hurry hurry, sign up to Lilla’s BRAND NEW course today!

  Don’t miss Portfolio Club LIVE! Class starts January 5th, find out more here.

erikaroot residencyimage Make Art That Sells Find out what Lilla’s artists thought of her My Kid Book Pitch course

Find out what Lilla’s artists thought of her My Kid Book Pitch course

Is there a children’s picture book inside you, longing to get out? Do you dream of holding your very own beautiful children’s book – actually written and illustrated by YOU, even if you don’t think of yourself as a writer – in your hands? Then you’re going to want to check out art agent Lilla’s exciting NEW course, My Kid Book Pitch, which takes place this fall. You’ll learn everything you need to know to create your own incredible authentic picture book, from a showstopping first line to a memorable central character. Lilla will be sharing tons of hints and tips along the way, with insightful ways to help you discover the unique story that only you can write using her Magic Cards, and an amazingly indepth workbook that she’ll share with you section by section to take you through the whole process step by enjoyable step. Get it now


NADJA SARELL icbplus week2 1 Make Art That Sells BRAND NEW alumni success stories: See the book deals our 2019 Illustrating Children’s Books students got!

BRAND NEW alumni success stories: See the book deals our 2019 Illustrating Children’s Books students got!

Do you want to know how YOU can have a successful career in children’s book illustration? We absolutely love sharing our students’ many success stories, and with just five weeks to go until the start of Illustrating Children’s Books 2020, our emphasis today is on our former Illustrating Children’s Books students who have gone on to land book deals and build amazing children’s book illustration careers in this wonderful art market. Imagine getting a call from an art director to say they adore your work and would love to work with you … Imagine going into a bookstore and seeing your own beautiful art on a front cover … Imagine holding your very own children’s picture book in your hands! This has been a reality for huge numbers of our students – let Illustrating Children’s Books co-teachers, renowned art agent Lilla Rogers and brilliant children’s book art director and author


zoebook Make Art That Sells Get your FREE mini-video on the making of a children’s book

Get your FREE mini-video on the making of a children’s book

Looking for an exciting creative focus? There are just over six weeks to go until the start of our raved-about online course, Illustrating Children’s Books, and we can’t wait! Taught by top art agent and Make Art That Sells co-founder, Lilla Rogers, and brilliant children’s book art director and author, Zoë Tucker, it’s an incredibly intense five week course that will teach you everything you need to know about the wonderful world of children’s book illustration, and is renowned for its ability to make careers and change lives (look out for some more of our incredible alumni success stories in next week’s newsletter!). Today, with huge thanks to publishers Quarto, we’re sharing a mini-video on the making of children’s book Greta and the Giants, written by Illustrating Children’s Books co-teacher Zoë Tucker and illustrated by Zoe Persico. The story was originally written by Zoë for Illustrating Children’s Books, before being


get your work in front of an art agent Make Art That Sells BREAKING: Lilla reveals the assignment for the Hot Markets for Your Art Live Review!

BREAKING: Lilla reveals the assignment for the Hot Markets for Your Art Live Review!

Want to get your art directly in front of a renowned art agent who’s looking to take on new artists? Our wonderful online courses, Hot Markets for Your Art Part A and Hot Markets for Your Art Part B are self-paced, meaning you can start the moment you sign up and complete them at a pace that fits around your other commitments. However, once a year, to motivate and inspire you, Lilla sets a deadline for submission for an assignment from one of the courses. She’ll then view all of the pieces submitted to the gallery by the due date, and review her favorites in a video that you can download and watch. How would it feel to get a call from a top agent to say they love your work and want to represent you? The live review is a fantastic opportunity to get your work seen by renowned


perfectshelter asaGilland Make Art That Sells What does your home life look like right now? Plus get your final FREE assignment

What does your home life look like right now? Plus get your final FREE assignment

We hope you’ve enjoyed all the Arty Assignments that art agent Lilla has created for you this month – if you’ve missed any, head over to our blog to catch up, and don’t forget to check out Lilla’s favorites on our Instagram feed. We’ve considered the future and the past, such as things that you might be missing from our pre-pandemic lives. What about the present? What does your home life look like right now? As for me, British Jennie, I’m writing this from the bathroom, because it’s the only room in my house with a lock. Every now and then I can hear crashes, which reassure me that my children are still alive and give me a vague idea of their location, plus it’s a fun guessing game for me (what do I own that makes that noise as it hits the floor?). Eventually they’ll find me and I’ll


What makes you sad Make Art That Sells Lilla shares what makes her sad, plus get your FREE Arty Assignment

Lilla shares what makes her sad, plus get your FREE Arty Assignment

Lilla here. How are you doing? How are you feeling? I’m excited to share my third free Arty Assignment with you today and I wanted to reach out to you and check in. Like many of us, I’ve found myself feeling the need for connection even more than usual during this time, and I’ve enjoyed chatting live in our free MATS MBA (Money BadAss) Facebook group and my recent free WebinARTS with six of my artists (find details on my site here). Art by Make Art That Sells student Socorro Vega, illustrating a quotation by our co-founder Beth Kempton from her book Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life. My free Arty Assignment this week is all about what makes you feel sad. There’s a lot of sadness right now and those feelings are important to acknowledge. Which isn’t to say that we do or should feel sad all


Anne Lehman Stolpe 640x753 1 Make Art That Sells Finding hope and opportunity in the middle of all this. Join our Facebook Live!

Finding hope and opportunity in the middle of all this. Join our Facebook Live!

How are you and your art business faring in the current climate? We have heard so many stories from the MATS community about the ways you have each been affected, and we know that it can be overwhelming to cope amid so much uncertainty. Times like this can take their toll on our creativity and motivation, and if you are worried about money, or trying to juggle additional responsibilities like homeschooling, that can add an extra layer of pressure. Student work from Anne Lehman, illustrating an article from Wabi Sabi: Japanese wisdom for a perfectly imperfect life by MATS co-founder Beth Kempton for Assignment Bootcamp 2019. For the past ten years I have been helping people to navigate change, whether that is changing careers, starting a new business, or reconfiguring their life to do more of what they love. Hand-in-hand with that comes dealing with fear of the unknown, feeling


What is the weirdest part of now Make Art That Sells FREE arty assignment: What’s the weirdest part of now?

FREE arty assignment: What’s the weirdest part of now?

Have you ever noticed how things are a bit, well, weird right now? For me, British Jennie, a woman who spends her days alone at home looking at my laptop in a darkened room, one of the weird things is how little things have changed: it turns out that I was socially isolating for years before it was cool. Granted, with three small children now permanently at home and a pesky need to find things for them to do other than play Minecraft for 15 hours straight per day, things are a little more untidy than usual (for which read: I currently have to wade from room to room, and for some reason our backyard is full of blankets and Nerf gun bullets); but on the plus side, with the school run cancelled for the foreseeable, I’m suddenly finding time for all those little things that have been on my


penny PP my happy future me FINAL 01 Make Art That Sells Four FREE Arty Assignments to fill up your May from art agent Lilla!

Four FREE Arty Assignments to fill up your May from art agent Lilla!

How are you feeling right now? Have you settled into this new strange normal yet? Do you feel odd when you see people on TV standing close to each other? Can you remember the last time you wore shoes? Maybe you’re feeling anxious or stressed or just downright bored. Maybe you’re loving the slower pace of life. Maybe you’re somewhere between the two, finding occasional glimpses of joy amongst the dull dross of day to day life. To give you a focus, a distraction or simply some creative inspiration for the next few weeks, top art agent and Make Art That Sells co-founder and teacher, Lilla Rogers, has put together four weeks’ worth of FREE assignments which we’ll be sharing throughout the month of May. You can use them to journal, to create a keepsake of this strange time, or even as portfolio pieces. Lilla says: “As a creative person,


affirmation allokay Make Art That Sells Lilla’s five lockdown questions: an opportunity to pause and reflect

Lilla’s five lockdown questions: an opportunity to pause and reflect

As a gift to our amazing community, Make Art That Sells co-founders, art agent Lilla Rogers and author and entrepreneur Beth Kempton, have decided to make their raved-about business course for creatives, MATS MBA (Money BadAss), FREE for the foreseeable future. Their aim is to give away at least 20,000 free places – so far more than 12,000 people have signed up. Find out more here. Lilla says: “One thing about where we are in this crazy, unprecedented time in the world is that it cuts through the dumb stuff. We step back and take a good look at our lives: what once was, in the past, and what will be when this is over.  This in-between time is a precious moment to reflect and make changes to our lives so that when this phase is over and the bright new future emerges we will be well-positioned to go after