When it comes to creating illustrations for picture books, sketching kids is an important skill to master. I’ve been a picture book illustrator for several years, but it’s something I’m still working on myself. I practice using a sketchbook and pen, as well as digitally on an iPad. Children are often the main characters in many picture books, and capturing their expressions and movements is important for bringing the story to life.
I didn’t go to art school, I studied science at University, and in a long and winding route became a graphic designer. I’ve always enjoyed drawing and painting for fun, but it was only when I changed career direction to become an illustrator that I started to draw with more intention.
I still consider everything I do in illustration as a work in progress and in some ways feel I’m making up for years studying Physics when I really would have liked to be making marks on paper 🙂 Here’s how I’ve been trying to improve my illustrations by sketching kids.
1. Using a sketchbook
For a long time, I would only sketch on loose pieces of paper. This was mainly because I wanted my sketchbooks to look nice and thought my own sketches were poor. Loose paper is fine, but I’m such a messy person that I ended up with sketches all over the place. So I started using a sketchbook to keep my work together. I had to get over the freak out “argh I’ve ruined it” when I drew something rubbish on the first page. Now when I start new sketchbooks I pick a random page in the middle and start there.
I have a mixture of nice sketchbooks – Moleskine, Leuchtturm1917 and Rhodia – and cheaper no-name sketchbooks with fewer pages. I feel less precious about these cheaper and just fill the pages more quickly. But it is lovely to draw on nice paper.
I think part of the trick of making sketchbooks look kind of cool and interesting is to fill the pages with sketches, doodles, words, thoughts, colour palettes.
2. Observing children
Spend time observing children in various settings, such as parks, schools, or family gatherings. Watch how they interact, their body language, and their facial expressions. Kids move around so quickly, it is certainly a challenge. I’ve found this has helped me get better at getting gestures down quickly. If you don’t have kids around you, sketch from tv, films, and youtube.
3. Focus on proportions
I don’t have a realistic drawing style, but I still want my kids to look like kids and my adults to look like adults. Children have unique proportions compared to adults. They have larger heads in proportion to their bodies, shorter limbs, and rounder features. I practice drawing these proportions to help my illustrations of kids look somewhat accurate.
4. Capturing expressions
Children readily show a wide range of emotions. I’m experimenting with different facial expressions in my sketches to convey emotions like joy, curiosity, or surprise. This will add depth and personality to illustrations. Sometimes I really hate the faces I’ve drawn and have a little tantrum and scribble out the faces.
5. Use ink sketches
Ink sketches can bring a sense of liveliness and spontaneity to illustrations. My friend Mags always always sketches in ink and I love the looseness and freedom of her style. I still sometimes use pencil first and then go back with ink, but I guess going with ink first is more of a commitment 🙂 There’s no going back – a little more daring. In these sketchbook pages below, I initially blocked out the shapes using an acrylic marker and when it was dry sketched in lines in pen.
6. Study children’s book illustrations
Look at children’s book illustrations for inspiration. There are sooooo many illustrators I love. I analyze how other illustrators capture the essence of children in their drawings, looking at their use of lines, shading, and composition. Some of my favourites are Rebecca Green, Julie Morstad, Quentin Blake, Melissa Castrillion, and about a million more.
7. Practice gesture drawing
Over the past few years, I’ve gone to life drawing lessons and sessions. Honestly, I find it really hard to get my hand to draw what my eyes are seeing. My gesture drawing has improved over time though. Gesture drawings capture the movement and energy of a subject in quick, loose sketches. Using gestures is a great way to get a pose down on the page, or on your drawing tablet really quickly. Especially when you’re drawing kids in action.
Just Sketch And Don’t Worry About It
Practice is key when it comes to improving sketching kids for picture book illustrations. It used to bother me that I couldn’t draw realistically or in the style of some of my illustration heroes. Now I really don’t worry about it. I just draw and fill pages. Using a sketchbook I find the break from the screen useful and drawing to be meditative, and I feel my drawing is becoming a bit more like my handwriting. A bit more me.
Keywords: Sketchbook, sketching children, ink sketch, children’s book illustration, drawing kids for picture books
