Feedback

This post will look at feedback in the illustration process.

A client would typically share feedback during a project/commission. This will likely happen after the first initial sketches/concepts.

At this stage I would share rough sketches/ideas/character mock ups to make sure we are both on the same page before moving forward on the project. This is the best time to share what is working and what is not. You can also ask questions if anything is unclear. We are used to lots of questions.

Changes are easier to make at this stage, so it is important to be as clear as you can with your illustrator. If you want to make changes to the character (or location etc), this is the best time to do so. I can often be asked to change a characters look at this stage and will follow directions as to make their hair a certain colour, or to add a particular colour to a piece of clothing.

Moving forward…

The illustrator will start using the feedback and begin integrating this when creating the project/illustrations/book spreads. At this stage I start to show refinement and you would start to see characters, colour, details and composition being combined. At this stage, only subtle, minor, changes would be needed, so it’s helpful to highlight to the illustrator anything that needs tweaked before it’s fully completed. For example; the placement of a character might benefit from being moved 1cm to the left.

A note of caution

If the project changes (for example; the author has rewritten part of the manuscript and the story has changed for the illustrator to work with), you might need the illustrator to restart, or re do multiple illustrations. This is a significant change and one which the illustrator will be impacted by.

You want to avoid situations like this as:

If the illustrator is being asked to do twice the work, they’ll need to be paid for the extra time and materials. Do you have the extra budget to pay for twice the time/work?

If the illustrator is already fully booked, working on other books and time sensitive projects, they may not be able to fit this extra work into their schedule.

I always ask for author manuscripts that edited and fully completed for this reason.