Bringing Children Stories to Life

Art is one of the first ways we learn to interpret the world as small children.  Before we can even speak, we scribble on paper (or walls when our parents weren’t looking), and while those drawings don’t look like much to others, children can clearly identify that mess of lines as a cat or a house or a family.

Visual elements are vital to storytelling for children.  They are still too young to understand the abstract words on a page but by adding pictures, children are immediately able to see what the characters look like and better understand the world the story takes place in.  Not only will a good illustration allow a child to better understand and appreciate the story being read, but connecting images to words is an important stage in developing language skills.  This same connection is even used by many adults when learning a new language.  

Illustration by Geneviève Godbout

Children’s Literature Illustration as a Career

Children’s storybooks use a wide range of styles but typically have cute and whimsical illustrations with either vibrant or soft pastel colours.  These styles not only work well for storybooks but also work well for magazines and advertising geared towards children and families.  Of course, these types of illustrations also lend themselves really well to journals, daily planners and stickers as well.

Syn Studio is currently offering both a new webinar and a new class that are focused on illustrating children’s literature.  Both of these are great ways to get a feel for children’s illustration without either a big time or financial commitment.

Illustration by Tim Mack

Children’s Book Illustration

If you are keen on illustrating a storybook yourself then you might need a more thorough guide.  Illustrator Tim Mack has joined Syn Studio’s roster of incredible teachers and this Spring will be teaching an all-new class: Children’s Book Illustration.

This new class will cover a lot of subjects pertaining to illustration children’s literature.  From how to create page layouts and find a balance between art and text, to artistic choices such as stylization and selecting the right colour palette to bring your story to life.

The lessons, demonstrations and exercises will culminate in a final illustration piece that blends all of these aspects as well as your own creative touch.  

Children’s Book Illustration will be held on Wednesdays from 6pm to 9pm starting April 10th.  This class iis already proving to be popular.  Sign up today if you want to be part of this exciting new class this Spring.  Seats are limited so don’t wait!

You can get more information about the class and register HERE