Alison Sanders Illustration

A colorful fall tree with tiny people gathering in it's branches to watch a movie. The sun is setting, there is a snack booth. The movie being shown is Jurassic Park. There is also a crow watching.

Happy #KidLitPostcardDay !!

My name is Alison and I'm an #illustrator looking for representation in #childrensbooks

Portfolio: alisonsandersillustration.com

#kidlit #kidlitillustration #illustration #twinCitiesArtist #MNArtist #bookart

Recently I desperately needed something that was just for fun. So I found this old notebook that I've never known what to do with. It was a super fun way to explore new materials and ideas.
#kidlit #art #halloween #artplay #halloween2025 #bookart #kidlitillustration

Happy Halloween!! Enjoy these stills from my most recent silliness. I so enjoyed playing with a (few) new mediums in this!
#halloween #haloween2025🎃🕷️⚰️🎃 #costumes #kidlit #illustration #play #artplay

Wrote a little article on what you should expect when you hire an illustrator for your children's book.

#KDP #IngramSpark #selfpublishing #kidlit #kidlitillustrations #marketingKDP #KDPmarketing #selfPublished #childrensbookpublishing

open.substack.com/pub/alisonsa...

All the trees around us are starting to turn! I love the colors of fall and all the spookiness and coziness , but I'm a little more sad than normal this year to let summer go as I've been having a great time in the garden this year!

#ghost #fall #cozy #camping #fallcamping #autumn #kidlit

A sneak peak at my next ‘treehouse’ illustration. Not exactly on time with the season, but still….
#kidlit #kidlitillustration #illustration #twinCitiesArtist #MNArtist #bookart #bird #xmas2025 #xmas #xmastree

Happy Halloween!! I'm a bit in love with these ghost stickers. I developed them for the #stickermachine that's going into the new Inkwell Booksellers Location in Minneapolis. They're up in my shop now, $3/each or if you go by Inkwell you might find them for $1/each.
#stickers #halloween #ghosts

Hi, I'm Alison, an illustrator looking for work in the children's picture book industry. I am currently available for projects and looking for representation.

You can see my work at www.alisonsandersillustration.com

#illustration #kidlit #kidlitillustration #childrensbookpublishing #bookArt

This is one that I think a lot of self publishing authors struggle with. Children's books especially feel like they "should" be pretty straightforward, but there's a lot that goes into it and all of it takes time!

#selfpublishing #kidlit #kidlitillustrations #selfPublished #childrensbookpublishing

I really like the Bobiverse series by Dennis E Taylor. Also good is the ‘St Mary’s’ series by Jodi Taylor. Just finished ‘lucky day’ by chick tingle that I would 100% recommend, but fyi, is pretty high on the graphic violence. Oh, and the gunslinger series by Stephen King.

A while back I bought 4 new sketchbooks with the plan to fill them in a year. It was a promise to myself to make more art. Turns out that was actually 2 years ago, but I am making WAY more art, so success!! I'll flip through sometime soon & post anything that's decent. #sketchbooks #artpractice

Tiny witch. Tiny hat. ‘Lil attitude. Happy #kidlitartpostcard day! Boo. I’m Chris and you can find more work at thornockstudios.com. Queries to Lori at Steelworks Literary. #kidlit #illustrator #witch #halloween

So cute!

Happy #kidlitpostcardday! Don't you love it when it actually comes out just like you wanted? This is one of those times. I've got a whole series of these planned. This one however was the first idea and probably the most complicated!

#kidlit #illustration #treehouses #procreate #twinCitiesArtist

Inktober Yay or Nay?

Inktober is almost upon us! I have mixed feelings about Inktober, on the one hand I love seeing all the art and the community. On the other hand, it can be overwhelming. Check out my thoughts on my substack.

alisonsandersillustration.substack.com/

#inktober #sketchbook #sketch #artistlife

I'm still here! The last few weeks have been busy, but I've got something fun & different (for me) in the works. Enjoy this sneaky bird in the mean-time :) #kidlit #kidlitillustration #illustration #twinCitiesArtist #MNArtist #bookart

Big Boys Cry: a breakdown OMG, I love this book so much!

Check out my latest substack post. A breakdown of the book "Big Boys Cry" by Jonty Howley. It's a fantastic book and a good learning opportunity.

open.substack.com/pub/alisonsa...

#kidlit #kidlitillustration #childrensbookpublishing #learning #illustration #bookreview #BigBoysCry

Join me at the Machine Shop tomorrow in Minneapolis! I’ll have cards, stickers and prints available.

#illustration #localArt #Artshows #MNArtists #MNArt #twincitiesArtist #twincitiesArt #galleryArt #ArtFair

A girl in a blue striped sweater clutches a box of crayons while having a green pencil shoved up her nose.

I wish more people knew that the work doesn't end when you self publish your book. You feel like you've climbed Everest getting it all done, but then you have to hike back to base camp. Marketing your book is a whole other skillset than writing/illustrating.
#KDP #selfPublished #kidlit #KDPmarketing

Tiny people sit on giant lily pads. They picnic, fish, and sunbathe while giant koi swim below them.

Got a great surprise yesterday when I got accepted to the Hopkin Juried Member Show!

This is different work from what up at the #edinaSeniorCenter, so make sure to check out both shows if you're local!

#illustration #localArt #hopkinsArt #MNArtists #MNArt #twincitiesArtist #twincitiesArt

Two large green pothos leaves on a light green background.

Still working on these houseplant illustrations when I can squeeze them in. These will be printed and ready to go at the upcoming St Anthony's Bazzar market on Sept. 13th! Hope to see you there!

#pothos #houseplants #illustration #plantillustration #botanicalillustration #procreate

A boy tries to shove a lego up his nose. Text overlay reads: Simple vs/ Simplistic, where I throw my own book under the bus

Check out my latest Substack post where I shamelessly throw my own self published book under the bus. 🤣 Really though, I have learned SO MUCH since I did this book. So, in the pursuit of knowledge I share some of the lessons I've learned since then.

#kidlit #selfpublishing #kidlitillustration #kdp

Dropped off!! Excited to drop off my art for the upcoming show at the Edina Senior Center. They’ve been a lovely organization to work with, and huge shout out to my other ‘Creative Arts Collaborative’ members who worked to pull this show together!

#edinaArt #edina #edinaseniorcenter #illustration

I know I go on about summer being hard, BUT, I have been finding lately that it also opens up some time for playing around with ideas that I haven't felt like I could "spend" my time on. This little shadow box was super fun to make and now I have a bunch of ideas of things I want to try next!

Check out my substack article on how to spot a traditional publisher vs. vanity press. There's some questions at the end that you should be asking anyone you're setting up a professional business relationship with.
#selfpublish #selfpublishing #selfpublishedauthor #KDPAuthors #ingramsparkpublishing

Ah well, win some lose some! Try again next year!

It's going to cost how much?!?! Sticker-shock in the world of illustrated children's books.

I wrote this up as it feels like a conversation we keep having. Those outside of illustration look at "simple" kids books and think "that shouldn't take long" when the reality is quite different.

alisonsandersillustration.substack.com/p/its-going-...

#kidlit #selfpublishing #kidsbooks #pbauthor

I'll check those out! Thanks :)

Https://alisonsandersillustration.com would love a review!

Oh, I think I’ve seen that one before. I’ll check it out more :)