We are so proud of our wonderful Make Art That Sells alumni and are pleased to showcase a series of gorgeous student work that was produced in the previous session of the Illustrating Children’s Books  class.

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Sam Loman

Week 4 was definitely my favourite week because everything I practiced the first 3 weeks came together: character, accessories and environment. I love to see an illustration ‘grow’ from sketches, drafts, semi-finished drawings to a finished piece which I am still proud of, normally after a weeks I don’t like my work anymore…..always think I could do better… Although those 5 weeks were very intensive I still have the feeling I didn’t rushed and took the time to know my characters, to try different things and came to a style I still like…HOORAY.

How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow?
I have illustrated a lot of children’s books, but I never broke it down into the steps Lilla and Zoe did. It helped me to get a certain rest, I took the time to develop and get to know my characters more. I sketched them in different poses before I started with the sketches for a spread, which made it a lot easier since you know how they look like from different angles and how they move. This made my work a lot more vivid/sparkling.

What did you discover about yourself?
I discovered to things:

1. I can sketch! ;) I always thought my sketches were so bad that I was anxious to show them to a client. I now know that I have to break it down into pieces, don’t give up when I fail, just use my eraser and try again and I don’t be afraid to fill the page with lovely accessories and hand drawn text. I now love my sketches!

2.My work is not as bad as I think. I have a Bachelor in illustration and a Master in art, design and illustration with distinction, illustrated lots of children’s books, stationery and home décor and I am still highly insure about my work. Due to all the positive reactions from my fellow MATSies (the Facebookgroup is great, It’s such a warm place to share your feelings and artwork!) my self esteem grew, I got my inspiration back and the power to create great artwork.

How would you describe the course to a friend?
Intensive, full of great material, tutorials and videos. Oh and don’t forget the Facebook live sessions! Lilla and Zoe take 1,5 hour per session to answer all your questions. The course is suited for beginners but also for those who already work in the field, I have learned a lot of new things! I recommend to take 5 weeks off to concentrate fully on the course because this really helped me to absorb all of the material and I had the time to apply all of Lilla’s and Zoe’s advice into my work.

See more work here: Website | Instagram | Facebook

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Michelle Pleasance | The Formidable Forest

This is my favourite image from the course because I remember I struggled with it a lot.

How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow?
I pushed through with lots of support from the Facebook group. I was really surprised to find that it was chosen for review. It showed me not to give up and stop judging my work. It was really nice to have support from others who were all working hard at the same thing. It definitely made me push through more than I normally would and although it was hard, the improvements were worth it.

What did you discover about yourself?
I now have the tools and confidence I need to get a children’s book pitch together. Immediately after the course I started getting my own project together. I feel like I’m closer to getting published and have so much more information on how to go about it.

How would you describe the course to a friend?
I would describe the course as quite intense and engrossing. It’s a great way to learn the things you need to very quickly. I also loved seeing other peoples progress during the course. The interviews with published illustrators were also very inspiring. I would definitely recommend this course.

See more work here: Instagram

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Margaux Kent

Week 4, Double Page Spread for Junko Tabei and the Ladies Climbing Club

How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow?

This week I combined my favourite things – cutting, gluing, folding, painting, drawing – even my Pro-Create mistakes – to make this spread. It was a real change from the other weeks and I really felt like I was finding my way through the darkness.

What did you discover about yourself?

Taking this class was a bit of a stretch for me – I had never thought of myself as an illustrator, but love picture books and have stories brewing. This course really make creating characters, environments, objects &c not feel impossible and maps out a methodical process for illustrating picture books. In addition, the live reviews and information about the industry are indispensable.

How would you describe the course to a friend?

That having a regular practice with guidance really helps direct efforts which can othertise be rather scattered when left on my own!
ICB is magic. Lilla and Zoe are completely in love with what they do and share that passion and expertise with each student.

See more work here: Website | Instagram

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Fia Kilbourn

Week 5, when we did cover illustrations, was the week where I could really see the culmination of all the hard work I had put in over the previous weeks. It seemed to just flow together for me because it built on the weeks before. I also really enjoyed the hand-lettering element of that week.

How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow?
I was pretty much a newbie in this market when I started the class. When I compare the submission for Week 1 with Week 4 and 5, I am just amazed at the improvement. As I went through the course, I found a looseness to my illustration, but also an ability to break each assignment into smaller pieces that allowed me to focus on the work without getting overwhelmed. That skill gave me more confidence when it came to the week on environments because that was the week I was most anxious about. I was able to create the elements of the environment before putting it all together and by then it just clicked together and I was proud of what I created.

What did you discover about yourself?
I found confidence in my ability to illustrate a children’s book. I discovered my strengths in emotions and poses, but also realized my weaknesses like environment and composition. That has helped me to focused what to pay attention to in my current work. I also found some practical aspects to my work, such as knowing I can work when my kids are home from school if I am working on certain things like the early sketching phase. I can save the things that take more concentration for later. It really helped me to maximize my time.

How would you describe the course to a friend?
This class will teach you the key elements to creating lively characters and rich worlds for those characters to exist, each week building on the last. You will also learn inside information about the industry like how a book is made from start to finish, who is involved in making a book, how to get your work noticed by the people who want to hire you. The Facebook community aspect of the class will give you a great support system that will be there long after the class finishes. There are three text to choose from and that was a big bonus for me, because after the class finished, I was able to use what I learned and develop portfolio piece by going back through the assignments with the other texts. I am entering a children’s book illustration showcase in September and six of my pieces came from material from this class!

See more work here: Website

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Mara Penny

I chose the book cover. I love figuring out how to tell the story with pictures instead of words.

How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow?
There’s so much more to emotion and poses than I ever realized!

What did you discover about yourself?
I really like distilling the whole book into a single image for the cover.

How would you describe the course to a friend?
This course is really a road map. There is so much information! It is literally a step by step guide to creating children’s books!

See more work here: Instagram