Careers - Children's Book Illustrator

A children's book illustrator is responsible for creating the artwork for a book. They must communicate with the author, publisher, and art director, reach out to and negotiate with various companies, and successfully sketch out and produce artwork that is representative of themself and the author, appeals to the audience, and aids the story. A bachelor's degree in illustration, private lessons, workshops, art classes, and other educational art programs are all helpful aspects to furthering yourself into the illustration field.

A bachelor's or master's degree in illustration or communication arts provide the best training for children's book illustration. VCU's Department of Communication Arts offers a BFA, which directly provides opportunities for book illustration. VCU, MICA, LCAD, SCAD, and RISD are among many colleges that provide an illustration major. Parsons offers a 2 year program in Communication Design.