Commissioning Illustrations for an ABC Book

April 14, 2008 3:11 PM

How much should I budget for a series of 26 illustrations for an online ABC Book? How about 26 short animations? Any tips on finding a good artist who won't break the bank?

I'm contemplating a small commercial project that would have an ABC Book ("A is for Apple, B is for Boat, C is for Cat, etc") as a component. The target audience is young kids, and of course their parents. I'm assuming I'll need something bespoke, but I'd be happy to use stock artwork if I could find something appropriate.

For illustrations, we're talking relatively small single images, e.g. a 200x200 pixel cat. For animations, we're talking very short, e.g. 4-5 seconds of a cat prancing.

I know that ultimately the answer will be determined by the market and my negotiating skills, but I'd like to get a reality check before I start looking for artists and requesting proposals. Do I have any chance of getting something good for $5,000? $10,000? $2,000?

Also, any tips on finding an artist to work with? Some graphic design skills (typography, web layout etc) would be a plus.

posted by alms to media & arts (5 comments total)

Something like this might do the job for you. And even if that isn't exactly what you're after, there are certainly plenty of illustrators there who would probably be happy to discuss the project with you.
posted by blaneyphoto at 3:21 PM on April 14

I have a friend who is just starting out as a freelance children's book illustrator. She's done this exact type of work in the past, and I should think she's pretty affordable because she's young and hungry : ) I don't want to give you an estimate myself, but if you want her contact information, ping me via MefiMail or the email address in my profile.
posted by autojack at 4:18 PM on April 14

I always go to local art colleges and ask for submissions, you'll get some great kids who are willing to work for a reasonable price and they get to add it to their portfolio. There's tons of places in Mass, why not contact the administration of SMFA or similar colleges?
posted by eatdonuts at 4:59 PM on April 14

There's always this.

Seems like your project would be well matched to what they are trying to create.
posted by squasha at 5:23 PM on April 14

There are lots of online resources for storyboard artists who are often very gifted and easy to work with, and don't just do storyboards. As a bonus you can browse their artwork and see what you like. I found an illustrator through one of these and was really pleased with the results. it was cheaper than I expected.
posted by unSane at 7:47 PM on April 14