Illustrating a children’s book • Part 1: Discovering of the project

Illustrating a children’s book may seem simple, but the reality is quite different.

Several months ago, I began working on a “big” project: an illustrated children’s book titled The Adventures of the Teenies Weenies. Now that it’s finished, I am so pleased to present it to you. I want to create a series of posts to take you along with me on this long journey, sharing each step, my challenges, successes, and advice.

Discovering of the project

Like most of my projects, this one came to me through my network. Someone was looking for an illustrator to bring to life the texts his grandmother had written about forty years ago. This project description alone deeply moved me, and naturally, I wanted to know more.

I exchanged with this person, showing them the style of illustrations I create, and photographs of paper characters to see if this unique style would align with the project. It turns out it perfectly matched the texts, narrating the stories of small beings living in the forest, their adventures, and misadventures, always in a gentle and joyful tone. These stories had been told for years and passed down to children, and grandchildren, and the now-grown grandchildren desired to breathe life into these stories to create a book that could be passed on to future generations. Every family member knew these stories, had heard them, and had been lulled by them.

Being the person who would bring these stories to life in color felt like a great responsibility while also being absolutely magical because these stories resonated so well with my own illustrations, the childish and light-hearted aspect, and the omnipresent nature.

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly.” (St Exupery)

When I work on a project with a client, I like to pause and ask myself if it feels right in my heart. It may sound a bit cliché, and others might say to take on any mission that comes your way. But I also deeply know that’s not how I operate. I work for what makes me dream, and what I believe in.

Asking the question with your heart, not your head, often leads to the best answers. The most significant part of the work is allowing yourself to listen to the message, even if sometimes it doesn’t seem to suit you at first.

That’s why embarking on this project, telling stories so close to my universe and holding such great value for an entire family, felt completely aligned with the reasons I chose this path.

The project was underway!

Coming soon: Illustrating Children’s Books – Part 2: Defining a Universe