Written by Bette Saffran aka Liz Gardner, Author of Extenuating Circumstances
The Struggle to Find Illustrations
When I started working on illustrations for my children’s poetry book, I tried using freelance sites. I reached out to several artists whose work I loved, but no one responded. It was frustrating. Meanwhile, the site itself kept pursuing my business, but without real engagement from artists. It wasn’t working for me.
I had to find another way. Then, a conversation with our Quill Hawk Publishing friend and author, Cathy Gorgensen, changed everything. She told me about ChatGPT.
Signing up with ChatGPT was easy. I opted for the Plus account, which costs $20 per month. While that might not be worthwhile for someone writing books for adults, for children’s books, it was absolutely worth it.
Once I started creating, I couldn’t stop! I work on illustrations at 6:00 AM or 3:00 AM—whenever inspiration strikes. With AI, there are no limitations to creativity.
Using ChatGPT for illustrations requires a specific way of giving instructions. You have to be precise in your prompts—it doesn’t understand inference like a human would.
For example, when designing the cover for my book, Extenuating Circumstances, I asked for:
“An illustration of the front of a red 4-door automobile with a spider crack in the windshield.”
It gave me a car covered in huge spiders! (Hilarious, but not what I wanted.) Then, I tried saying:
“Just the hood of the car.”
And I received... a floating red hood.
After days of refining my requests, I finally got the right illustration. It was a learning process, but once I understood how to phrase things correctly, everything changed.
Creating Rennie Kerflew
My first AI-generated character was Rennie Kerflew, who loves buying new shoes. I envisioned him as:
✔️ Tall, lanky, and whimsical
✔️ Wearing Bermuda shorts and a crazy-colored shirt
✔️ Having knobby knees, large ears, and a big nose
✔️ Wearing a French beret
But my early attempts were frustrating! I learned that AI takes instructions literally. If I said, “He should have a hat,” it might place a hat beside him instead of on his head. Instead, I learned to say, “He should be wearing a hat.”
With patience and adjustments, Rennie Kerflew came to life! The evolution of Rennie Kerflew was a challenge, but persistence paid off! AI can be tricky to communicate with, but refining prompts step by step gets results. From an undefined quirky character to a fully realized whimsical cartoon, Rennie now has his own personality and story.
The Magic of AI Illustrations & Book Development
Getting an entire scene is challenging, but once you get the hang of speaking AI’s language, you’ll be amazed by what you can create. This is your intellectual property—it only exists because you created it.
Since my early experiments, I’ve explored AI’s capabilities far beyond illustrations. I’ve used it for:
✔️ Book Blurbs & Summaries – Polished, engaging descriptions that help market my books.
✔️ Social Media Promotions – Tailored posts, tags, and captions to build my author brand.
✔️ News Releases – Professional announcements for book launches.
✔️ Branding & Consistency – A unique style across all my books, giving my work a cohesive identity.
✔️ Reviews & Reinforcement Questions – AI-generated insights that enhance my storytelling.
✔️ eBook Formatting – Ready-to-publish layouts for digital books.
✔️ Canva Assistance – Step-by-step instructions for designing book covers and promotional materials.
This has transformed my publishing process. AI doesn’t just make things easier—it opens new creative doors.
How to Get Started
You can access ChatGPT at chat.openai.com.
✔️ A free account allows for a few illustrations or responses per day.
✔️ A Plus account ($20/month) offers unlimited creations and advanced tools.
If you’re an illustrator, writer, or creative mind, I encourage you to give it a try. It might just transform your process, just as it did mine!
I have no higher recommendation than to tell you: don’t be afraid—just do it! If I can help, I'm happy to assist.
P.S. This blog was formatted using ChatGPT! AI helps with readability, ensuring a polished final product. 🚀
💛 Bette Saffran aka Liz Gardner
📧 Saffranbette0@gmail.com
To learn more about Bette Saffran (pen name Liz Gardner) visit: https://quillhawkpublishing.com/pages/author/liz-gardner-saffran
