Foundation Art and Design and Creative Skills Academy student publishes children’s debut book

Former CCC student Paula Arriagada shares her experience of self-publishing a children’s picture book with us.

Paula Arriagada, an author and illustrator who studied at Capital City College (CCC) has self-published her first picture book for children.

Paula, who has a background in fashion, completed the Foundation Diploma in Art and Design in order to refresh her skills and delve deeper into the world of design. She then did an Adobe Photoshop course with the college’s Creative Skills Academy, during which she created a gif animation promoting her book.

She has been inspired by her current role in childcare and, following the release of her book, hopes to pursue a career in children’s publishing. 

Paula’s colourful and engaging book, titled After the Storm, uses weather as a metaphor for emotions. It is intended to support young children in becoming more aware of their own feelings and to help them develop resilience. The book’s main message is one of reassurance, reminding readers that calm follows the storm and that, even after difficult times, the sun will shine again.

We chatted to Paula to find out more about her inspiration and creative process.

What led you to write this book?

I’ve been creative since I was very young – doing crafts and drawing. I love illustrations, I love graphic design. I started working in childcare when I came to London from Spain more than 10 years ago.

One of the things I like the most in childcare is the illustrated books, because I think nowadays there are amazing editions of children’s books – and that’s really caught my eye since I started working in childcare. I started getting to know illustrators and I thought that it would be nice in the future if I could make my own picture book. That’s how my book After the Storm, was born, as a final major project for my course.

Who or what inspires you?

I’ve loved Manga since I was in primary school, and it has evolved a lot since I started reading it in the 1990s. As a children’s illustrator, I like Eric Carle, who wrote The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and also Rob Hodgson, María Ramos, Jon Klassen, Tupera Tupera, and Ingela P Arrhenius. I think it’s essential for someone to create – for a designer, for an illustrator, for an artist – to have their own influences.

What prompted you to self-publish and how did you find the process?

I sent submissions to some publishers but it’s very difficult because it’s a very competitive area. I decided that the easiest way would be to self publish. After a few months researching, I found out that the easiest way was just to create your own book, which I did. Then I had to buy the barcode, the ISBN, which is the unique number that all the published books in the world have. I then had to prepare the layout and the pages – everything had to be perfect to send it to the printer. I sent everything to print, and the copies arrived in the summer.

Was it expensive to self publish?

It was a challenge to find a printer that offered a reasonable price, but I did some research and printed 100 copies. It wasn’t as much as I expected, but hopefully I’m going to cover the cost of the course with the sales of the book. 

How are you promoting the book?

I printed a few flyers, which I’ve dropped in cafes and libraries. I’m talking to libraries and bookshops about doing an early years book activity session, because the audience for this book is babies and toddlers.  

One part of that is promoting it on social media. I’m working in content creation, because nowadays that’s essential for any artist who wants to promote their work.

Many families have already bought the book, and some friends have bought it as presents – so I’m quite happy with the promotion so far.

What advice would you give to other people considering following a similar route?

You have to be very clear on your goal, to work hard on it by sketching every day, writing down ideas in a notebook. It may be frustrating at the beginning, and I still struggle with a lack of inspiration sometimes, but that’s normal. The most important thing is just to be positive and learn from mistakes –  I think it’s essential we all make mistakes.

What’s next for you?

One of the reasons why I did the Foundation Diploma in Art and Design, is because I really want to find my visual language, my visual voice.

I want to develop my own style, because I have many influences in music, in graphic design and in illustration, and it is still very difficult to refine that style. I’m sketching every day and I hope to find my own illustration style. And in the future, of course, I would like to make another children’s book.

If you’re looking to expand your creative skills, take a look at our Creative Skills Academy which offers a range of creative courses across a range of skills.

For budding artists across all disciplines, why not explore our Art, Design and Fashion Courses.

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