Skip to content
Start free
Picture book

Crayon and oil pastel children's book illustrations with AI

Waxy crayon and oil pastel with bold, childlike strokes, rough fills with flecks of white paper and bright primary colors, as if drawn by a gifted child. Wobbly outlines, no fine detail.

kdpbook.io can illustrate your whole KDP book in the crayon & oil pastel style: each main character first gets a reference sheet in this style, and every page is drawn from those sheets so the characters look the same from cover to last page. It is recommended for 5 of the 36 book types (including picture book, early reader and baby & toddler book) and prints in color only.

Family:
Picture book
Color:
Color only
Audiences:
Babies & toddlers, Preschool
Book types:
5 recommended
Use this styleAll styles

Already wrote the story? Illustrate your children’s book with AI.

Crayon & oil pastel illustration sample: a young red fox reading an open book on the mossy roots of an old oak, drawn in waxy crayon strokes with a bright blue sky, an orange sun and colorful leaves
Every style draws the same subject, a fox with a book under an oak, so you can compare them
The look

When to use crayon & oil pastel

Waxy, joyful crayon strokes in bright primaries, as if drawn by a gifted child.

Best for

Baby and toddler books, playful picture books and early readers.

Better avoided for

Detailed or realistic scenes, quiet bedtime moods and black-and-white books (color only).

Made for

Books that suit crayon & oil pastel

In print

How crayon & oil pastel prints on KDP

  • The white flecks inside the fills are part of the texture. Saturated primaries print with slightly less punch than on screen, which this bold style handles well.

Every illustration is prepared at 300 DPI or more, as KDP asks. Which interior suits it: premium vs standard color, the printing cost calculator and how to choose the trim size and paper.

Your brief

Prompt tips for crayon & oil pastel

Same characters on every page, text typeset over the art: how every style works.

Three tips

  • Keep each page to one big subject; this style gets muddy with many small objects.
  • Ask for bright primary colors, or name two or three favorites, to keep the energy up.
  • Use it for stories told in a child's voice: the look matches a narrator who drew the book.
Made with kdpbook

Books made in crayon & oil pastel

Browse the community library →

Similar styles

Other picture book styles, and how each one differs from crayon & oil pastel.

  • Paper cut-out collage illustration sample: a young red fox reading an open book on the mossy roots of an old oak, built from layered cut and torn paper, with paper leaves, a sun and hills in soft shadow
    Paper cut-out collage

    Layered cut paper with soft shadows between the layers, where crayon & oil pastel has waxy, childlike crayon strokes in bright primaries.

  • Felt & fabric illustration sample: a felt fox with stitched seams holding a green book on a mossy root, with felt mushrooms and acorns and a village at sunset
    Felt & fabric

    A stitched felt craft world photographed in soft light, where crayon & oil pastel has waxy, childlike crayon strokes in bright primaries.

  • Modern cartoon illustration sample: a young red fox reading an open book on the mossy roots of an old oak, as a 2D cartoon with big friendly eyes, clean outlines and flat colors, holding a green book in a sunset valley
    Modern cartoon

    Clean outlines, flat colors and expressive faces, where crayon & oil pastel has waxy, childlike crayon strokes in bright primaries.

  • Kawaii illustration sample: a chubby, big-eyed kawaii fox reading a green book on a mossy root, with a squirrel, a bluebird and little hearts in a pastel sunset
    Kawaii

    Ultra-cute chubby characters in pastel candy colors, where crayon & oil pastel has waxy, childlike crayon strokes in bright primaries.

  • Classic ink & watercolor illustration sample: a young red fox reading an open book on the mossy roots of an old oak, drawn with a fine nib pen and washed with soft watercolor, vignetted into white paper
    Classic ink & watercolor

    Fine nib linework washed with watercolor in a vignette, where crayon & oil pastel has waxy, childlike crayon strokes in bright primaries.

About crayon & oil pastel

Which books suit the Crayon & oil pastel style?

Crayon & oil pastel is offered for picture book, early reader, baby & toddler book, abc book, counting book. You can still pick it for any other book type, or describe your own style.

Can Crayon & oil pastel be printed in black and white?

No. Crayon & oil pastel is a color style: use it with KDP's premium or standard color interiors. For a black & white book, choose a line-art or ink style instead.

Is crayon style good for toddler books?

Yes. Big, bold shapes and bright primaries suit babies and toddlers, and kdpbook offers crayon and oil pastel for baby and toddler books, picture books and early readers.

Will it look like a real child drew it?

It imitates a gifted child's drawing: waxy strokes, wobbly outlines and rough fills, but with clear, readable shapes and characters who stay the same from page to page.

Make it with kdpbook

Illustrate your book in crayon & oil pastel.

Describe your book, keep this style, and watch every page get painted with the same characters.

Use this style

2,000 free credits · no card required