Author S. T. SANCHEZ: Illustrator Interview with Jordan Race

Today I'd like to welcome the talented Jordan Race. Please tell us a little about yourself.

I was born and raised in the Adirondack Mountain region of Upstate New York. I'm currently located in New York City. Growing up, I was captivated by cartoons and I couldn't stop drawing them. I later realized that people can get paid to draw, so now I'm a freelance illustrator pursuing a career in children's books.

If there was one thing you wished author’s knew about illustrating what would it be?

Perhaps it's a common thing, but when it comes to hiring illustrators, I wish more authors knew and appreciated the amount of time and training it takes to produce good quality artwork. Illustrators deserve to be compensated fairly, like any other profession. If the illustrator is being underpaid, it will probably result in sub-par and uninspired work. If they're happy, it will show and the book will turn out better.

I agree, you get what you pay for. If you want quality work, you should expect to pay for it. How do you communicate with the author on a project? Do you like it when the author gives a lot of direction or just lets you have creative license?

The first thing I ask an author is, "What's your story about?" This gets the ball rolling and then we can discuss things like details of the artwork and the budget. Sometimes the author might want to commission a sample before starting on anything officially.

When we're ready to begin, the author can provide a script or a rough draft for me to work from, or they can even describe what they want on each page. I do like to have as much creative freedom as possible, but I understand some authors have a specific vision in mind and I respect that. If I'm given a few guidelines or requirements, that also works and we can meet in the middle.

When working on illustrations, I always send rough sketches for approval before finalizing them.

What do you typically charge per illustration?

My illustrations are usually rather detailed and time consuming, so I've found fair and average prices to be $195 per page or $375 per spread. Prices do change slightly from time to time, but it depends on the project and what's involved.

I can tell you have a lot of experience, what has been your favorite project to work on so far?

My favorite so far would have to be "Bigfoot's Small Feet," which I consider to be the book where I made my biggest breakthrough in art style. The artwork received a bit of attention online and it even helped me get my first agent. I'm no longer with them today, but at the time it was a very exciting experience.

What is your preferred medium to illustrate in? Digital? Pencils? Watercolor?

Sometimes I do completely digital and other times I do a mixture of ink or pencils with digital coloring. I really like drawing the old fashioned way whenever I can. I also love the textures and prefer them over any digital brush for line work.