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ALEXANDRA THOMPSON Make Art That Sells Illustrating Children's Books Student Showcase part 10 {Oct 2016 class}

Illustrating Children’s Books Student Showcase part 10 {Oct 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 first session of Illustrating Children’s Books. Here is part 10 in the showcase series. *** Alexandra Thompson My favorite week was the week of poses. I just loved getting to know all of my characters. The more I drew each one, the better I got to know them and learn a little bit more about their personalities. How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow? I learned so much through this class. From the business side of things, like how to submit my work to agents and what they are looking for – to working on character development and drawing techniques. Most of all, it was seeing the kind of personal growth that I was capable of if I just dedicated the time


you can live the dream Make Art That Sells See the cool life of a successful children’s book illustrator! Still time to sign up.

See the cool life of a successful children’s book illustrator! Still time to sign up.

Lilla Rogers Studio artist Mike Lowery lives the fabulous life of a very successful illustrator well known for his hilarious children’s books. With a three-book deal and book tours provided by his publisher, Mike is living the dream, and so can you. Follow his dream life on Instagram. Mike Lowery’s Carl the Duck’s Travel Adventures on Instagram Mike Lowery’s book signing at Barnes & Noble, part of his extensive US book tour.  Watch “How to Draw Carl the Duck” with Mike Lowery  Want to live the dream? Learn how to create a killer children’s book illustration pitch with top agent Lilla Rogers and highly respected art director Zoe Tucker in our live course which started yesterday, but you can still join in.  By the end of the course you will have your own distinctive pitch presentation ready to send to clients (which includes character sheets, a gorgeous double-page spread and a show-stopping front


LynnePritchard FantasyLandscape card Make Art That Sells Illustrating Children's Books Student Showcase part 9 {Oct 2016 class}

Illustrating Children’s Books Student Showcase part 9 {Oct 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 first session of Illustrating Children’s Books. Here is part 9 in the showcase series. *** Lynne Pritchard | Gingermog My illustration “Lost in the Woods” was inspired the fantasy landscape imagined outside of my tiny attic window, In reality I live in the middle of urban London and the view outside my window is a brick and slate tangle of roofs, chimneys, drainpipes and historical TV aerials, which became in my imagination a magical wood my little black escapes to explore every night. It was my favourite exercise because it helped me explore and become braver with texture and colours. I began to loosen up. How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow? I became braver with texture and colour. What did you


Danelle Prestwich adaposes Make Art That Sells Illustrating Children's Books Student Showcase part 8 {Oct 2016 class}

Illustrating Children’s Books Student Showcase part 8 {Oct 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 first session of Illustrating Children’s Books. Here is part 8 in the showcase series. *** Danelle Prestwich This image is from the “Poses” assignment. It is my favorite because I loved exploring the different poses mixed with expressions of my character. Her personality and character came alive for me during that assignment. How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow? The class opened my eyes to the world of Children’s Book illustrating. There was so much to the business side that I was unaware of- now I feel more prepared and grounded as I am building up my portfolio to send to art directors. What did you discover about yourself? During the length of the course I discovered that I am more capable


HENNA RYYNA%CC%88NEN PLANTING ICB1 WK4 Make Art That Sells Illustrating Children's Books Student Showcase part 7 {Oct 2016 class}

Illustrating Children’s Books Student Showcase part 7 {Oct 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 first session of Illustrating Children’s Books.  Here is part 7 in the showcase series. *** Henna Ryynänen | Studio Spotnik In the ICB class I worked with the Giant turnip story and week 4 was my favourite. I have to admit I enjoyed all the weeks but after week 3 I really got in to this and had a huge progress in my style and way of thinking. How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow? The IBC class helped me to realise that there’s room for everyone in the art business. No matter if your style is very groovy, bold or really minimal you’ll have plenty of opportunities if you just keep trying and drawing daily. Art career is a process. Most


daily artmatssharp Make Art That Sells MY MATS PREP #matskidbook Day 5: Birdie in your scene

MY MATS PREP #matskidbook Day 5: Birdie in your scene

I truly love seeing what you draw. You enchant me with your imagination, sensitivity, talent. Are you enjoying yourself? Play. Visit Instagram and search the hashtags #mymatsprep and #matskidbook to see the vast array of terrific art being created this week for the MATS Prep.   You know, a few years ago we came up with the idea of a free mini series as preparation for our courses. We figured that it would be a way for the students to get geared up for class and also to get a taste for what my teaching style is like, to see if it’s a good fit. We have been wowed with the response to our MATS Preps (as I write this, there are around 2,000 posts on Instagram for #mymatsprep and over 2,500 for #mygtsprep), and I thoroughly enjoy writing them. I hope you’ve found them helpful. So today, for our last day of Prep,


get your free downloadable Make Art That Sells How to select a text to illustrate. Free down-load! Watch what one of our students says about our Illustrating Children’s Book course—starts Monday!

How to select a text to illustrate. Free down-load! Watch what one of our students says about our Illustrating Children’s Book course—starts Monday!

I thought it would be really fun to pull a handout from the upcoming Illustrating Children’s Books course (starts Monday!) and give it to you now so you could get started early. Download your free copy here. This handout will help you choose which text to illustrate for the course. It focuses on examining your personality type, art style, and preferred art media. I always want my students to be able to dive right into art-making, and the most effective way to accomplish this is by breaking everything down into tiny, bite-sized bits and making the process fun. This prevents procrastination and engages the creative brain. Hear directly from one of our students just how terrific the course was. Watch this fun short video by Kirsti Davidson.   The first step in creating an illustrated children’s book pitch is this: You need to select a text that shows off your style! The cool part of this course is that we actually provide you with three carefully-selected texts that you’ll enjoy illustrating. Don’t worry—we help you every step of the way to do your


daily artmatssharp Make Art That Sells MY MATS PREP #matskidbook Day 4: Scene Magic

MY MATS PREP #matskidbook Day 4: Scene Magic

You made some pretty cool scenes in a variety of styles yesterday! I dig your beautiful minds. By the way, if you’ve just joined us, you can start any time. Visit Instagram and search the hashtags #mymatsprep and #matskidbook to see the vast array of terrific art being created this week for the MATS Prep. Today, I’m going to teach you three giant tricks to create depth (distance) in your artwork. – If you draw something at the top of your page, it looks like it’s far away. For example, if you draw a little house toward the top of your page, it looks like it’s in the distance. That’s because our understanding of distance in art is that the higher up the page, the farther away. And then, by making stuff smaller, it enhances the illusion of distance. The reverse is true: things at the bottom of the page look close to the viewer.


CYNTHIA_JACQUETTE illustrating childrens books make art that sells

Illustrating Children’s Books Student Showcase part 6 {Oct 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 first session of Illustrating Children’s Books. Here is part 6 in the showcase series. *** Christine Benda Attached you will find a copy of the image I used during the character poses week. This week was my favorite week! We had already spent some time developing our character, drawing their accessories and then drawing them with expressive facial emotions. The third week we worked hard on getting characters to show expression with their whole bodies. It was fun to use real humans as models for my farmer bunny from “The Enormous Turnip”. I had a lot of fun creating a whole page of poses for him. I really thought a lot about how he might move, what activities he may do, and especially playing with


daily artmatssharp Make Art That Sells MY MATS PREP #matskidbook Day 3: Setting Flip

MY MATS PREP #matskidbook Day 3: Setting Flip

I’m going to make you flip out today! Children are so in touch with their imagination. They live in fantasy land a great deal of the time. Children will love your imaginative world. I’m eager today to help you make some magic. Take the drawing you did of the view out of your bedroom window from yesterday (or if you didn’t do it yet, no worries; you can dive right in today). Now, flip the proportions of things. For example: Make huge buildings tiny. Make little insects huge. If the people were big, make them small. If they were small (like you’re looking down at the from the top floor of a building), then draw them huge. You get the idea. It’s going to be crazy! Share your images on Instagram: Tag us @makeartthatsells and use hashtags #mymatsprep and #matskidbook   Little people and huge plants. Draw it, and show us. I cannot wait to