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.

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⏰ LAST CHANCE for Character Bootcamp 2025!

Hurry HURRY – it’s your LAST CHANCE to take a deep dive into the rewarding world of creating characters! Registration for Bootcamp Special: Character Play closes TODAY! Art by Make Art That Sells student Heather Manning. Create gorgeous art for children’s books with brilliant picture book art director Zoë Tucker, then turn it into a toy or game with creative director and smash-hit game creator Riley. HURRY, last chance to sign up – join the class now! Hurry HURRY – registration for Bootcamp Special: Character Play closes TODAY, and this course won’t run again until 2026! If you want to get something from a children’s book art director and picture book author and an art agent, creative director and toy creator every Monday for three months that will bring you joy, give you something positive to focus on, and help you create great portfolio art designed to get you work

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#2: Is this you? (The activist ready to make a difference)

Lilla here. Over the next few days I’m sharing some imaginary creatives who I dreamed up who I can imagine working with in my new small group mentoring intensive, Inner Circle. Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list – I can’t wait to see the quirks and magic you bring to the table and how we can work together to transform your career into something amazing. But I hope that this will give you some ideas of how this incredible opportunity can help you. (You can read about my first imaginary artist, the illustrator who just needs a little boost, on the blog here.) #2 The fired up activist who’s ready to make a difference You’ve joined Inner Circle because you want to create art with a political point of view. You want your work to convey peace and compassion. I love this idea. Art has power. We look at mid-century

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Replay of Live with Lilla, Zoe and Riley! Character Bootcamp is here!

Did you miss the fab FREE live Zoom event with all your Bootcamp Special: Character Play teachers?  Watch below! If you missed the live Zoom (or just want to watch it again!), catch the replay below – it’s perfect to listen to as you doodle or sketch. Enjoy! Create some gorgeous eye-catching art for your illustration portfolio while learning just how easy it can be to create winning characters in Bootcamp Special: Character Play!

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#1: Is this you? (The illustrator who just needs a little boost)

Lilla here. I’m so incredibly excited about my latest project—Inner Circle small group mentoring. It’s a chance for me to do what I love most: closely mentor a small group of artists and help them reach the next level. So many artists crave individual guidance, and with my decades of experience as an agent and teacher, I know exactly how to help people make their work more true to themselves, more gorgeous, and more lucrative. That’s what lights me up. This morning, as I sipped my espresso, this happened: a number of imaginary artists came to mind—six examples of the kinds of creatives I envision in my mentoring intensive—along with case studies describing how I would guide each of them to reach their full magical potential. I wanted to share them with you one by one – so here goes. Is this you? #1 The illustrator who needs a guide

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Get your play on! Bootcamp Special 2025 starts TODAY!

Hurry HURRY – Bootcamp Special: Character Play, starts TODAY! Join brilliant children’s book art director and author, Zoë Tucker, and art agent, creative director and smash-hit toy creator, Riley Wilkinson, and get ready to give your creative career a huge boost! ✨ Are you ready to tap into that huge, quirky imagination of yours and learn how to create unique characters? ✨ Do you want to see your gorgeous art on toys, games, books and more? ✨ Do you want to dream up kooky new characters – and get paid for it? Then you won’t want to miss out on Bootcamp Special: Character Play! Don’t miss the fab FREE live Zoom event with all your Bootcamp Special: Character Play teachers TODAY at 12 noon EDT – get your questions answered plus you could win a FREE place in class! Here are your teachers: top art agent and illustrator Lilla (left),

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See incredible student art on toys and games!

We’re so excited that Bootcamp Special: Character Play starts THIS MONDAY, April 7th! Over the past couple of blogs and newsletters, we hope you’ve seen how simple and enjoyable it can be to create cute and quirky characters that you can license for children’s books and toys and games – two of the biggest and most lucrative art markets for illustrators – as well as tons of other markets, like partyware, home décor, apparel for both adults and children, bags, journals, packaging, and more. In Bootcamp Special: Character Play, you’ll create two gorgeous pieces of art for your portfolio every month for three months, like these by Make Art That Sells student Lisa Blakeborough. Sign up now! Now it’s time to build on what you’ve learned and start creating a powerful portfolio that will help you land work in these amazing art markets! Sign up for the class now! In

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What getting mentored by Lilla really looks like

What does getting mentored by Lilla really look like? And what can it do for you and your creative career? In a recent live Zoom event, illustrator and Make Art That Sells teacher Tamisha Anthony opened up about the transformative effect that getting mentored by Lilla had on her own career. Tamisha talked about how she’d always been around books but hadn’t really taken any steps towards making illustration into a career. Lilla looked at Tamisha’s art and made small tweaks, like suggesting that Tamisha include more of her own self, her love for fashion and design and home décor, in her art. Even such a tiny change had a huge effect, and since then Tamisha’s career has exploded! Since being mentored by Lilla, she’s got [seven] picture book deals, with another [four] on the way, and landed her first author-illustrator publishing deal. She’s taught two incredible Make Art That

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The plates have eyes Get Part 2 of your FREE assignment!

Lilla here. Today I’m sharing Part 2 of the FREE #MATSprep illustration assignment I created for you to get you warmed up for Bootcamp Special: Character Play. Today you’re going to find out exactly how easy it is to create winning characters for some of the hottest art markets right now. Children’s books and toys and games are both huge markets for illustrators – but you could also license your characters for products like gift, stationery, partyware, apparel, fabric, greeting cards and more. (One of our students recently landed a gig illustrating children’s food packaging after taking Bootcamp Special: Character Play – read more here.) What’s more, this course really is for all levels – and it’s just £99 (2approx. $126)! Win a free place in class! First I need to remind you to join me and my brilliant Bootcamp Special teachers, Zoë and Riley, in a FREE live Zoom

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FREE warm-up exercise on creating a character

Lilla here. Today I’m sharing the first part of a FREE two-part #MATSprep illustration assignment I’ve created for you to get you warmed up and ready for Bootcamp Special: Character Play, which starts in just a few weeks, on Monday, April 7th! I can’t wait for Zoë, Riley and I to show you how easy it can be to create winning characters that you can license for children’s books, toys, games and more. Q: Hold up. What’s Bootcamp Special: Character Play? A: Bootcamp Special: Character Play is a playful, relaxed course that’s designed to boost your creativity and give you more income streams for your art, so you can make more money doing what you love. It focuses on two fabulous art markets – children’s picture books and toys and games – and is taught by two top experts. Art by Make Art That Sells student Valerie Hamill for Bootcamp

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Why being able to create characters is amazing for your career

Learning how to create characters is fantastic for your art career! Here’s why: 1. You can get tons of work. You can license your characters for children’s books and toys and games (plush toys, play sets, card and board games and so on) of course, but there are lots of things that you probably haven’t even thought of – clothing for kids and adults alike, cushions, bedlinens, tea towels and oven gloves, phone cases: basically anything you can decorate. 2. Let your personality shine It’s a great way to show an agent or art director that quirky, unique personality of yours. Whether you’re witty, dreamy, playful, nerdy or whatever else, the characters you dream up will reflect that. 3. You can create characters no matter what level you’re at A character can be as simple as a stick figure or putting eyes on a sock or a lamp. Make eye-catching