Download Free Textures for Children’s Book Illustration

Add this wildlife-inspired texture pack to your digital library to create lively, organic drawings of animals, plants, and more

If you want to use children’s illustration to explore the natural world and stories full of color and life, then texture packs are a great resource. Whether you use them to create an overlay, mask, or even a custom brush, textures bring a natural and organic look to digital art.

Find out how they work and download a texture pack from the library of illustrator and author Dieter Braun (@dieter_2) below.

In Dieter’s words, “What digital drawing has in common with Mother Nature is geometry." It’s no surprise then that his striking illustrative style is filled with bold vector shapes made dynamic by unique textures created digitally, which he calls “magic sprinkles”.

Dieter has written and illustrated several children’s books about wildlife, including Wild Animals of the South and Oceans of the World. He has also worked with clients like H&M and WWF.

What is a texture in Photoshop and Illustrator?

In the Adobe programs, a texture is a layer or element with a patterned, 3D look that adds a natural, realistic appearance to otherwise flat shapes and vectors. This adds a sense of volume and movement to one-dimensional scenes. Dieter explains that the joy of working with texture is that your digital art can end up looking like a screenprint or collage.

Texture can even change the mood of a piece. For example, a dense smudgy texture laid over a sky might make it look like a frightening thunderstorm, while a gingham pattern adds a cheerful touch to a picnic scene in the park.

Where to find textures for illustration

Paper, wood, fabrics, stone, and just about any tactile material can make a good texture. The images you use to create one could come from a photograph, a scan, or even other digital assets like drawings in Photoshop.

Dieter lists a few sources you can go to when researching textures:

1. Old books and libraries

2. Scrapped canvases and art materials like crumpled paper

3. Photos of wood and concrete out in the real world

4. Watercolor stains and natural paint textures

Textures are a great communication tool for illustrators because the line between digital and physical media becomes blurred. In children’s illustration, this can really help to make an image come alive, because the young reader can imagine the feel of a scene and become more immersed.

How do I add textures to my creative projects?

For more refined editing, in his course Dieter explains how to use layer masks and other techniques to ensure your texture is only placed exactly where you want it. But for a quick primer, here are the steps to follow.

1. Open the texture file into your Photoshop project as a new layer.

2. Check the resolution: ideally you want the texture to cover the area you need without stretching it.

3. In the Layers panel, change the layer mode to Multiply or Color Burn so that the image underneath shows through.

4. The colors of your original image may have shifted due to the color of the texture layer. Go to Image, Adjustments, and Hue/Saturation to adjust the texture’s settings and get the right result. Desaturating can help — and remember sometimes less is more!

5. You might also lower the opacity in the Layers panel, so the texture is subtle.

6. Make final adjustments with an eraser tool at a low opacity, removing any unwanted areas.

Download the free texture pack for children’s illustration

In this download, Dieter shares some favorite textures for children’s illustration. All you need to do is extract the zip file and you can start adding these images to your projects.

After clicking the download button, you’ll find a ZIP file titled Free Texture Pack for Children's Illustration by Dieter Braun in the Downloads folder on your computer.

If you want to learn more, you can sign up for Dieter Braun’s course, Wildlife Illustration for Children's Books. There, you’ll learn how to create a double-spread for a wildlife picture book, that uses vector images and textures to bring animals to life on the page.

Discover more illustration resources to tell stories through pictures

1. Warm up with the drawing exercises in this tutorial, keeping your mind open and your creativity fresh.

2. Got a picture book project ready for submission? Check out these five international children’s book competitions to enter.

3. Go bold with color in this joyful children’s book course by Maddy Vian.

4. Or, try more experimental techniques to create unique effects with this children’s illustration course by Kayla Stark.