Why I illustrate children’s’ books by David Zamudio

When you ask children to grade a picture or illustration their response is honest and direct. It may touch their emotions and capture their attention or be set aside for later. With lots of practice, we can create a drawing that clearly tells a story that earns their interest.

Writers have a great opportunity to reach children with inventive stories that children can relate to coupled with innovative emotionally suitable illustrations that promote the storyline.

I respond to the writer’s words and sentences with art. The author’s direction or intent is step one. Step two is my creation or development of the illustration sketch from the concept. To me this is the most fun part of my job-learning the language of the author and creating the visual commentary for it. Discovering and fine-tuning the writer’s intent with the story together as a team.

Each page is a new world, a new event in the life of a child or family. Both author and artist see the same episode from two different places or points of view. The dual collaboration creation process between writer and illustrator of the various scenes is where we build the relationships between the art and how the pictures make people -large and small-feel.