Cacti Illustrations for a Children's Book (1st Post)

Tyler Hallstrom

Hello everyone, my name is Tyler Hallstrom and I am an art teacher in central Illinois. I have been taking classes here at SVS for about a year, and I thought that it was finally time for me try out the forums here. This summer I am working on a children's book featuring a Cactus (currently on page 14 of 34), and I would appreciate any comments you have on the designs so far. This book has been a blast to work on, and I can't wait to share the finished product. Thanks!

MOO

I like it. Very clean and simple. Can't wait to find out how the cacti quenches hsi thirst!

aska

Nice colours:) looking smart

DanetteDraws

Hi @Tyler-Hallstrom, and welcome!
I quite like your illustrations and all the textures. They remind me a bit of Jon Klassen's work.
A couple of things stand out for me. In the text, shouldn't it be 'cactus' instead of 'cacti' since there's only one of him? That's like me saying 'I'm Danette, and I am a humans.' (Not that I've ever uttered the phrase 'I am a human' in my life! haha). I'm not even sure you need to say 'I am a cactus' though, since we can see that's what he is in the illustrations (unless maybe this is a board book and you're introducing a toddler to that word?).
The other thing is, you mentioned your book is 34 pages? For the technicalities of book binding, you need to have your pages in multiples of 4. Which is why 32 page picture books are generally the norm. If you need to go up from there, then it would be 36 or 40 pages.

Tyler Hallstrom

@Marsha-Kay-Ottum-Owen Thank you! I've made it my summer project to finish this book. I'll post some follow up images when I get to a good point in the process.

Tyler Hallstrom

@aska Thank you!

Tyler Hallstrom

@DanetteDraws Thanks for the welcome!

The fact that it reminds you of Klassen is an honor. I have always admired his work, and I have really been trying to simply my shapes and up my rendering quality. Klassen has always been a such a great example of that.
The fact that he is referring to himself as a "cacti" will be the main play on words that is addressed later in the story. I certainly appreciate the editorial eye though, writing for children's books is quite a challenge. I am constantly editing and proofreading simple sentences to try and find what flows the best.
In regards the 34 pages, I will have 32 interior pages and the artwork for the front and back cover. Thank you bringing this up though, this is defiantly not something that I have always known, and it is much easier to plan ahead instead of making edits to the book after it is done.

This is great feedback! I knew the SVS Forums were a good place to be.