Good Idea!

Finding ideas for illustrations isn’t as easy as it sounds—or is it?

An idea is not like an ingredient for a cake. It cannot be found on a shelf in the marketplace, nor will it show up in a basket. It is a sense of feelings and thoughts coming to life.

—Cyndy Szekere

It takes a special kind of person, with serious intestinal fortitude, to stare at a white rectangle and believe that the creative journey on which they’re about to embark will result in a remarkable piece of art.

To be a children’s book creator—or any kind of illustrator—is to knowingly put oneself through a grueling gauntlet of mental and physical exhaustion; to lose, regain, lose, and regain the ability (read: confidence) to draw and paint; to endure the serenity and stress rollercoaster of professional highs and lows; to walk through creative corridors that are, at random, well-lit or pitch black.

That journey begins with an idea. And finding one isn’t as easy as it sounds—or is it?