The successful book illustrator starts by understanding his author's flight of fancy, then rendering the ideas and actions imaginatively in pictorial terms. This unusual and inspiring book was written for art students and ambitious beginners. It instructs on methods of developing both imaginative powers and the technical artistic skills to produce high quality illustrations that will please authors and children's book editors. Separate chapters focus on: Media, materials, and techniques Developing different drawing styles to fit specific storytelling methods Instilling visual personality traits in story characters Creating effective sequential images for storyboards and picture book outlines Design, typography, and preparation for print Illustrating story books for older children Illustrating nonfiction and educational books Breaking into the children's book publishing business Here is solid, practical instruction for students of book illustration, enhanced with more than 250 how-to illustrations in color and black-and-white.