Write your picture book story with Lilla’s writing course designed for artists!

  HURRY! My Kid Book Pitch starts TODAY! Sign up now here.

iggy peck Make Art That Sells What Art Directors look for in Children's Book Illustration

What Art Directors look for in Children’s Book Illustration

Working on our new course, Illustrating Children’s Books,  has made me even more in love with kid books. But writing and filming the course with highly regarded art director Zoe Tucker, I have come to more fully understand what make the great books great. I’ve chosen a book that beautifully illustrates 4 key points that art directors look for in artwork: Is there a strong character? Can you easily identify the emotions of the characters? Is the story being told clearly? Is the style fabulous and fresh? Let’s take a look at a book that I adore. Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty, by David Roberts This book cover hits all the notes: Is there a strong main character? Yes. The boy is really appealing. His hair and sweater are nice touches. Remember, your main character is the star of the book. You are going to be drawing him/her throughout,

Manifesto Monday 2016 {part 1}

Welcome to Manifesto Monday We receive so many wonderful comments about ‘Make Art That Sells‘, that we invited our amazing alumni to submit their own MATS Manifesto! We were absolutely delighted (but not surprised!) by the staggering level of submissions for the 2016 Manifesto competition. Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing their beautiful artwork on the blog. Would you like to experience the Make Art That Sells class yourself? Browse our live and self-paced classes here *** GRACE NOEL  | CREATIVELY GRACEFUL By taking the MATS course I expect to uncover extra nuggets of industry insight so I can fulfill my dream of designing collections for the home decor market. That will combine all my loves in one!! See more of Grace’s work here: creativelygraceful.blogspot.ca   *** BROOKE ANNE BRISTOW I participated in the Global Talent Search 2015. I enjoy watching all of Lilla’s videos-I am trying to build my

gts 2016 02 Make Art That Sells Lilla is on the hunt for her next artist to represent. Hurry! Tomorrow is the last day to register!

Lilla is on the hunt for her next artist to represent. Hurry! Tomorrow is the last day to register!

Make your living drawing pictures! How would you like to wake up in the morning, make your coffee, sit down at your art table and work on your paid cool illustration gigs? Imagine having a team of support at your agency to guide you, negotiate the fees, review the contracts, and even invoice the clients for you?  Do you dream of illustrating children’s books, your own home décor line with your artwork on it, and walking into a shop and finding cards you have designed on the shelves? Then this is your big opportunity! How does Lilla Rogers Studio find the next artist to represent? Lilla is looking for her next artist to represent and the way she does it is through our Global Talent Search. Daniel Roode GTS winner for Midwest CBK This is one of literally thousands of jobs that we’ve gotten our artists.   What is the

RK 5 low Make Art That Sells Behind the scenes with... Evie Ashworth of Kaufman Fabrics

Behind the scenes with… Evie Ashworth of Kaufman Fabrics

It’s Evie Ashworth’s turn to open the doors to her office at Robert Kaufman Fabrics. An established member of the textile industry for over 40 years, Evie has traveled the world to all production points from Europe to Asia and in between. She brought her expertise to Robert Kaufman in 2000 to establish a whole category of product specifically for quilt fabric retailers. She merchandised the line, introducing the concept of coordinated samples and print basics, including the trademarked Fusions(TM) brand, and today continues to ensure Robert Kaufman brand’s association with only the highest quality standards. Evie currently directs a large internal design team as well as several art studios abroad, to produce Robert Kaufman’s signature in-house Luxe and Gallery looks as well as a broad range with external licensed artists and brands. Evie is a judge for the Global Talent Search 2016. All images are courtesy of Robert Kaufman

Read a Q&A with Lilla. What is she looking for in her next artist?

With the Global Talent Search starting next week, there is one burning question that we can’t escape: What is Lilla looking for in her next artist? Reine Sloan sat down with Lilla and asked her a few questions. Q: What are you looking for in an artist this year? A: The cool part is that we are always surprised and delighted by the talent that enters, and by who we end up selecting. Q: Any particular medium or style you’re looking for? A: We clearly have a distinctive brand, so that’s part of it, but we also love new looks. For example, last year one of our 3 winners was Clairice Gifford, who is primarily a lettering artist. Clairice Gifford, Global Talent Search Winner 2015 Q: How many winners do you pick? A: We always select one big winner, but in the past, the talent has been so amazing that we have chosen one or

Why you should do the GTS even if you don’t think you’ll win. Here are three reasons why:

Why you should do the GTS even if you don’t think you’ll win. Here are three reasons why: 1. Work will be judged by our esteemed judging panel of acclaimed art directors such as Chronicle Books, Anthropologie, American Girl, UPPERCASE Magazine, Hallmark, and Nickelodeon. This is your chance to get your artwork in front of all of them! See all the judges here. 2. Participants have gotten work just from participating, even without winning. 3. You get a fantastic downloadable 19-page assignment filled with loads of inspiring visuals, suggestions on how to dive in, and top tips for creating art that sells. And guess what? Our very first winner didn’t think she had any chance. She won. Listen to what Zoe Ingram says in this interview. Zoe Ingram, Global Talent Search Winner 2013 Don’t miss out…Sign up here now! Save Save Save

#mygtsprep Part 5: Chocolate Heaven

photo by Reine Sloan Dear MyGTSPrep people, You have been doing such fabulous work! Those of you who have done my Preps before know that I love to squeeze quirkiness out of your imaginative heads with a wacky assignment. With that in mind, here goes. Fill in the blanks, and draw a picture: You may not know this about me, but I am actually a dessert. I am a _____________________________________ and people love me because __________________________________________________________. You will not believe this about me but _________________________________. I go well with ________________________________. Feel free to write your sentences in the comments or even right on your art if you like to do lettering! We love reading your lovely weirdness! photo by Reine Sloan Thanks for participating in the GTS Prep! We’ve had a record number of images posted on Instagram for #mygtsprep and we’re totally enjoying watching the images roll in. You

#mygtsprep Part 4: Color Match Magic

What a massive bunch of cool art coming into #myGTSprep! Seriously, the prep is one of my most favorite things we do, because we get to delight in such a vast variety of gorgeous, fascinating, and inspiring work, no matter what level anyone is at. Remember, everyone started at the beginning. We don’t judge. Color is king! Without fantastic color, all the gorgeous drawing and design in the world won’t have the same magic appeal. Have you found that you tend to use the same colors over and over? I know that I did when I was an illustrator. It’s just so easy to do! I worked hard to freshen up my color palette now and then. Here’s why you should, too, for a few key reasons: It gives your work fresh energy. It broadens your job possibilities. Different palettes offer more variety for the client and some prefer moody

#mygtsprep Part 3: Letterati

Hi, Gang. Isn’t this fun? You are rockin’ it! I am seriously addicted to #myGTSprep! Remember, while the Global Talent Search Prep is to help you prepare for the Global Talent Search, anyone can join in! Today, your assignment is to illuminate the letter “S”. This will be great prep for the Global Talent Search. (Tip: Including lettering in your art is a great way to increase income because you are up for more job possibilities. Art directors often look for artists that can do lettering.) I’m going to show you a bunch of sample illuminated letters. But you need not do the letter in this classic way. In fact, do it in your own way, in your own style. You are simply embellishing the letter “S”. Some tips (All images from Milliande Printables) I’m using the letter B for these examples. But you’ll do the letter “S”. Tip #1:

#MYGTSPREP Part 2: Packaging

Great job on the cups you drew yesterday, everyone! I so delight in checking out #myGTSprep images! Are you enjoying this? I hope so! I bought the tea tin in Chinatown NYC in 1985 for an illustration I was commissioned to do on ‘A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ for San Francisco Focus Magazine. Remember, there was no internet then. We actually went places to do research! Here’s the GTS Prep, Number 2: I can’t tell you why this will be important for the Global Talent Search, but I want you to photograph and post packages that you see around you in your life today that appeal to you. They might be gum wrappers, soap packaging, soup cans, coffee bean packages, shoe boxes, etc. Shoot products that you find around your house or in your travels. I’m sure we’re going to rock social media with this one! Look for interesting typography, gorgeous