Storybook artwork.
Cohesive worlds, character sheets and end-to-end art direction for series, IP and crossover children's titles. The whole book — cover, spreads, characters, end-papers — drawn by one team, one bible.
Key facts
- Service
- End-to-end storybook art direction for series, IP and crossover children's titles.
- Starting price
- From $2,400 per book.
- Typical turnaround
- 8 to 14 weeks from style bible to final book.
- Output
- Cover, interior spreads, character sheets, end-papers and the master style bible.
- Specialty
- One illustrator, one palette, one type system — across the whole book.
- Revisions
- Two revision rounds per stage plus thirty days of corrections after sign-off.
A world, built whole.
Cover, spreads, end-papers and character bible — handed over as one package, licensable for everything that comes next.
- Cover & interior together. One illustrator, one palette, one type system — across the whole book.
- Character sheets. Full turnarounds, expression sets and scale comparisons for protagonists and supporting cast.
- Series style guide. A document the next illustrator could pick up — palette, line, lettering and pacing rules.
- Up to 32 spreads. Page-turn-paced, mood arc proofed across the book, end-papers included.
- Hand-lettered display. Title and chapter heads drawn to fit each spread, never pasted on.
- Layered source files. PSD or Procreate masters per spread, plus vector turnarounds for merchandise.
- Print & digital exports. CMYK with bleed for print, RGB for KDP Kids and Apple, plus animation-ready PNG sequences.
- Full IP rights transfer. Worldwide copyright in art, characters and world transfers on final payment — license at will.
Five steps, signed off by you.
The reading.
Manuscript read, age-band fix, IP scope agreed. Proposal in 48 hours.
Character sheets.
Full turnarounds, expression sets, world studies — locked before any spread.
Roughs.
Every spread thumbnailed, mood arc proofed end-to-end before any colour.
Inks & colour.
Spreads inked and coloured in batches, two revisions per spread, end-papers included.
Delivery.
Source files, character bible, series style guide, print & digital exports, IP transfer.
Series we have art-directed recently.
Six from the last eighteen months — picture-book series, crossover titles, IP-bound packages.
What clients say after delivery.
Verified clients from the last twelve months. Names changed on request, never quotes.
Three editions, fixed price.
Priced for the full art package — cover, interiors, character bible, IP transfer.
Single storybook
- Cover & up to 16 interior spreads
- Character bible for principal cast
- Hand-lettered title
- Print & digital exports
Full art package
- Cover & up to 32 spreads, end-papers
- Full character bible with turnarounds
- Series style guide
- Print-ready CMYK PDFs, bleed included
- IP-grade rights documentation
Three-book series
- Three storybooks under one art direction
- World bible & merchandise-ready turnarounds
- Vector character library
- Reserved illustrator across the series
Bespoke briefs welcome. Tell us about your world and we'll write back with a fixed quote in 48 hours.
Four promises, written in.
Layered PSD or Procreate masters delivered for every spread, plus vector turnarounds for merchandise.
Worldwide copyright in art, characters and world transfers on final payment. License for plush, apparel, animation — no asking.
Two concept directions on the cover and two character takes — taken to colour rough, not three thumbnails.
Two formal rounds per spread, plus character review at the start and a mood-arc proof before final delivery.
More about our storybook artwork work.
Our storybook artwork is the part of the studio that handles series illustration, character sheet design, art direction for children's books and ongoing IP illustration. We work with author-illustrators, children's imprints and IP owners who need a coherent visual world built once and then sustained across multiple titles, formats and merchandise. Most series start at three to six months and continue as a rolling engagement.
Building a character sheet the series can lean on
A character sheet design is the foundation document. It locks the proportions, palette, expressions and turnaround views for each principal character, so any illustrator joining the series later can pick up the hand without drift. We build the sheet at the start of the first title — front, side, three-quarter views, expression matrix, scale comparison between characters — and then refer to it on every spread for every subsequent book.
Series illustration is harder than it looks. By book three, small drift in eye spacing or hair colour starts to read like a different character to the reader. We hold a single source of truth for every character, prop and location, with revision history kept in version control, so book five looks like book one rather than a slow evolution into a different IP.
Art direction for children's books across a multi-title programme
Multi-title art programmes need an art director, not just an illustrator. We hold weekly direction meetings while titles are in flight, brief external illustrators against the agreed style bible, and review spreads for consistency before they go back to the editor. IP illustration carries higher governance — character usage rules, merchandise mock-ups, partner licensing — and we keep the documentation alongside the artwork so handover to a new partner is a matter of days, not months.
Deliverables: full character sheets, the master style bible, all final artwork at print and ebook resolution, and clean licensing paperwork on final payment.
Questions we are asked.
Short, honest answers. Anything else, send to contact@ebookwriting.ai.
What does the starting figure include?
At ebookwriting.ai, the starting storybook artwork fee of $2,400 covers a set of storybook spreads up to an agreed page count, character design, two revision rounds per spread, hand-lettered or typeset display text where requested, and final delivery at print and digital resolution.
How long does storybook artwork take?
Ten to sixteen weeks for a typical 32-page storybook, depending on rendering style. Character and palette are locked in the first three to four weeks so spread production runs to a steady rhythm.
What happens if a spread is missing the mood?
Two revision rounds per spread are included, and we proof every spread alongside its neighbours so the mood arc reads as a whole. If a single page is dragging the sequence we'll redraw it rather than push it through.
Do I own the artwork and the characters?
Yes. Full rights to the artwork, character designs, and the world they sit in transfer to you on final payment. We retain only a portfolio copy unless you ask otherwise.
What files come at the end?
Layered source files for every spread, flattened masters, print-ready CMYK PDFs with bleed, RGB digital exports, and a character bible documenting design decisions for any future books in the series.
Can the artwork be used for merchandise later?
Yes. Because full rights transfer on completion, the characters and scenes can be licensed for plush, apparel, animation, or app work without coming back to us. We can supply additional turnaround sheets and vector versions as a separate piece of work if that's the direction you're heading.
Often paired with this.
A whole world, drawn once.
A 15-minute discovery call, a written proposal in 48 hours, a fixed-price quote that includes every revision in scope.