Children's Book Illustration Pricing
There are a variety of methods your children's book illustrator might use to determine the cost of their work. Some use a flat fee that they apply to any project, no matter the dimensions or number of pages. Other artists with an array of styles may have different prices depending on which style you request or how much time it would take them to do the work. Others still (including myself) break down prices based on the layout/type of illustration. If you're working with such a children's book illustrator, or perhaps are interested in having me illustrate your book, see the below to understand the differences and the associated costs:
Full-Spread Illustration: $100
A spread is a set of pages that are viewed together, so a full-spread illustration (example above) includes any that spans the width of both pages.
Single-Page Illustration: $65
A single-page illustration only covers one of the pages in a spread. Two single-page illustrations in one spread are more expensive than a full-spread illustration because both pages will require their own unique characters and backgrounds, resulting in more work
Spot Illustrations: $28 each
Instead of filling a full page and having text incorporated into the image, spot illustrations are intended to be incorporated into a page that is primarily text. These illustrations are simpler, usually including two or less characters, and contain few, if any, background details. There is no limit for how many spot illustrations can be on a page, but I typically recommend no more than 3. Even if for the same page, each spot illustration is charged separately - the example to the left contains 3.
Cover from existing page: $50
Any illustrations from within the book can be selected for the cover, but because creating a cover involves not only the illustration, but also elements of design, I charge a $50 fee for designing the cover. The fee includes a back cover with a synopsis of the story.
Have questions or are interested in having me illustrate your children's book? I'd love to hear from you!