If you’ve never thought about including illustrations in your Ebooks, it’s time to reconsider! It’s a common misconception that illustrations are for children’s books only. However, with illustrations in your fiction and nonfiction Ebooks, you can express your concepts and ideas more vividly and increase their appeal and overall value.
The reason why illustrations are a smart thing to include in fiction or non-fiction Ebooks can be derived from the very word “illustrate”, which means to explain or express something by using images, graphs, charts, etc. Illustrations aren’t distracting from the content, rather they support it to appear more cohesive and descriptive.
Writing about a fantasy world and want the readers to understand your fictional world’s geography better? Get a map of it illustrated! Including statistics about facts and studies done about a non-fiction topic? Include illustrated charts and graphs to convey the information better! If your interest in illustration has been piqued, learning about the importance, benefits, and illustration styles can help you decide on choosing the right illustrations for your next Ebooks.
An Ebook with a couple of illustrations and drawings in it is more visually appealing than one with only plain text on its pages. After all, there’s a huge number of readers that perceive Ebooks with illustrations to be of higher value and more worth their money. But how beneficial are illustrations in an Ebook beyond their aesthetic value? Below are various benefits of inserting illustrations in your Ebooks:
Rather than explaining, a better way to learn how illustrations can improve a story’s tone and messages is by taking a look at some famous books with illustrations supporting their stories. Take The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss for instance, the story has a lighthearted yet captivating tone to it because of the hand-drawn illustrations. The drawings in the book keep the readers guessing about the cat’s true nature so that they have to read the story to find out its true nature.
The simple illustrations in The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, on the other hand, express the light tone of the story, despite the profound lessons hidden in the text. The illustrations don’t take away from the content; rather, they add value to it and help the writer express their ideas more visually.
When considering illustrations, you have to look beyond just picture books. Illustrations are vital for your Ebook’s cover design as well. Readers typically navigate through the endless rows of hundreds of Ebooks while browsing online Ebook stores and most of the time, it is the illustration on the cover that catches their eye more than anything else.
For instance, an Ebook which has specific recipes about a certain holiday that has a visual illustration that relates to that niche of the recipes is likely to be quickly picked up by the readers. Similarly, an Ebook about finance, business, or technology should have illustrations about currency symbols, electronic gadgets, or charts to portray its genre to the reader. An aptly drawn illustration that aligns with the message and tone of your Ebooks is an essential weapon in your Ebook marketing arsenal.
The first thing that sells about your Ebooks is not the content in itself, but rather its looks. Your readers decide whether the content inside is worth buying or not based on how they perceive the exterior and interior illustrations. According to research conducted by a publisher, nearly 52% of readers decide on their Ebook purchase based on the cover art or illustration.
No matter how amazing the Ebook is, if the cover doesn’t entice readers, it will remain on your virtual shelf. This is why it’s important for the cover design and the content to work together to express the tone and genre of the Ebook. Your reader is drawn in by the cover art, but they choose to stay and make a purchase by reading the synopsis or the overview.
You can get as creative as you want with illustrations when it comes to Ebook illustrations. However, if you want to play it easy, you can always review the commonly used Ebook illustration styles to ensure they’re taken well by your readers. Here are some of the most common illustration styles used in Ebooks:
Minimalist style takes complex ideas and concepts and seeks the most straightforward yet effective methods to convey them visually. Several illustration types, like line art and large, bold images, are descended from minimalism. Overall, minimalist illustration explores the potential of clean lines and shapes to help writers and artists concentrate on the essence of the subject.
Editorial or cartoon illustrations are one of the most popular nonfiction illustration style types. The style became popular after being so widely used in newspapers. Cartoons are entertaining and can express serious tones while getting the point through. These images frequently cut through age, race, or gender boundaries. Cartoon illustrations not only clarify the content’s message but also add aesthetic value to your Ebook
Creating a visually appealing typography illustration requires careful consideration and attention to detail. Design elements such as typeface, layout, color, kerning, and many others play a major role in making this style stand out. Ebooks with typography illustrations are likely to do well with younger audiences.
An illustration aims to pique the reader’s interest and attention, much like any other branding strategy. Knowing which illustration style to choose might be difficult given the range of options available. So how do you choose then? You can accomplish this in a number of ways, such as through tone, humor, aesthetics, or using the protagonist who tells an engaging tale throughout your Ebook’s illustrations. Consider the following factors as you choose your illustration style:
● What is your Ebook’s message?
● What style does your Ebook have?
● What mood or tone do you want the Ebook’s illustrations to convey?
● Which illustrations will best accentuate your Ebook?
● Whom are you trying to reach and which styles will they relate to?
There isn’t really a limit to where you can use illustrations in your Ebooks. Here are other ways where you can use illustrations to make your Ebook even more appealing:
● Title Page: Your book cover or title page is the face of your book, regardless of whether it is a physical book or an ebook. Attractive title pages are also said to add value to your Ebooks.
● Chapter Illustrations: You can convey a chapter’s content through an illustration, as is used in Harry Potter.
● Layout: It is extremely important to consider the book’s layout. Your goal would be to ensure the readers enjoy the visuals, as well as to make sure the words don’t get lost in the visuals.
● Color Palette: Make sure the color palette matches the book’s tone. Choosing pastel colors for a dreamy piece might be a good idea. In contrast, bold colors convey adventure well.
