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. View more student showcase posts here.

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Lynn Gaines | Lynn Gaines Design

This image is from week 4 MATS ICB: Environment -the image shows our story’s main character, Eleanor, trying to get her pet giraffe up to her 27th floor apartment in the elevator.

How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow?
This class helped me to work on developing characters that have more life in them, conveying emotion and movement and setting them in an environment as well as working on the craft of story-telling through my art.

What did you discover about yourself?
I actually enjoy drawing characters that have personality and a story to tell.

How would you describe the course to a friend?
This a MFA style crash course on the in and outs of Children’s books and how to develop a killer pitch for your ideas and characters. The course is crammed with great material and TONS of eye candy- MUST TAKE course for anyone looking to grow their chops making Children’s books!

See more work here: Website | Instagram | Facebook

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Rachel Schmiedel

Week 3-Drawing Characters was my favorite week because for the first time in my life I learned how to make a character come alive! In the past I have drawn figures in one pose and felt it was “too hard” to try to redraw it in a different pose. Now my characters can run, skip, jump, and fall down!

How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow?
This class gave me the courage and drive to do hard things and overcome my hangups. I am so glad I did because I discovered that poses aren’t too difficult to draw, if I change my mindset to being willing to draw, draw, and redraw until it looks nice. I took this class because I have a childhood dream of being an Illustrator (I think you can claim the title after taking this class), although I am not a paid professional at this time and am just getting back to art after my youngest child (out of 6) is old enough to be at school all day. The class is jam-packed with information about the entire process of how a book is made from initial ideas to publication, and I don’t say that lightly! Zoe Tucker, the teacher, is in the publication field and is quite knowledgeable about the process, and I felt honored to take a class under her and Lilla (the expert agent).

What did you discover about yourself?
At the start of the class I felt the self-imposed, heavy weight of trying to be perfect (whatever that is supposed to look like!) and wanting badly to succeed like in the days of college art classes. By the end of the 5th week I had relaxed and gained confidence that each artist has a voice/style and something beautiful to share with the world. It was a freeing experience and worth it all. I have always known that I really love creating art, but have never enjoyed it as much as I do now, because this class was all about having FUN while learning something in-depth. I have always wondered how I can make art that people actually would like to buy, so thus, I began this journey of taking ICB and now other MATS classes as well.

How would you describe the course to a friend?
Have you ever dreamed of illustrating children’s books or have even a slight curiosity about wanting to know how to create memorable characters with a range of emotions and ability to move? Do you want to know every detail about how a book is made from the first idea through publishing, what catches an art director’s eye, and love challenging yourself? Then sign up for Illustrating Children’s Books! All levels are welcome and encouraged. If you want to be inspired by a community of artists, sign up, and take a step toward making your dreams a reality!

See more work here: Instagram

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Laura Zarrin

This is a cover for Pet Problems. This was my favorite week because it felt like a breakthrough for me, artistically. I feel like it’s the new direction I want to take my work in. It still makes me so happy to see it!

How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow?
This class really pushed my buttons! That’s how I know it was good for me.

What did you discover about yourself?
If I’m resisting, then change is coming. It was an overwhelming (in a good way) amount of information. I loved it!!! Even though I’ve been in this business for a long time, I still learned so much and really valued the detail of the blog posts and so many wonderful examples.

How would you describe the course to a friend?
This feels like both a beginner’s class and a graduate level class. I just can’t recommend it enough!

See more work here: Website | Instagram | Facebook

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Sofia Moore

My favorite assignment was to create a book cover. It was a final assignment where all elements I worked on during the previous weeks fell in place and started looking whole. I chose to illustrate a story with a lot of nature in it such as sea, plants, animals. So right away after reading “By the light of the Moon” text I envisioned big whimsical plants, colorful landscapes and seascapes. I wanted to challenge myself creating something rich in color and to tackle a big environment scene. I tried to combine all elements of the story in the final image which was the cover and bring mood and emotions to it.

How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow?
I have taken the “Illustrating Children’s Book” class three times and by the end of the third class I could feel more confident about certain steps of developing a visual story, like working on initial sketches and organizing them in a dummy book, developing characters, working on colors and side elements. The class helped me to visualize the final look of the book more clear and to have better coordination between the image I had in my mind and what I created on paper. It takes patience and dedication to develop a character that looks alive, can move, express different emotions and look appealing to readers.

What did you discover about yourself?
I learned again that illustrating a story is something I love to do and and never get bored of. I love to live in a story and add to it something more with my art.

How would you describe the course to a friend?
The class is very motivating, full of talented artists and advice from Lilla. Great source of information for somebody who wants to learn practical ways of being a children’s book illustrator.

See more work here: Website | Instagram

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Clare Faulkner | Small Dots

This was cover week, and as a graphic designer, I really felt should be my best week! The cover brought together all I had learned on the course with my strengths. I was pleased with the design, and it took confidence to keep it simple. I found each week I made a huge leap.

How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow?
I am a graphic designer and a real beginner at illustration. The course gave me the confidence to really push myself and took me out of my comfort zone. I was amazed by how much I achieved in such a short time. It has given me new confidence and real improvement in all areas of my work.

What did you discover about yourself?
I discovered that hard work and perseverance are the key and that there is nothing to be afraid of.

How would you describe the course to a friend?
Illustrating Children’s Books is an intense experience and you will feel like you are on a rollercoaster. You will learn huge amounts about illustration, the industry and yourself. The structure of the course along with peer and tutor support really pushes you beyond what you thought you were capable of.

See more work here: Website | Instagram

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Anna Petry| Hebbedinge

This image was for the third week, in which we were asked to show the main character in different poses and also we were allowed to add an image of the secondary characters. I loved the thought of all the animals together and came up with the idea of using black for the sea lion, white for the elephant and black and white for the giraffe. It was so much fun to make this composition, because I had an idea right from the start. And when an idea in my head works on paper, too- thats such a great moment!!

How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow?
The course let my confidence grow and make me feel like there could be a place in this market for me. Also being part of a supportive group of people who all share the love for creating images was such a great experience! To find that there are people with similar passions who are willing to be cooperative and share their knowledge is just great!

What did you discover about yourself?
I learned from this course to let go of insecurities quicker, that there is no right or wrong, that it is good to show your work (even though you’re not 100% sure of it), and the greatest lesson I learned was to not compare myself with others. I admire so many artists for their work, it can quickly change into negative thoughts. But with the affirmations of Lilla I learned to not let the negative thoughts get too big. „People buy your joy“ has become a very helpful sentence for me.

How would you describe the course to a friend?
The course is a very professional learning experience on so many levels. You get to know the market, you get to know your possibilities and your own boundaries and you get to know so many inspiring personalities. You get the chance to take part of a creative adventure extraordinaire!