Illustrations for children's books using AI
AI has greatly simplified the creation of illustrations for children's books particularly. I have a self-publishing client who is working on a children's book about a small worm that meets many different creatures. Text prompts are the key: This one was generated from the prompt, "cute brown and orange worm on a path through a green field talking to a sheep that is bending down to listen." The AI program I was using also allowed me to convert the image into video. I did not give the video any audio - at this stage - so there is no sound, but for small movies for kids the possibilities are amazing.
Of course AI is a developing tool and its illustrative powers go well beyond cartoon characters for children's books - but lots of people want to illustrate children's books.
Self-publishing author prints thousands of copies of her book
This author from Central Otago, Margaret Bradfield, has just received the latest print run of her book - Building an Ark. First published in 2008 this book has just kept on going. Margaret has sold or passed on thousands of copies to the hundreds of individuals and busloads of people who visit their remote transformed 60-hectare property. It's quite a story! 176 pages.
I first met Margaret when I was biking the Otago Rail Trail and got a flat tyre close to her place. She put me up for the night and said she needed help to get her "book" to print. Somehow she already knew me as a published author. So I took her screeds of paper and dog-eared photos and turned them into a book. As they say, the rest is history.
The painting on the wall of Margaret and her husband, David, was done by a professional artist who lived with them for some years.