An illustrator built a 34-page children's book with AI as a research partner
A 34-page children's book, hand-drawn backgrounds and AI-assisted characters, laid out in InDesign as the start of a series.
This creator wrote the story, designed the characters and painted the backgrounds by hand, then brought AI in as a research assistant. The result is a 34-page children's book, the first in a series, already laid out page by page. It shows how AI can support an artist's own craft rather than replace it.
Children's book series (34-page first book)
Before
They had a story, a cast of characters and a traditional illustration practice. Turning all of that into a full 34-page book meant research on illustration styles, layout and character development, plus textiles and endpage patterns, a lot for one person to carry alone.
“I wrote the story, designed the characters and illustrated the backgrounds traditionally.”
In their own words
The turning point
In the program they began using AI extensively in the research phase, for illustration and layout references and for shaping each character's appearance, personality and traits. They tested tools and found ChatGPT did the best job at turning their own drawings into character illustrations.
“I then used AI (Chatgpt because it actually did the best job) to take my character design and drawings and illustrate the characters for me.”
In their own words
After
They now have a 34-page book laid out in Adobe InDesign, combining their hand-drawn backgrounds with AI-rendered characters. They also used AI alongside Illustrator to turn their drawings into tiled textile and endpage patterns. They are honest that the characters need more tweaking before publishing, and may redraw them by hand using the AI versions as reference.
What it lets people do
The book gives young readers a story with a consistent, developed cast and richly patterned pages. The process gives other artists a model for using AI as a research and reference tool while keeping the story and art their own.
What they learned
AI was most valuable not as the final artist but as a research assistant that sped up exploration. Their own design remains the standard, and the tool's output is a starting point to refine.
“It was incredibly valuable as a research assistant.”
In their own words
Children's book series (34-page first book) was built during AI Mastery.
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Written 15 February 2026 Submitted by the storyteller
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