Today I’m delighted to be talking with a children’s picture book illustrator Terri Einer! Welcome to the blog! Tell us about how you became a picture book illustrator.
I already had folks remarking that my paintings would be great for picture books, so it was something I had contemplated when Kristen Martin (author of Sophia Wannabee) contacted me. She was working with Orange Hat Publishing out of Waukesha, WI and wasn’t liking the illustrators they had on their approved illustrator list, so she went online seeking a Wisconsin artist. She found me on a website that has since closed down and gave me a call. After working on that first book, and learning the process, I contacted Orange Hat and told them I’d be interested in working on more books. I have since illustrated books for publishers as well as self-publishing authors.
Tell us about one of the books you’ve illustrated—and how you developed the ideas for it.
One of my favorite books to work on was O Is For Pig by Mariah Clark Skewes. It is a play on the Alphabet, so there is a list of words, totally unrelated that appear on each page.
So the challenge was creating scenes that somehow linked the words together. For example, on the
“L” page I have attached, the words were “La-La-La, Llama, London, lamppost, library, etc.” I remember thinking, “how am I going to put llamas into a London scene?” It then occurred to me, “why can’t the llama and lamb be caroling, La-La-La, too?” 😄 It was really fun coming up with scenes that involved all the unrelated words.
What else do you illustrate?
I have illustrated 20 books to date which can all be viewed on my website: https://www.terrieiner.com/bookillustration. I was the featured artist for a scrapbooking kit of “critters” as well as the cover artist for the Nelson-Jameson 2025 calendar. Those can be viewed here: https://www.terrieiner.com/illustrations I also paint with acrylics and show my work at River City Gallery in La Crosse, WI. My niche is “critters,” especially cows. I will run in someone who is familiar with my work and they say, “Oh, I know you! You’re the cow lady!”
Any advice for budding illustrators?
I would suggest joining SCBWI. It also helps to know digital illustration. Even when I illustrate a book in traditional methods, I still need to load my images into Photoshop to edit.
For the teachers in our audience, what’s a simple exercise they can give their students that might help them develop their illustration skills?
When I develop a character, I make a list of all the character traits, and I ask myself questions like how old is the character? Do they live in the city or country? Are they shy or vivacious? What is their favorite food, toy, book, and more. It gives me a well-rounded image of what the character might be feeling, wearing and doing in each scene.
Teachers, got that? Ask your students to put on their thinking hats, imagine a character, and develop a list of character traits. Once they have a good list, invite them to draw the character.
About the Illustrator
Terri Einer’s quirky, loose style has lent itself to several picture books, collaborating with publishers as well as self-publishing authors. Working out of her Wisconsin studio, she loves bringing the authors words to life. You can contact the artist by visiting her website; https://www.terrieiner.com
