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

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

bhldn Make Art That Sells #homedecsecrets Part 5: WOOD/MDF

#homedecsecrets Part 5: WOOD/MDF

When making art to pitch to an art director to get one’s very own home decor collection, most people think of plopping their art on pillows, lampshades, and something to hang on the wall. Did you know that there are tons of products you can show that will help you stand out? You can take a product like a ceramic plate, for example, and indicate a raised or embossed design? These extras are called ‘finishing techniques’ and all this week we have been sharing a peek at some of the finishing techniques showcased in our upcoming class ‘MATS: Creating Collections for Home Décor’ (which starts on Monday 16 May!). We are giving you daily prompts to get your creative juices flowing. Our last material is… WOOD/MDF. Wood is such a basic part of our every day, it’s something we almost forget about. Take a look around your house… what is

asentia Make Art That Sells #homedecsecrets Part 4: CERAMICS

#homedecsecrets Part 4: CERAMICS

How would you like to have a top creative director tell you all about what she looks for in a top-notch home decor pitch? All this week Margo Tantau is sharing a peek at some of the finishing techniques showcased in our upcoming class ‘MATS: Creating Collections for Home Décor’, and giving you daily prompts to get your creative juices flowing. Next up is CERAMICS. This is another ancient element that comes from the earth. One of the main ceramic making centers in China is called Dehua. It’s a fascinating area to visit, tucked deep in the mountains. They’ve been making ceramics there, especially porcelain, for over 2,000 years. Every product is hand touched and handmade to some extent. Clay vessels are one of the earliest forms of decorative and functional art on record. There are myriad ways that you can express yourself with and take your art to ceramics.

MATS Home Decor Student Showcase part 2 {January 2016 class}

We are so proud of our wonderful Make Art That Sells alumni and are pleased to showcase a series of gorgeous work that was produced in our January session of Creating Collections for Home Décor *** Carol Lelivelt I chose my Wood presentation board as my favorite image because I think it’s a fantastic array of very salable products with lots of fun patterns.  Featured are sea life, seashells, bubbles, seaweed, macrame, and lettering in colors of nautical blues, driftwood, and a pop of “crab” red. How did the Home Décor class help you grow? The Home Decor class made me grow by forcing me to do a lot of designing in a short amount of time.  It was a good challenge to figure out how the patterns I created would best suit the substrate and product I put them on. What did you discover about yourself? I discovered a

gillinderglass Make Art That Sells #homedecsecrets Part 3: GLASS

#homedecsecrets Part 3: GLASS

Did you know that you can take your home decor product pitch from good to great by adding what’s called “Finishing Techniques”? All this week we are sharing a peek at some of the finishing techniques showcased in our upcoming class ‘MATS: Creating Collections for Home Décor’, and giving you daily prompts to start seeing more possibilities for your art. Next up is GLASS… Glass is always a little mystifying and daunting, because it seems fragile yet strong all at once. It is ethereal, beautiful, purposeful, and practical. And we need it! Glass can be the basis of some amazing Home Décor pieces. Lighting, is a major use of glass – think lamp bases, pendant lamps, glass or crystal baubles hanging from a chandelier. Think pressed glass – something that would come out of a mold, like glasses, plates, or perhaps some decorative artwork pieces or glass tiles. Think serving

mymatsprep1 Make Art That Sells Cool new free #mymatsprep series for you

Cool new free #mymatsprep series for you

It’s that time again! Get your hashtags ready as #mymatsprep is about to begin again! This time we are gearing up for our upcoming course ‘MATS: Creating Collections for Home Décor’. The daily #mymatsprep prompts are designed to warm up everyone registered for class, but anyone can join in. A brand new #mymatsprep series will be shared on the blog every day next week so mark your diary and keep your eyes out! Example of some finishing techniques used on metal – products from CBK And if you missed it, all this week we are running a fun series of #HomeDecSecrets (yes we’ve gone a little hashtag crazy). These daily blog posts give you insights into some of the fascinating finishing techniques used on home décor products. This will make you realise the expanse of possibilities available for your art in this market. You can find out more and join

sukanart Make Art That Sells #homedecsecrets Part 2: FABRIC

#homedecsecrets Part 2: FABRIC

Imagine taking your artwork and popping onto templates and getting your own licensed home decor line! We’re talking rugs, canvas art, aprons, dishes, vases, little sculptures, and more. Did you know there are secrets to make your pitch catch the eye of an art director? We’re chatting about it all this week and sharing a peek at some of the finishing techniques showcased in our upcoming class ‘MATS: Creating Collections for Home Décor’, and giving you daily prompts to get your creative juices flowing. Next up is FABRIC… Fabric can take so many forms. It can be printed, stitched, pieced, cut and sewn into so many things. It’s a great vehicle to show your artwork. It is very satisfying to see artwork come to life on fabric – anything from a tea towel to a sofa. It feels so important and so REAL when you see your artwork actually printed

Sundance heart Make Art That Sells #homedecsecrets Part 1: METAL

#homedecsecrets Part 1: METAL

Did you know that there are things you can add to your Home Decor pitch that make you stand out? You don’t just want to show your art on a pillow, but there are ‘finishing techniques’ you can add to a basic pillow to make it really special. Today we’ll show you… In our upcoming course ‘MATS: Creating Collections for Home Décor’, top art director Margo Tantau shares finishing techniques for each of the five most popular materials used for products in this market. These allow you to play with your product to make your presentation to the client even more exciting and marketable! We hope you’ll find them inspiring, and feel confident to try new and varied looks in your product pitches. That, in turn, will make your pitch more desirable and unique. Finishing techniques are different processes that can be done by the manufacturer’s factory to enhance the

MATS Home Decor Student Showcase part 1 {January 2016 class}

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 our January session of Creating Collections for Home Décor *** Mitzie Testani My showcase image is from Week 4: ceramics. It’s a mix of painted line converted to vector and traditional media (watercolor and gouache paint). It’s my favorite because I was able to combine typography, pattern and paint and I finally figured out how to step away from some of what I made and integrate more of my unedited, painted images. I made a ton of imagery that I didn’t use. I’m getting better at critiquing myself, I think. How did the Home Décor class help you grow? The pace and the challenges of designing for specific substrates really pushed me. I feel like I’m making better gut decisions when I work.

mats promo 17a Make Art That Sells Reasons to take ‘Creating Collections for Home Décor' (No. 12): Be part of something

Reasons to take ‘Creating Collections for Home Décor’ (No. 12): Be part of something

All the Make Art That Sells experiences are special, not only because of what you learn and how you grow, but because of who you share the experience with. Each course offers you the opportunity to join a private online community of artists just like you – others who want to make it as a professional, who also have growing pains, successes to celebrate, and advice to share. Often class participants form strong bonds with other artists in class, organizing local meetups, becoming friends and even exhibiting together at trade shows. This class will be just like that, with a community of artists from all over the world. You can be part of something amazing, and that is something to be treasured. Feel like this is exactly what you need? Register now! Want to learn more about the Home Décor market? Sign up for our free video series here.

KevinBrackley Headshot LR Make Art That Sells Alumni success 'spotlight' interview with Kevin Brackley

Alumni success ‘spotlight’ interview with Kevin Brackley

We are so proud of our Make Art That Sells Alumni, that we are pleased to be publishing a series of spotlight interviews showcasing their successes and artwork. We also ask 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 alumni Kevin Brackley Tell us a little about how you got started in art and design I’ve always been interested in art and design, although I’ve had no “formal” training in it, apart from a desire to learn and experiment. I studied visual merchandising and enjoyed seeing how you could tell a story with products as well as apparel. I became more interested in design and the endless possibilities of design software and have spent thousands of hours honing my skills through online tutorials. I’ve never viewed this as studying as