Often the illustrator and author live far apart and sometimes they don't even know each other. Illustrator Michael Martchenko and Robert Munsch have been working together for a long time though. Since they live in different cities, they meet at the Scholastic office with the editor and art director to share ideas about how what sort of pictures should be drawn.
Michael then creates a very rough sketch in pencil for each of the pages in the book.
After a few weeks, there's another meeting. Sometimes Michael has to make changes to his drawings, so he'll bring a big eraser with him. Once everyone agrees on the drawings, Michael begins painting and adding colour to the pencil drawings. 
It can take a long time to complete the illustrations--sometimes a couple of months of working every day. It’s not just about the drawing and painting, there can be a lot of research involved too.
Most of the time, Michael has never been to the places where Robert's story ideas come from. So how does he know how to draw the picture so the details are accurate? We've posted a video so you can see Michael in his studio talking about creating the artwork for the books.
You can also see how Michael has taken a photograph of a Labrador tent and created an illustration.
Give Me Back My Dad! is on its way to the printers, now that all of the drawings are done. We’ll post more photos soon.
