Write your picture book!

  Lilla’s innovative picture book writing course, My Kid Book Pitch, is back as a LIVE course in 2026! Find out more and sign up here.

ANDREA STEGMAIER ELEANORPOSES ICB3 WK3 Make Art That Sells Alumni success ‘spotlight’ interview with Andrea Stegmaier

Alumni success ‘spotlight’ interview with Andrea Stegmaier

We are so proud of our Make Art That Sells Alumni, and we are pleased to feature a series of spotlight interviews showcasing their successes and artwork. We’ve asked them to share how the MATS courses have helped them learn and grow. You can see more Alumni Success stories here Today, we have an interview with Andrea Stegmaier who has taken Illustrating Children’s Books + My year of Art school (all classes held in 2018) Tell us a little about how you got started in art and design Since I was a little kid I have made art, but never thought of it as a profession to earn money, so I learned something serious and became an architect. Last summer I posted a doodle on social media and got some likes. I kept on posting little drawings and a few weeks later I discovered MATS and the Illustrating Children’s Books class, took

icbstudent IF1 Make Art That Sells Illustrating Children’s Books begins today! FREE download with Zoë’s top tips on creating memorable characters!

Illustrating Children’s Books begins today! FREE download with Zoë’s top tips on creating memorable characters!

We’re thrilled that our highly acclaimed live online course, Illustrating Children’s Books, begins today! In just five weeks you’ll create a show-stopping children’s book illustration pitch and learn everything you need to know to land your dream children’s book illustration gig! Creating memorable, relatable characters is absolutely key to snagging your dream kids’ book job, which is why we spend the first two weeks learning all about characters: how to develop appealing characters in your own style, what art directors look for in a character, how to make the reader connect, and so much more. And to celebrate the first day of Illustrating Children’s Books today, we’re giving you a FREE download with Zoe Tucker’s top tips for creating winning characters. Grab it here! This beautiful character design by Andrea Stegmaier demonstrates her ability to illustrate a character with lots of emotion and personality. Super cute! And that’s not all!

lillazoebooklook Make Art That Sells Jester Hipster or Madam Bodoni: What’s your children’s book illustration personality?

Jester Hipster or Madam Bodoni: What’s your children’s book illustration personality?

Do you dream of getting work in the magical world of children’s book illustration? Our highly acclaimed online course, Illustrating Children’s Books, starts Monday! Plus to celebrate we’ve got a delicious serving of freebies for you to enjoy: read on! Work created in our last ICB course by student Heather Manning. This piece shows to the art director that Heather can illustrate a powerful environment. One of the reasons that the course works so well is that we break everything down into easy manageable steps so that you can avoid procrastination, engage your creative mind and, most of all, enjoy the process! In just five weeks, you’ll create a brilliant children’s book pitch which will help you land the work you want. The very first step towards creating a kickass pitch is to understand your own illustration style and which text to choose to let your art shine. Is your

Caitlin Murrayphoto Make Art That Sells Alumni success ‘spotlight’ interview with Caitlin Murray

Alumni success ‘spotlight’ interview with Caitlin Murray

We are so proud of our Make Art That Sells Alumni, and we are pleased to feature a series of spotlight interviews showcasing their successes and artwork. We’ve asked them to share how the MATS courses have helped them learn and grow. You can see more Alumni Success stories here. Today, we have an interview with Caitlin Murray, who has taken Assignment Bootcamp four years in a row, Creating Collections for Home Decor and Illustrating Children’s Books. Tell us a little about how you got started in art and design It was a long and winding road! I originally studied teaching Drama and English, then went on to study Gold & Silversmithing and Millinery, before eventually studying illustration full time in Melbourne in 2001-2002. After that, I freelanced as an illustrator for a year before getting a job as an in-house designer for a fashion company who designed kids’ clothes for

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Zoë Tucker’s Insider Review of the Bologna Book Fair

Zoë Tucker is our beloved co-teacher of the Make Art That Sells Illustrating Children’s Books course and a highly regarded children’s book art director. Earlier this year she attended the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, so we jumped at the chance to catch up with her and get her insights about the show. We also asked our MATS students who attended the fair to share images and their experience, so you can read their thoughts here.   Zoe writes: Hi everyone! I haven’t been to the Bologna book fair in years and decided this year it was high time I reacquainted myself with it. It didn’t disappoint! Aside from the fact that Bologna is a beautiful medieval city and a great mini-break, the international Bologna Children’s Book Fair is a one stop wonder of inspiration and excitement – especially if you love children’s books like I do! You can download this report from Zoë

3b.The BabyLit stand Make Art That Sells MATS Students at the Bologna Children's Book Fair

MATS Students at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair

The Bologna Children’s Book Fair is held in the Spring every year in Bologna, Italy. The Fair is the event in the publishing year’s calendar, built around children’s content today. Zoë Tucker, our beloved co-teacher of the Illustrating Children’s Books course and a highly regarded children’s book art director, attended in 2018. Zoe wrote a report about the fair here and we also asked some of our MATS students who went along to send us some thoughts. So in today’s post, MATS students share a few images and thoughts on attending the fair in person! Caroline Bonne-Muller This is me in front of the fantastic artwork created by Chloe Almeras and a photo of a 1.5 hour line for a portfolio review at Nosy Crow. I was at the fair with my 16 year old daughter, who has ambitions to go to the art academy, so I thought it was nice to

prl2promoheader Make Art That Sells Portfolio Review Live begins today! FREE downloadable worksheet!

Portfolio Review Live begins today! FREE downloadable worksheet!

Have you always wanted to see how a top agent reviews a portfolio? From over 30 years in the business, top art agent Lilla Rogers has boatloads of wisdom to share. Earlier this year, Lilla hosted her brand-new e-course, MATS Portfolio Review Live, where she shared a ton of insider insights from her years as a successful illustrator and top art agent on how to make your portfolio more marketable and appealing to art directors. The first round was so popular, we’re running the live course again – and class begins TODAY! Each week for four weeks, Lilla Rogers will review a randomly selected artist’s website in an hour-long in-depth LIVE portfolio review on Facebook Live. The participant will be chosen at random each week, and it could be YOU! In addition, Lilla will offer tons of advice to help you succeed in your career. You never know what will happen in each review as they are live and unscripted! Each week comes with Lilla’s arty downloadable worksheets. Here is one on

matsD banner s031 Make Art That Sells Have you always dreamt of illustrating your own children’s book? Find out how!

Have you always dreamt of illustrating your own children’s book? Find out how!

  Have you always dreamt of illustrating your own children’s book? Find out how from industry insiders, top art agent Lilla Rogers and top art children’s book art director Zoë Tucker! Many of our students who have taken the course multiple times have gone on to get agents and book deals precisely from the work they did in class!   Read our success stories here! Check out our gorgeous classroom where you’ll live for 5 weeks.  You’ll get: Facebook Live broadcasts from class where you can interact with Lilla and Zoë! Your choice of one of three carefully-chosen original texts for you to illustrate. This will give you structure for the course, and allow you to dive in instantly. Fifteen in-depth videos with Lilla and Zoe on every aspect of the creating and pitching of your children’s book, growing your creative business, and Lilla’s art technique demonstrations Interviews with top art directors and successful illustrators. We ask them everything you

kendra Make Art That Sells What will YOUR children’s  book  look like? Free taster lesson!

What will YOUR children’s  book  look like? Free taster lesson!

Your teachers, Zoë and Lilla Meet top art agent Lilla Rogers and brilliant children’s book art director Zoë Tucker, who will guide you every step of the way to creating your own children’s book pitch! They love to teach, have tons of knowledge, and break down the assignments step-by-step to assist you in making your very best work. You’ll make art in a supportive environment that will encourage you to thrive. What do I get in the course? This is a live course that runs every day for five weeks beginning October 15th to November 18th, 2018. By the end of class, you’ll create a brilliant children’s book pitch to help you land your dream children’s book gig. You’ll get over 20 videos, weekly assignments, live weekly video reviews, interviews with publishers and illustrators, and more. It’s co-taught by top art agent Lilla Rogers and highly-respected children’s book art director Zoë Tucker. What kind of work comes out of this

prl2promoheader Make Art That Sells Hear what some of our students had to say about Portfolio Review Live!

Hear what some of our students had to say about Portfolio Review Live!

Have you always wanted to see how a top agent reviews a portfolio? From over 30 years in the business, Lilla Rogers has boatloads of wisdom to share. We launched our first ever MATS Portfolio Review Live e-course in June 2018, and it was so overwhelmingly popular that we’ve decided to run it again in February! February’s course is going to take a good look at what Lilla looks for as an agent in an artist’s social media and website, with a focus this round on Instagram and Pinterest. Watch Lilla live as she shares her screen and hear her review websites and social media. She’ll discuss: What can you do to attract attention? What does the art director or agent look for? What type of post gets the most hits? How can you use Instagram stories and highlights to show off your work? Join us for this dynamic, fully-live