How much does it cost to illustrate a children’s book?
A 24 page picture book is usually $1,500 to $2,000. A 32 page picture book is usually $2,500 to $3,000. Both figures are in USD and cover the book from cover artwork to print ready files.
Prices by book length
24 page picture book
$1,500 to $2,000
The standard length for a first picture book, and the most common brief the studio takes.
24 pages · fixed price, agreed before any work starts
32 page picture book
$2,500 to $3,000
The traditional trade picture book length, with room for a fuller story arc.
32 pages · fixed price, agreed before any work starts
What the price includes
- Cover artwork
- Full colour illustration on every interior page
- Character design for the full cast
- Author feedback at the rough stage, and reviews as the artwork progresses
- Print ready files, and web ready files where you need them
- A licence covering the uses agreed in the brief
What moves the number
- How many characters need designing before the first spread can be drawn
- How busy the spreads are, since a crowded scene takes longer than a portrait
- Whether you need endpapers, a case wrap or extra cover variants
- How wide a licence you need, and whether you want a full buy out
- How much of the manuscript is settled when we start
Everything else
Single illustrations, caricatures, character sheets, editorial commissions and anything longer than 32 pages are quoted individually. Send the brief and you will get a fixed price back.
How to get an exact figure
Send the manuscript, or as much of it as exists, along with the deadline and where the book will be sold. You will get a fixed price and a schedule back, usually within two working days. A full picture book takes around three months from signed brief to print ready files.