So the project I am working on has finally moved past the writing stage into the "pour that text onto the page and add some images" part.

And the people at our client's office who deal with this end of the business seem to be about as helpful, kind, and intelligent as the ones I dealt with, which is to say I am sure all of our Production people are now taking hiatuses from their online diaries.

I would feel sorry for them, as many of my cohorts do, but at the same time, who was weeping for us two months ago?

The process of getting images approved is painful for many reasons, but two in particular spring to mind.

One, client is super-detail-obsessed and literal-minded, to the point of not trusting us to fill anything in later without insultingly specific instructions. In the interest of saving time (and getting this puppy somewhere close to back on schedule), we've begun drawing sketchy thumbnails, rather than fully finished pieces of art. Duh, they just need to know what perspective the final art will be drawn from, and generally what will be included in it. Instead of keeping this in mind, the client has come back at us with such helpful comments as, "Be sure back of girl does not look like front!" (because professional artists regularly draw people who look like they have their heads on backwards) and "Wacky hands. No no."

Two, client does not think things through. One of the books is a journal which the kid writing it is supposed to have illustrated with little kid-drawings and the photos he took on his recent trip. We added a (drawing) spec of his camera, so that he could make a comment about how he carries it with him everywhere.

And the client asked if this image could be a photo, instead of an illustration.

Because the first picture on any roll of film is, naturally, a photo of the camera itself that is being used to take the pictures.