The market for children's book illustration is a very competitive one. Most of the work is freelance and most children's book illustrators have a n agent unless they happen to have an amazing portfolio which speaks for them.
The styles within this area are diverse due to the amount of artists there are and their individuality which they bring to their work.
One of the most important things about being an illustrator for children's books is having the ability to communicate visually and create a compelling story/narrative with images. Many children's book illustrators also write their own stories to go with them which, i think, creates a really strong link between the text and the images. This also means that deadlines are in your hands mostly and you have the opportunity to change ideas/concepts throughout.
Children's books are becoming more about their collectability and quality of images now due to the people buying the books: adults. Although the target audience is primarily children, it is undoubtably the parents who choose and purchase the books which maybe has an effect on some of the styles of children's book illustration.
2. Fashion Illustration.
A fashion illustrator's main role is to take the work of a fashion designer and create images which advertise their product and sometimes themselves. A fashion illustrator has more creative leeway, i think, than some as they are not constrained by body proportions etc. that fashion designers must adhere to.
Fashion illustration can appear in many places but mostly can be seen editorially, in advertisements, in fashion shows and sometimes within mainstream fashion (shops) on the clothing itself.
Understandably most fashion illustrators have different styles they work with because they are individuals. However, in the fashion illustration industry there is a clear aesthetic in the images which is beautiful watercolour images, with soft lines, some in ink. The figures are quite exaggerated, sometimes with more emphasis on the model than the clothes. David Downton, an internationally know fashion illustrator took most of his inspiration from the models both backstage and on the runway of the Paris Haute Couture shows and his style is representative of this genre of illustration.
A slightly different style of fashion illustration is Laura Laine's more whimsical images. She focuses on the line and texture of the garments she illustrates instead of the physicality of the clothing itself. Her drawings clearly cross the line between fashion and illustration and are instantly recognisable when used editorially.
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