Bringing Jingly Belly to Life - 2 Years of Troubador's Illustration Services

Sourcing an illustrator can be very time-consuming, demanding and just generally daunting for an author. How do you know you’re going to find the right illustrator for your work? There are so many artists out there to choose from! What will the process look like? This is why we launched our illustration service back in January 2024 (two years ago! We can’t believe it either!) and we are so delighted with the results.

Our service connects authors to a pool of hand-selected, trusted illustrators who fit their vision. Once the artist is selected, Troubador acts as the liaison between the author and the illustrator, ensuring that the process is as seamless as possible.

One author who has used (and loved) our service is Katy Jones. Katy is the author of;Jingly Belly, a children's non-fiction book about understanding anxiety. To celebrate two years of our illustration services, we asked Katy about her experience with the service

Hello there! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I have a degree in Psychology and have always been passionate about self-help and wellness. Currently, I work in the finance industry as an independent marketing consultant, but I’m actively working toward transitioning into a career as a therapist.

What inspired you to write Jingly Belly?

Having experienced anxiety both as a child and as an adult, I’m especially sensitive to recognising its signs in young children. That empathy inspired me to create Jingly Belly, a children’s book that came from a spontaneous burst of creativity. It’s designed to make conversations about anxiety fun and accessible for kids, while sharing messages that resonate with both children and parents.

When you wrote the book, did you have any ideas as to how the illustrations would look? Did this change at all throughout the process of writing and publishing?;

As a creative person, I had an outline for what each page could include to complement the words as well as the type of 'look and feel' that would be appropriate for the subject matter, but the amazing Siski Kalla brought those ideas, along with her own, to life in the most beautiful way.

What inspired you to use Troubador’s Illustration services?

After a lot of online research, I decided Troubador would be an excellent partner. Their reputation and expertise, coupled with my retaining control over the entire process, were the deciding factors.

Can you share how the illustration process worked for you?

I was provided with a range of artistic styles and initially asked to identify which three I liked best. Then, after receiving some initial costings, I selected Siski and from there we liaised via Troubador to brief each page and review each proof. Due to a printer change towards the end of the process, I had to repaginate the book, but Siski's illustrations had been designed in such a way that we were able to spread them over additional pages without having to re-illustrate - which was brilliant.

The illustrations ofJingly Belly, which are used to educate children on anxiety.

Understanding anxiety is a very important topic, and visualising anxiety can be a very effective way of developing that understanding. How did it feel handing over that responsibility to the illustrator?

I felt very confident with Siski as she took on board all of my suggestions and input, and her gentle, emotive style lent itself perfectly to this sort of subject matter. We worked very collaboratively to hone the subtleties of visually conveying a difficult emotion and I think the final output is just wonderful.

How did it feel watching the illustrations come to life?

It was magical, really! The no-name boy, who was based on a combination of my nephews, is exactly as I imagined him. I couldn't have asked for a better representation of the vision.&

How has the response been to your book?

Overwhelmingly positive, particularly to the illustrations. I've been sent many lovely photos and videos of family, friends and happy customers' children enjoying reading Jingly Belly.

Jingly Belly is a book which helps young children recognise and understand anxiety, offering gentle advice on managing it. It facilitates conversation between children and parents, teacher, or siblings about the potential causes and presentation of anxiety. Jingly Belly is available for sale on Troubador's bookshop.

Summary

Choosing the right illustrator for you is crucial to bring the vision in your mind to life. With Troubador’s illustration service, we offer simplicity and professionalism, with guaranteed quality and originality - and, of course, you will own the copyright to your illustrations. We are delighted that in the two years since we launched this service, we have helped bring beautiful books to life - whether this be children's picture books, or illustrated covers for adult fiction and non-fiction.

If you’re interested in Troubador’s illustration process and would like an understanding of the step-by-step process, then do check out our Step-By-Step Guide to Troubador’s Illustration Process. Alternatively, if you’d like to make an enquiry, check out our illustrations service page here.