18 terms
from the trade.

Bleed

Extra image area beyond the trim line, cut off in the final printed book.

Bleed is the extra 3-5 mm of image extending past the trim line of the printed page. It exists because cutting machines aren't perfectly precise - without bleed, a sliver of unprinted paper can show at the page edge. Print-ready files for picture books always include bleed; missing bleed is one of the most common rejection reasons at the printer.

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CMYK

Four-colour printing model (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key/black) for offset and digital print.

CMYK is the four-ink colour model used in offset and digital printing - cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black). It's a smaller colour space than the RGB used on screens, so files must be converted before going to the printer. Bright pinks, neon greens and saturated purples often shift in conversion - experienced illustrators either work in CMYK from the start or adjust the palette after conversion.

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DPI

Dots per inch - the resolution standard for print-ready images.

DPI (dots per inch) is the standard unit of print resolution. Picture books are typically delivered at 300 DPI at final print size - high enough that individual pixels disappear into the printed image. 72 DPI is screen quality and will look pixellated in print. Underspecified DPI is another common cause of printer rejection.

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ISBN

International Standard Book Number - unique ID required for retail distribution.

ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is the 13-digit unique identifier for every published book edition. One ISBN per edition per format - print, ebook, audiobook each need their own. ISBNs are issued by national agencies (Bowker in the US, Nielsen in the UK). Without an ISBN a book can't be sold through bookstores or major online retailers.

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Print-ready files

Final files prepared to the printer's spec - CMYK, 300 DPI, with bleed.

Print-ready files are the final delivery to the printer - usually PDFs, CMYK, 300 DPI, with bleed and crop marks, in the exact format and page count the printer asked for. Print-ready also means embedded fonts, outlined type where required, and a separate cover file matched to the spine width for the book's specific paper stock.

RGB

Additive colour model used by screens - must be converted to CMYK for print.

RGB (Red, Green, Blue) is the additive colour model used by every screen - monitors, phones, e-readers. It can display saturated colours that CMYK printing can't reproduce. For print-ready picture book files, RGB has to be converted to CMYK; for ebook delivery, files stay in RGB (sRGB profile is standard).

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Character design

Designing the look, silhouette and visual language of a recurring character.

Character design is the process of defining how a character looks across all illustrations in a book or series - silhouette, proportions, palette, costume, expression range. Good character design holds up across angles, ages and emotional beats. For series and franchises it's documented in a character bible so other artists can stay on model.

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Color palette

Defined set of colours used across a book or series for consistency.

A colour palette is the limited, defined set of colours used across a book or series - usually 5 to 12 hues plus neutrals. A locked palette is what makes illustrations look like they belong to the same world even when scenes change. It's set in concept art and policed by the colour script across the storyboard.

Color script

Sequence of small colour studies mapping the emotional arc of the book.

A colour script is a sequence of small colour studies - one per scene or spread - showing how the palette and value shift across the book. Borrowed from animation. In picture books it's used to plan emotional pacing: dawn-to-dusk arcs, warming-into-resolution beats, contrast between safe and dangerous scenes.

Concept art

Visual exploration of characters, world and tone before final illustration.

Concept art is the early-stage visual exploration of a project - characters, environments, palette, tone - before any final illustration is locked. It's where the look of the book is decided. In picture book work this lives between the brief and the storyboard, and it's the cheapest place to change direction.

Cover

Outer face of the book - the single most important illustration.

The cover is the outer face of the book - usually a single, strong illustration plus title and author treatment. It's what makes a reader pick the book off the shelf or click it in a thumbnail. Cover design has its own rules: it must read at thumbnail size, work spine-on-shelf, and not promise something the book doesn't deliver.

Endpaper

Decorated pages glued between cover and book block, often illustrated.

Endpapers are the pages glued to the inside of the cover and to the first/last leaf of the book block. In picture books they're often illustrated - a map, a pattern, a cast of characters - and treated as a part of the storytelling, not just structural. The first and last thing a child sees when they open the book.

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Mood board

Reference collage establishing the visual direction before work begins.

A mood board is a curated collage of references - photos, palette swatches, type, other illustrators' work used as direction (not to copy) - that aligns author and illustrator on the visual target before any drawing starts. It's the cheapest, fastest way to surface a misaligned vision early.

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Narrative illustration

Illustration that tells a story alongside or instead of text.

Narrative illustration is illustration whose role is to tell a story - to show scenes from a plot, characterise figures and build the world of the book. Unlike informational or decorative illustration, it carries continuity across the book: consistent style, recurring characters, coherent atmosphere from cover to last spread.

Picture book

Children's book where illustration carries the narrative alongside or instead of text.

A picture book is a children's book - typically 32 pages, for ages 0-7 - in which the illustration is an equal or primary narrator, not just decoration. Text is usually minimal (a few sentences per spread) and the story is carried by the sequence of images. Classic references: Eric Carle, Beatrix Potter, Maurice Sendak, Quentin Blake.

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Spread

Two facing pages of a book treated as a single visual unit.

A spread is two facing pages of a book read together as one image or one composition. In a 32-page picture book there are typically 14-16 spreads. Strong picture book design treats the spread, not the single page, as the unit of storytelling - the gutter (the fold between pages) has to be handled deliberately so nothing important falls into it.

Storyboard

Sketch plan of every illustration's composition and sequence in the book.

A storyboard for a book is a sketch plan of every illustration - composition, framing, perspective, key elements of each scene. It comes after the brief and before final colour work. It lets author and illustrator approve the visual narrative as a whole, before paying for finished art. The cheapest stage to catch pacing or layout problems.

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Self-publishing

Publishing route where the author is also the publisher - no traditional house.

Self-publishing is the route where the author takes the publisher role - commissioning illustration, layout, editing, registering the ISBN, paying for print, and handling distribution. For picture book authors it means more creative control and higher unit margin, in exchange for upfront cost and the work of marketing. Anna works with self-publishing authors regularly, end to end.

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