Children's Book Illustrator for Hire

Rats!

by Mary Conway Kolka

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Picture Book · Ages 4–8 · Identity / Self-Acceptance / Community / Courage

Ron the rat is tired of his name being used as an insult — so he and his friends set out to change what the word means.

Cover of Rats! children's book.

Project Overview

Rats! by Mary Conway Kolka follows Ron, a little rodent who refuses to let a single word define him or his community. Stung by the way people use “rats” as an expression of frustration and failure, Ron rallies his friends to show the world a different story — one of courage, teamwork, and the kind of quiet dignity that transforms perception. Mary Conway Kolka writes with humor and heart, keeping the story genuinely funny while its message lands with real weight.

The illustration challenge was making Ron immediately lovable and sympathetic — rats carry a significant image problem in children’s media, and the art needed to overcome that instinctive reaction quickly, giving Ron an expressiveness and warmth that made readers root for him from his very first appearance on the page.

Role

Mary’s manuscript posed a specific illustration challenge: rats carry a built-in image problem in children’s media, and Ron needed to read as instantly likable before any of the story’s humor or message could land. Expression and character design had to do real work in Ron’s very first appearance, overturning a reader’s automatic reaction within a page or two.

Character development for Ron and his rat community formed the foundation for everything that followed, carrying through to print-ready files across all 33 pages. Comedic timing in the visuals mattered just as much as warmth, since the story balances genuine humor with a serious point about how reputations get made and unmade.

Selected Double-Page Spreads (Final Book Layout)

Ron helping his mother with the dishes grounds the rat family in ordinary domestic warmth, doing some of the early work of making readers root for him.
Ron helping his mother with the dishes grounds the rat family in ordinary domestic warmth, doing some of the early work of making readers root for him.
The bedtime reading scene widens the rat community beyond Ron's immediate family, with neighbors drawn in close enough to listen, establishing the togetherness the story's later resolution depends on.
The bedtime reading scene widens the rat community beyond Ron’s immediate family, with neighbors drawn in close enough to listen, establishing the togetherness the story’s later resolution depends on.
The newspaper spread marks the turning point made visible: the rat family reading proof, in the humans' own words, that attitudes toward them are changing.
The newspaper spread marks the turning point made visible: the rat family reading proof, in the humans’ own words, that attitudes toward them are changing.
This spread puts the story's payoff on Ron's face, the moment he notices the shift in how he is seen rather than being told about it.
This spread puts the story’s payoff on Ron’s face, the moment he notices the shift in how he is seen rather than being told about it.

Character Design

Before a single page is illustrated, I develop the main characters in full — defining their proportions, expressions, and personality. This is the foundation that keeps your characters recognizable and consistent across every scene, every lighting condition, and every emotional moment in the project.

Ron's character design centered on solving a specific problem: making a rat read as instantly approachable despite the image problem rats carry in children's media. The expressions and proportions developed here carried him through every later page.
Ron’s character design centered on solving a specific problem: making a rat read as instantly approachable despite the image problem rats carry in children’s media. The expressions and proportions developed here carried him through every later page.

Process

Every project follows this same structured path, so you always know where we are and what comes next. You review and approve at the sketch stage and the line art stage — nothing moves to color until you’re happy. By the time the final spread is rendered, there are no surprises.

The rough sketch stage blocks out Ron helping his mother with the dishes, including an early pass at a home built from items repurposed from the human world.
The rough sketch stage blocks out Ron helping his mother with the dishes, including an early pass at a home built from items repurposed from the human world.
Final line art locks in that repurposed-item home design once the author approved the unconventional approach, even though those details were not specified in the manuscript.
Final line art locks in that repurposed-item home design once the author approved the unconventional approach, even though those details were not specified in the manuscript.
The finished, colored spread carries that approval through to the underground ambience and lighting that finish the scene.
The finished, colored spread carries that approval through to the underground ambience and lighting that finish the scene.

Author’s Feedback

Agus didn’t just illustrate my book – he added a whole new layer of magic to it. If you’re looking for someone who’s not just an illustrator but a true partner in your creative journey, you’ve hit the jackpot with Agus. My story wouldn’t be the same without his incredible talent and spirit.

Mary Conway Kolka – Author of Rats!

Book Details

ISBN-13

979-8987384145

Publisher

Self Published

Publish Date

December 8, 2022

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Age Range

3 – 8 years

Page Count

33 pages

Format

8.5″ x 11″ Paperback, eBook

Available at:

Amazon

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Have a story that matters to you? Whether you need full illustration for a picture book, chapter book interior art, or just a cover — I’d love to hear about your project.

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