Looking for an artist

Are there any art schools where you live? You could ask there if there are. Some large galleries have their own publications that may let you advertise.

You do know that when submitting to agents or publishers you don't provide the illustrations, right? The publisher chooses the artist.

If you are self-publishing, I'd suggest you hit up your friends/facebook list/church people/etc, unless you want to pay an artist a whole lot of money. Or maybe hit deviantart, even.

An questing artist knows...

Hi. I'm an artist. I've not completed a degree so I've not gotten my art really out there yet or published (except on Cafepress and Greeting Card Universe.)

Here are some places where I know there are artists hanging out. They have places in forums to post jobs. I haven't joined all of them (yet) but I'm looking where to post my art and that's how I found them.

http://www.conceptart.org/

http://www.wetcanvas.com/

Here's my website Starhorsepax

Are you a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)? Awesome organization.

My friend Niina Aoki who I went to university with (studying illustration as well although I don't tend to do children's book illustration) does some really fabulous work. She's currently finishing up honours, but she generally is open for commissioned work.
http://niinaaoki.blogspot.com/

I also know a number of other illustrators, feel free to drop me a line anytime at my blog if you want to.
http://white-tean.livejournal.com/

Carbonmade is a free portfolio site for design and illustration, so check out people's work as well on there.
Here's the work of another friend of mine over there, but browse around all the portfolios on there (some do advertise the fact that they're available for freelance, although others you'd have to contact to find out) - there are a lot of fantastic illustrators you can contact through it.
http://miconazole.carbonmade.com/

I found this site and this site to be very useful when I was shopping for an artist. (Scroll down a bit to get to the ads for the first one.) There's a wide variety of levels of skill, mediums, styles, and more. Some are solo individuals, others are studios with more than one artist. Keep in mind that it's normal for an illustrator to charge $400-$1000 per image, so it can get really pricey really fast! I've never tried hiring someone for interior art, though, so maybe you can find a volume discount? )

Picture Book Writing 101 -- YOU DO NOT FIND AN ARTIST BEFORE SUBMITTING A MANUSCRIPT.

Submit a cover letter and the full text of the PB on 1-2 pages. The publisher has artists they are familiar with and will hire one themselves. Even if you do hire someone, they may not want the images you contract for, so it's a waste of money.

The OP has YET to say whether or not they are submitting their work. We are assuming that is the intent, but it may not be. They may want to have their work put together with artwork for personal reasons...or for self-publishing.

Have you considered deviant art community as well, some really great artists there too.

Kensington said:

Thanks to everyone who responded. I really appreciate the advice and links. Which, have already put me in touch with a couple of artists that seem promising. I should have explained more fully about the situation. The stories have been accepted by a publisher, but she wants some artwork to go along with them. Thanks again for the help.

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I'm sorry, but this sounds strange. You should not have to put out money to get an artist to illustrate your work.

Normally, the publisher finds and hires the artist for any artwork they need; it's not the writer's responsibility. There's usually a set of artists the publisher is familiar with so they know in advance what quality of work they're getting.

What's the publisher?

Are these short stories, like for an anthology?

You might also scour DeviantArt.com and query some folks there.

Kensington said:

Thanks to everyone who responded. I really appreciate the advice and links. Which, have already put me in touch with a couple of artists that seem promising. I should have explained more fully about the situation. The stories have been accepted by a publisher, but she wants some artwork to go along with them. Thanks again for the help.

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This is strange. Every legitimate publisher I know provides the artist.

Kensington said:

Thanks to everyone who responded. I really appreciate the advice and links. Which, have already put me in touch with a couple of artists that seem promising. I should have explained more fully about the situation. The stories have been accepted by a publisher, but she wants some artwork to go along with them. Thanks again for the help.

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Kensington - if you haven't checked out the publisher, do so immediately - Beware & Background Check forum here, and on the Preditors & Editors site.

No legitimate trade publisher, even small ones, are going to ask the author to get some artwork to go with the book - just not going to happen.

So, make sure you are working with someone legitimate. Good luck.

~suki

I'm also on the ‘this-is-strange’ wagon, as someone studying as an illustrator it seems weird. Even the small local publishers I know such as Fremantle Press have artists mail them samples of their work so that they handle the art side of a book, rather than the author.

The only exception I've so far encountered are indie creative magazines where often writers/poets and illustrators/photographers/artists will (often be encouraged to) team up to collaborate without baby-sitting from the editor, although in that case if the editor doesn't like the work, they won't print it so it's fairly easily regulated.

If you have the money, I see no problem in paying an artist to produce illustrations of your characters/world/story as you see it, but it seems quite unusual that a publisher would be foisting the art side of things off to you. For one, you'd have to have to deal with contracting issues, including possibly working out royalties for the artist (if that is how it's done, I haven't worked a job illustrating for publications yet) and allowing for the possibility of the art being used in a publication should the book go to print.

I mean, this could be a perfectly fine arrangement if this just happens to be a case of a publisher wanting to give you free reign but it's also quite unusual.

By all means, have an artist work up some concept art though if it's something you'd want to spend money to have for yourself to enjoy anyway, but be cautious.

Kensington said:

Thanks to everyone who responded. I really appreciate the advice and links. Which, have already put me in touch with a couple of artists that seem promising. I should have explained more fully about the situation. The stories have been accepted by a publisher, but she wants some artwork to go along with them. Thanks again for the help.

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Hello Kingsington, Are you self-publishing your book? Is the publisher like Xlibris, Publish America, Lulu etc... That would be the only reason you should have to find and or pay for your illustrations yourself.

I self published some children's books and I went to our college art dept and looked at students taking graphic art design, and found a student that wanted to do children's books and he did a wonderful job with the characters and followed the storyline perfectly.

Although I now regret self publishing these two books, and wish I would have done more research before jumping with a self publisher.

Good Luck, Mike

Has the publisher given you any suggestions in regards to what kind of art they want? If not, that seems all the more reason to be cautious. Publishers have book designers for a specific reason - it can make or break the story. For example, if Captain Underpants was illustrated with a realistic and painstakingly detailed style, it would look very odd and the audience would be either much smaller or non-existent. If your publisher has no plans for book design, it is not a good match, because it shows a complete lack of experience in the field. Even if you're getting paid, even if they publisher is paying for the illustrations. They may have all the best intentions for you and your work, but if they can't market it, it's a waste of both your time and theirs.