Learn how to get paid for illustrating children’s books!

  Our hugely popular online course, Illustrating Children’s Books, starts May 20th

MABP quiz

Live FREE Zoom TODAY! Plus take the quiz

Win a FREE place in class TODAY and get your FREE interactive book pitch quiz! Join art agent Lilla for a LIVE Zoom event TODAY at 12 noon ET/5 pm BST! She’ll be giving away a FREE place in her exciting new class, My Arty Book Pitch! Plus she’ll be showing off some gorgeous arty books that she’s agented, answering your questions, and popping a volunteer up on screen so she can talk to them 1:1. Don’t miss it! Ask Siri to set a reminder now and join here or find the link on our Instagram Stories or the front page of our website at www.makeartthatsells.com. (If you loved this, be sure to join Lilla for her LIVE Zoom with her artists on Wednesday, April 12th – mark your calendar now!) Lilla’s brand new course for 2023, My Arty Book Pitch, starts THIS MONDAY, April 10th – and right now


SPRING SALE RECTANGLE 2023 PINK 1

Make money from your art: 5 reasons to sign up NOW

Join art agent Lilla for a LIVE Zoom event TOMORROW at 12 noon EDT/5 pm BST! She’ll be giving away a FREE place in her exciting new class, My Arty Book Pitch! Plus she’ll be showing off some gorgeous arty books that she’s agented, answering your questions, and popping a volunteer up on screen so she can talk to them 1:1. Don’t miss it! Set a reminder on your phone now and find the link on our Instagram Stories or the front page of our website at www.makeartthatsells.com. Want to make your art better than ever in 2023? Want to fill your portfolio with stunning job-snagging on-trend art? Want to land so many jobs that you’re getting to pick and choose what you want to do and turning potential clients away? Our big Spring Sale is on NOW, with juicy discounts across every single one of our raved-about courses plus


SPRING SALE RECTANGLE 2023 YELLOW

Our courses really work: 5 children’s book success stories

Imagine getting an email from an art director saying that they adore your art and would love to work with you … Imagine spending months creating winning characters and dreamy worlds for children (and adults) to fall in love with – and getting paid $$$ for it … Imagine getting a package in the mail and opening it up to find proof copies of your very own picture book, illustrated and/or written by you … Children’s books are a HUGE market for your art and one that many illustrators dream of breaking into. And no wonder – even in our increasingly digital world, nothing quite beats the feeling of curling up with a beautifully written and illustrated book. Whether you want to learn what you need to show in your portfolio to land kid book illustration jobs and build a show-stopping pitch, write your very own unique picture book story,


SPRING SALE RECTANGLE 2023 PINK

Increase your income and boost your book career at up to 45% off

Get it all with My Semester of Art School 2023! Whoop whoop, our big Spring Sale started yesterday, with 25% off every single one of our career-changing courses plus some brilliant bundles, including the fabulous My Semester of Art School! Fun fact: all of our live courses for the rest of the year are book-related: Lilla’s exciting NEW illustrated non-fiction book course, My Arty Book Pitch, which starts this Monday, April 10th Lilla’s fabulous picture book writing course, My Kid Book Pitch our character development bootcamp, Bootcamp Special: Character Play, with children’s book art director and author Zoë Tucker and art agent and creative director Riley Wilkinson and our beloved picture book illustration course, Illustrating Children’s Books, with art agent Lilla and Zoë. … so if you’ve been dreaming of building or boosting your career in the dreamy world of books … if you want to stroll past your favorite


SPRING SALE RECTANGLE 2023 BLUE 1

Save up to 45% off everything: Our Spring Sale starts TODAY!

Do you want to supercharge your illustration career? Do you want to grow your art, fill your portfolio, and make real money doing what you love? Do you want to save up to a massive 45% on our career-changing online courses? Then don’t miss out: our big Spring Sale starts TODAY, Monday, April 3rd, with 25% off every single course and up to 45% off our fabulous bundles! It’s a fact: art directors, creative directors, publishers and clients NEED your art. Despite the downturn in the economy in many places, plenty of art markets – including children’s books, non-fiction books for adults, and toys, games and puzzles – are booming right now. Whether you’re looking for a change of direction, you’re ready to take your illustration career to the next level, or you simply want to grow your art and flex your creative muscles, we’ve got everything you need. Look


Sarah Allen with Busy Beaks 1

6 non-fiction book ideas from Make Art That Sells students

Art agent and educator Lilla has tons of experience of nurturing creative people to create their very best work, both through her Make Art That Sells courses and through mentoring the artists that she represents. Plus, as an art agent who assigns tons of illustration jobs every week, she sees exactly which markets are booming right now, and non-fiction illustrated books are one of those markets. Today we’re sharing some non-fiction book ideas to inspire you! Q. Why did Lilla write My Arty Book Pitch? A. Because she knows that creative people like you have amazing, original ideas – and she’s always looking for new income streams for creatives. In fact, a ton of our students have already written and illustrated their very own incredible arty books, often using the knowledge that they gained during Make Art That Sells courses. Q. So do I really need My Arty Book Pitch?


11 Vintage books get ideas

FREE video: How to use vintage books for inspiration

Arty books – art-driven, illustrated, non-fiction books – are an awesome market for creative people like you – artists, illustrators, crafters, doodlers, photographers and more. Why? Because it’s a new source of income, plus it can bring new paid opportunities, like speaking engagements, teaching opportunities, more illustration gigs, writing for columns, being interviewed on podcasts, and much more. Also, here’s the cool thing about writing and illustrating an arty book: you don’t need to be amazing at writing OR brilliant at drawing. You don’t even need to be an expert. What will your arty book be about? Find out with My Arty Book Pitch. Q. WHAT? Then what on earth DO you need to be in order to pitch, write and illustrate your own arty book? A. You just need to be excited about showing or teaching or sharing something. That’s it. Q. Um, are you sure? A. Yes! Lilla


Art by Janie Secker

3 portfolio tips from an art agent + FREE mini assignment

Lilla here. Today I want to share a playful mini assignment with you plus some great portfolio tips. Why? Because it’s fun to get prompts that spark your creativity, and because the more art you make the better your art will get. Some of my favorite cups. First, I want you to take a moment to reflect: what’s your favorite drink? Do you drink it in your favorite cup? A glass? Do you use a straw? Do you garnish it with a lemon? Whipped cream? Sprinkles? Where do you drink it? When do you drink it? Here in the northern hemisphere, as we (finally!) move into spring, maybe you want something bright and full of fruit. For those of you in the southern hemisphere, maybe you’re thinking about something cosy, comforting and autumnal. Just to show you how timeless this subject can be – here’s a painting by Mary Cassatt


MABP Free Video Series 01 1

Don’t miss our FREE 5 part video series

FREE video series: How to pitch your very own arty book Non-fiction illustrated books, or arty books, are an amazing source of income for artists, crafters, illustrators, writers, designers, photographers and more – basically anyone who is passionate about a hobby or an interest. Let Lilla show you how you can build a career in writing and illustrating gorgeous arty books, like these by Lisa Congdon, who was formerly represented by Lilla. You don’t need to be an expert to write your own arty book: you just need to care about something you want to share. And you don’t need to be a writer either – think about craft how tos, illustrated journals or books of illustrated quotations. Want an example? Here’s art agent Lilla Rogers talking about A Year of Weeks, which was written and illustrated by Erica Root. Erica is a Make Art That Sells student who is


Screenshot 2023 01 30 at 13.12.00

Top 10 tips for Instagram for artists

Top 10 tips for Instagram for artists Art directors (and agents!) are increasingly finding fresh work and discovering new artists via Instagram, as well as using it to look for artists to commission for jobs. Showing your art can be a fantastic way to get noticed, build a following, and land paying illustration jobs. The Make Art That Sells Instagram feed shows off tons of gorgeous student artwork, plus it’s a fab place to hear about our sales, freebies and giveaways – give us a follow! It’s an easy interface to work with, and anyone can do it. Here are 10 top tips and pointers from the Make Art That Sells team: 1. Make sure people can find you! Consider using your or your studio’s name as your Instagram account name. If your Instagram is very different from your name, think about including both when signing your work to make