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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Asma Enayeh | Asma Original

I really enjoyed working on my cover as it was the last week and I already had understood how the course works. I got used to sketching everyday for the daily prompts and I had already designed all the characters of the story. So working on the cover was a matter of putting all the story characters together in an eye catching way. I had the privilege to see my cover featured in the live review by Lilla and Zoe in the “Cool Style” section. A lovely way to wrap up the five weeks journey with this feature.

How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow?
Illustrating Children’s Book was my first ever MATS course. I had never drew I child before the course so the first week was a challenge for me. However, hearing all the insightful comments from Lilla and Zoe in the live reviews every week, I understood the basics of children illustrations and knew what I needed to do to improve in my drawings. Each week assignment was an opportunity for me to see where I am artistically and how to improve to get where I want in the future. In the last week live review I found my cover featured in the “Cool Style” section so I was happy to know that I was on the right path.

What did you discover about yourself?
Trying new mediums was a huge turning point for me as I discovered that I like working with gouache the most! And I have never tried gouache painting before taking the course.

How would you describe the course to a friend?
The course is very insightful and a great learning opportunity. It is intense and challenging but comes with a great support system from Lilla and Zoe and from the other students. I definitely recommend it for anyone who has a dream of illustrating a children’s book one day. We learned the technical skills from the moment of creating the character to the moment of pitching and working with an agent.

See more work here: Website | Instagram | Facebook

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Caroline Bonne-Muller

It’s the week of the environment. I painted the street in Eleanor’s city with the people in it and Eleanor sitting in her favorite Ice Cream shop and a little hint to the next page of the story. The Elephant is peeking out of the door, so may be the kid who is reading the book can already guess here what her favorite Pet will be.

How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow?
The course really helped me to understand which steps you have to go through to illustrate a children’s book and especially I loved learning to draw a little figure in all kind of new positions with all different expressions.

What did you discover about yourself?
I love to tell a story while drawing.

How would you describe the course to a friend?
An incredible course, with two brilliant teachers, you learn a lot, there is a ton of such a valuable information and besides that you will be so proud of yourself after the 5 weeks, with some beautiful portfolio work!

See more work here: Website | Instagram | Facebook

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Renee Gauvin

I chose this image because I love the feeling of childhood excitement of Eleanor. It is the morning and the possibility of a brand new day at the zoo! This was my first painting of Eleanor and I love that she is tiny, wearing her pjs and shows a lot of joy.
It shows that she lives in the city and that the zoo is close enough to see.

How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow?
As usual, in all of the MATS classes, you are working along side some terrific artists, and because of that I pushed myself and grew as an artist.

What did you discover about yourself?
I learned that loving the character, Eleanor, kept me more motivated and engaged in the project, so I learned that I need to like my characters.

How would you describe the course to a friend?
Without it feeling overwhelming, this class gave me more information about illustrating children’s books than I can list right here. Every question and detail was attended to in the course and all art styles were encouraged and nurtured. The live reviews are always really helpful and informative.

See more work here: Website

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Eunji Jung

This is a character pose sheet I created for the assignment of week 3. Week 3 was the week I fully visualized the character I created with the whole body poses. I learned so much about the character development and how poses strongly depict the character’s personality. I had to think so hard about how this character would express its emotions using its face, arms, legs, and even shape of her hair! It was a very intensive week but I enjoyed every process.

How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow?
After taking this course, I learned how to give personality to the characters by analyzing the stories and manuscripts, and I think that is one of the most important abilities a children’s book illustrator must have. Also, my drawing skills improved a lot after studying and sketching a lot of body figures of children’s and animals. This class made me feel more confident in my skills and has made me a better illustrator.

What did you discover about yourself?
I discovered and developed my style. During the intensive five weeks, I had to draw the main character a lot and have to make them look consistent. While I was doing it, I found how I wanted to draw and the style I felt confident with. And I realized how much I love illustrating children’s books. I seriously decided to become a children’s book illustrator and have been building up my portfolio focusing on it.

How would you describe the course to a friend?
This is a must-take course if you want to become a children’s book illustrator. It provides lots of useful and practical tips including information about the industry, what to prepare, how to build your portfolio, and art directors’ views that you have to know. Also, it has a very friendly facebook community that always supports each other and encourages you to grow more. You will love this course and it will serve as a great portfolio piece at the end.

See more work here: Website | Instagram

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Tanja Stephani | L’art qui rit

I chose the cover week, because it was also shown in the weekly review on the. Lilla and Zoe have encouraged me to change the character in a little way, that was great, so I learned a lot.

How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow?
I have now a job a an children’s book Illustrator , Im not that shy anymore, and I think I know lots more about the market.

What did you discover about yourself?
It helped me again to see other things with other eyes, eyes from Agents, other students.

How would you describe the course to a friend?
It’s now the third time I have taken the workshop and Im still learning, learning… Im in a wonderful group with high talented artists. I have friendships around the world and some of the classmates will meet each other in bologna again. It’s something you can do for your soul, your heart and for other peoples there will buy your joy and joy is the word for matskidbook! And you will get work!

See more work here: Website | Instagram

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Andrea Chang

In the third week of class, I created “Elanor Poses,” my personal favorite. By depicting this character in various moods, I got to know her as an optimistic little girl. She came to life in my mind, her body language becoming more dynamic, her face expressing many traits at once: kindness, wit, and vulnerability.

How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow?
ICB teaches an important life lesson: continuous work leads to continuous improvement, moving our work from good to great. This sharpened my craft, helping me to discover my artistic voice: delicate curves mixed with mid-20th century pastels.

What did you discover about yourself?
I discovered that I delight in exploring themes: family-friendly themes about animals and optimism.

How would you describe the course to a friend?
This course is amazing! I learned a ton and enjoyed every minute of it. I love the support and feedback from Lilla, Zoe, and the FB community. You can grow more than you anticipate in 5 weeks. ICB will definitely change you.

See more work here: Website| Instagram