My illustrator for “The Centipede Who Couldn’t Tie His Shoes” is Maria Koch of https://www.mariakoch-illustration.com
Illustrator Maria Koch
I found through Mark Mitchell’s website: How to be a Children’s Book Illustrator.
I originally didn’t plan to do an entire children’s book, and then decided I’d do an e-book, and then decided to change some text, and so on and so on. Maria was very patient with me, and was wonderful about explaining her thought process as to why she chose certain scenes. She deliberately made the artwork a little “simple” in regards to not having tons of super complicated drawings and having lots of space, as she knew I wanted the book to be more visually friendly for kids who have visual impairments.
This was her first book, and mine, so we both had a major learning curve. And all those shoelaces were a pain to draw!
I feel SUPER BLESSED and lucky to have worked with Maria. I am so impressed with her talent, and everyone loves her illustrations. 🙂
Note: Children’s book illustrations are extremely specialized. And you only get your own illustrator if you’re self-publishing. If you want to submit to traditional publishers, they will choose an illustrator for you if they decide to do your book. If you’re thinking of writing a book and using a talented friend to do the illustrations, just know they should consider spending a LOT of time reading up on children’s picture book illustrations before starting. There are tons of great resources out there to help.