daughter. The little girl initially resists the seasonal change, while the mother is gentle and wise, guiding her child toward a new perspective.
2. Creating Character Sheets
Once I grasp the essence of the characters, I move on to sketching rough concepts. I created character sheets for both the mother and daughter, experimenting with different styles. This helps define their personalities visually:
- The Mother: She needed to look warm, comforting, and stylish yet approachable. I gave her a soft, kind expression, long flowing hair, and cozy autumn attire.
- The Daughter: Since she starts off feeling resistant to change, her expressions reflect emotions like frustration and sadness, which later transform into joy. I made sure her features were expressive and childlike, with a fun and playful outfit.
3. Finalizing Designs with the Author’s Input
Illustrating a book is a collaborative process. After creating the initial character sheets, I shared them with Brook Beam to ensure they aligned with her vision. Based on her feedback, I refined the selected characters and finalized their outfits before moving on to the coloring phase.
4. Choosing a Color Palette
Since the book is set in autumn, I wanted the colors to reflect the season’s warmth and beauty. I used rich autumn hues such as deep oranges, golden yellows, warm reds, and earthy browns. These colors not only enhance the seasonal theme but also evoke a cozy and nostalgic feeling.
5. Bringing the Characters to Life
Once the characters were finalized, I created scenes for each page and carefully sketched out the illustrations. After finalizing all the sketches, I moved on to coloring, ensuring consistency with the chosen color palette. I used vibrant colors for their outfits to reflect their joy, bringing warmth and energy to the story.
6. Seeing the Finished Book
After all the hard work, seeing the final book published was incredibly fulfilling! Choose to See Bigger is now available on Amazon KDP, and you can check it out here: Amazon Link
Final Thoughts
Creating characters for a children’s book is a thoughtful, imaginative, and deeply creative journey. Every character I design is crafted with care, ensuring they resonate with young readers and help them see themselves reflected in the story. From their facial expressions to body language and clothing choices, every detail plays a role in making the characters feel real, relatable, and emotionally engaging.
I absolutely loved working on Choose to See Bigger and had the privilege of bringing Brook Beam’s heartfelt vision to life through my illustrations. Developing characters that not only complement the story but also enhance its emotional depth is one of the most rewarding parts of my work as a children’s book illustrator.
I hope this behind-the-scenes look at my character design process provides valuable insight into how an illustrator brings a story to life. Whether you’re an aspiring illustrator, a writer, or simply someone who loves beautifully illustrated books, I hope this glimpse into my creative process inspires you! Let me know your thoughts—I’d love to hear about your favorite illustrated characters and what makes them stand out to you.