Toss it or Tweak?
When to bin your illustration or save it with a few adjustments
Hey there,
You know that moment when an illustration just… isn’t working?
You had the idea. You saw it. You felt excited enough to sit down and actually bring it to life. And then halfway through, you’re staring at your screen or sketchbook, heart sinking, thinking:
“This is not it.”
That happened to me recently. I was working on a piece for the Just Write for Kids Picture It! competition. The concept came quickly and I felt like I was off to a strong start. The brief was to include a frog and a duck, and play with perspective.
Idea 1: A frog lifting up the duck onto a pile of sock, with the frog looking huge and the duck tiny. I just couldn’t get the perspective right to pull it off.
Idea 2: The duck buried in socks and the frog looking trying to find a way out.
I completed idea two, but the composition didn’t sit right. The reader’s focus was being pulled off the page far too quickly. It just wasn’t working.
I started questioning everything—was the concept too vague? Should I start again?
What I really needed was to find a way to enhance the storytelling and keep the reader interested in what was happening on the page.
After a few days of mulling it over (and some incredibly generous feedback from the amazing
. I decided not to throw it all out. Instead, I tweaked.(Btw - you don’t have a critique group or a sounding board, I highly recommend finding one!)
Just a few small things at first—changing the composition, enhancing the sense of a cliff, and adding tiny storytelling details. Suddenly, the piece felt more alive.
I didn’t overhaul the whole thing. I didn’t toss it in the “maybe later” folder. I just gently course-corrected.
And guess what? That very piece was selected to be featured on the cover of Somewhere Lost. It was a total SHOCK to me - there were so many wonderful entries.
Here is my final piece, featured on the internal pages, and the cover.
It was such a lovely reminder of how powerful a small tweak can be. Not everything needs to be burned to the ground. Sometimes it’s not the concept that’s broken—it’s just the execution that needs a little love.
So now I ask myself:
• Does this piece still hold some of the original spark?
• Are the bones good?
• Would changing just one or two things help me fall back in love with it?
If the answer’s yes, I tweak.
If it’s no, I give myself permission to begin again.
Either way, it’s not a failure. It’s just part of how we get to the good stuff.
If you’re in the middle of a piece that’s testing your patience this week, maybe take a beat before you start over. Sometimes, the magic’s only one brushstroke away.
Somewhere Lost is a picture book anthology that explores the theme of being lost—physically, emotionally, or in imagination—featuring works from creators across Australia. All proceeds go to support the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, whose work ensures access to books and literacy resources for children in remote Indigenous communities.
Congrats to everyone who entered the Picture it! Competition and all those whose work was selected for the publication. And a HUGE thank you to Romi Sharp (Books on Tour PR and Marketing) and Daisy Lane Publishing for putting it all together.
If you want to hear more on the topic join the ILLOGUILD TALKS: Behind the Scenes on 21 April. It’s your chance to join the conversation about how it’s made.
You can see more of my work on my website and stay connected on Instagram.
Thanks for reading!
Carla
My Books
I AM ME (out 2025)
Harries - The Lifeguard from Bondi (out 2025)
Boldilocks (out 2025).
Somewhere Lost (2025)
Our Australian Heart’ (2024)
Mia’s grandma (2023)