Picture Book Design is a course about turning a story into a book. Each child starts from an idea of their own and works through character design, a storyboard, drawing and binding. At the end, the child has a physical book to take home. Each term is 12 lessons.
The Full Process of One Picture Book Design Term
- Finding the story: The teacher uses questions to help the child decide who the main character is, what that character wants, and what stands in the way. The result is a one-sentence story.
- Character design: The child draws the main character from the front, from the side, and with several expressions, so the character looks consistent throughout the book.
- Storyboard: A storyboard is a page-by-page plan of the pictures and text. The child splits the story into pages and decides what each page shows and how many sentences of text it carries. This step trains a sense of pacing.
- Drawing: The child completes the pictures page by page, following the storyboard. The teacher helps with composition and the use of blank space along the way.
- Binding: The child adds a cover, a title page and a back cover, and the pages are bound into a book.
What Parents Will See from Picture Book Design
At the end of the term, each child takes home a picture book of their own. The value of the book does not lie in how well it is drawn. It lies in the fact that it is often the child’s first complete, independent piece of work, with a beginning, a turning point and an ending. The experience of seeing one project through to the end directly shapes how a child later approaches long-form writing.
What Background Picture Book Design Requires
No drawing experience is required, and the child does not need to be able to write a story yet. The first two lessons are set aside for turning a vague idea into a plot that can be drawn. The teacher asks the questions and helps organize the ideas, but the story itself is the child’s own.
What to Take After Picture Book Design
To turn the story into a film, continue with Animation Story & Making 101. To strengthen character design, continue with Digital Arts. To build writing skill on its own, see Creative Writing.
Picture Book Design Enrollment and Schedule
Creative workshops come in three enrollment units: full-year classes, term classes, and summer camps. This course runs as follows; dates follow the 2026-27 program guide.
- Term class: 12 lessons per term, in one fixed time slot chosen from the timetable.
- Switching direction: a creative workshop seat can move between directions, so a child can try 3 to 4 areas in a year, with finished work shown and discussed with parents at the end of each stage. To switch, confirm the transfer timing with a course advisor.
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Contact a course advisorPicture Book Design: Frequently Asked Questions
What does a child in Irvine take home?
A bound picture book. The term moves from character design through the storyboard to binding, and the output of each stage survives into the finished object, so the result is a complete book rather than a folder of loose drawings, and parents can see exactly what a term produced.
What if my child cannot write a story yet?
Writing the story is part of the course, not a prerequisite for it. Character design and storyboarding break a vague idea down into a concrete sequence of pages, so no finished manuscript is needed beforehand and children who freeze at a blank page have somewhere to start.
Is drawing experience required?
No. This is an art and design course, focused on how a story is drawn and laid out across pages. A child with no art experience at all is better served by Early Art first, or by checking the current level with the teacher.
How long is a term in Irvine?
12 lessons, for ages 8 to 10. EDUBUS is based in Irvine, and the class runs as a small in-person group with an online section held at the same time. Workshops enroll in rolling short terms, so one seat lets a child rotate through 3 to 4 different domains across a year.
What do Irvine students take next?
To make the story move, Animation Story & Making 101 turns story, storyboard and drawing into a short animated film for grades 3 to 8. To keep building drawing skill instead, Digital Arts covers character design, composition and digital tools.
