Art/Illustration/Design Submissions

Follow guidelines exactly. Following these guidelines is a test. 
Failing means an automatic rejection. We want high quality work submitted.

NOTE: We expect first rights, including digital rights. We do not want characters/images reused from other works; just as we do not want characters/images used in our books to appear elsewhere, except approved images for promotion.

All illustrators/artists/designers offered a contract are required to have a website, a blog, and at least a couple social media pages/profiles. They are expected to promote their book or books.

Guidelines
Please follow completely

• All illustrators and designers are paid in royalties via Paypal.
• Acceptance of illustrator or designer is not guaranteed.
• Electronic submissions are expected, and all components must be sent as email attachments in a PDFolio and .doc/.docx.
• Send electronic submissions to: 

​​art_director@4rvpublishingllc.com 
with CCs to:
president@4rvpublishingllc.com and
​asst-art-dirct@4rvpublishingllc.com

(Special note: 4RV may take up to 3 months to review a submission.)

   Children’s picture books are not just random images. We need you to be able to tell the story with your illustrations, and to be able to follow the character developing and changing throughout a book or a series of books. We need to see that you will able to tell a whole story with no words, to constantly portray the same character throughout the book in age, height, nationality etc. 

     IF we accept the illustrator/designer, when we send a contract, we will expect the illustrator / designer to send us a photo to use for publicity (.jpg, 300 dpi), a short biography (50 words or less), a completed W-9 tax form, and a list of places to contract for the illustrator/designer to make appearances such as bookstores, libraries, and schools in the illustrators/designers area (include addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and, if possible, contact person for each). 
     The contract will not be honored until we receive the needed information. All illustrators / designers offered a contract are required to have a website and a blog and to promote their own works.

Submissions
Please follow completely

• Email message should only include a short introduction.
• Subject line must include your name and “illustrator/designer submission”.
• The following should be attached to the email:
  • Cover letter should include: preferred medium, training, published work, references, awards and marketing/promotion plan. Also include legal name, name used with work, address, phone number, and preferred email address – 2 page limit.
  • PDFolio should include: provide only professional quality illustrations BASED ON THE TYPES OF BOOKS WE PUBLISH. Please don't include caricatures, satire, political or controversial comics, etc. There is a place for that, but not when submitting to this type of publisher. Look at some of the other books we have published to get an idea of what we do and don't, then build your PDFolio accordingly.
  • Please include at least two or three samples of each of the following: pencil, color pencil, paint (watercolor, acrylic, oil, etc.), charcoal, digital, ink, etc., even if the styles are all digitally derived. And yes, we still accept traditional art, too.
  • Please include various styles: cartoon, realism, portraiture, etc.
  • Please note any published work.

We would like to see:

• Children - Children playing, fighting, mad, glad, cute, silly, bashful, wistful, just kids being kids.
• Animals - All different kinds: birds, bunnies, bears, moles, frogs, fish, cats, dogs etc. Please include spot illustrations of a number of different animals, or a larger scene with several included. Illustrations should not only be animals in nature, but animals with personality, driving a car or dancing and singing.
• Mythical Creatures - Dragon, fairies, trolls, child friendly monsters, etc.
• Movement – The characters that you are working with should  have movement to them dancing, swinging, playground games. Nothing is worse than “static” or “flat” looking illustrations. Even a simple portrait should have some movement - a bug skittering by, a swing in the hair, and gleam in the eye.
• Character Transitions –  Multiple images of the same character in a set, doing different things.
• Actual Spreads –  If you haven't actually illustrated any children's books, please include a scene or two of your version of a famous old fairy tale.