When I decided to make a children’s book I had already been drawing and painting for several years, and I had a very clear picture in my mind of what kind of illustrations I would like to use. Right after I completed high school, I did a Bible- and artschool combined. During this year I started developing a style which I have been working with a lot and which has been popular among people ordering pictures from me. 
As you can see from the examples I have posted here, I simplify my motif a lot, but not to the point of being completely abstract. The lineart is distinct and often includes swirls and curls. The style also include bright colors. Now the question was how to make it work in a chidrens book. To illustrate emotions is not something I have been working with a lot. Most of my pictures have been too abstract to include facial expressions, or my characters have simply been smiling. The big question for me was how to combine my simplified style with a way of illustrating feelings and situations so that small children would be able to «read» the drawings while they were being told the story with words. Working with this has been challenging and sometimes very frustrating, but also interesting and refreshing, especially those times I felt like I was starting to get the hang of it. Underneath I have posted some examples from my book.
