We love shouting about our amazing alumni and the wonderful work that they do, and they give us plenty to shout about!
Maria van Bruggen has taken a number of Make Art That Sells courses, including Illustrating Children’s Books in July 2019, during which she signed a deal with a publisher to write and illustrate three books. (Want to find out how you can pitch for your very own kids’ book? Don’t miss Lilla’s brand NEW course, My Kid Book Pitch!)
Anna Lindsten has also taken multiple Make Art That Sells course, including Illustrating Children’s Books a number of times. She says: “I was also contacted shortly after by a Swedish publisher of children’s books after the editor had seen the squirrel character I created in the previous Illustrating Children’s Books course! I was so happy to work with this book publisher for a classic anthology of stories and poems for young children: the book celebrates its 30th birthday this year and is a classic in Sweden, with lots of wonderful authors and illustrators involved, old and new. I was even more thrilled when the publisher asked if I wanted to make a whole book with them as well, so that’s something I’m working on at the moment. It is truly a dream come true!”
Anna Lindsten’s full page spread from Illustrating Children’s Books course. In just five weeks, you’ll produce everything an art director or publisher wants to see in your portfolio!
Another Make Art That Sells addict, Adriana Bergstrom, recently published her first book as a children’s book illustrator. Want to land great jobs like this? Don’t miss our amazing Write and Illustrate a Children’s Book Intensive bundle at an amazing 30% off until December 2nd only!
Adriana Bergstrom’s environment spread from Illustrating Children’s Books in summer 2019.
Lizzie Bass took Illustrating Children’s Books in October 2018, following which she was accepted onto an MA in children’s book illustration.
Annabel Tempest is another repeat Make Art That Sells student (is anyone else noticing a theme here? – she describes herself as “a total MATS junkie” and adds “I definitely feel like I’ve found my tribe!”).
Here are just two of her most recent successes: an illustrated children’s book which used some characters she created for a Make Art That Sells home décor course all the way back in 2015, and a stunning non-fiction children’s book.
Annabel says: “When I started doing Make Art That Sells, I had no expectations of where it might take me. The MATS MBA (Money Badass) course has got me thinking about so many new and exciting things. Hurray for such a brilliant MATS community!”
Anna Denise Floor has taken Illustrating Children’s Books a number of times and has recently self-published her first children’s book. She says: “I put into practice a lot of the things Zoë and Lilla taught us.”
Anna Denise Floor’s character expression sheet from Illustrating Children’s Books. This is one of the things that art directors and publishers definitely need to see in your portfolio!
Udayana Lugo has recently signed with Astound Illustration Agency after taking several Make Art That Sells classes.
Udayana Lugo’s beautiful full page spread from Illustrating Children’s Books. Join the waiting list for the 2020 course here!
Maggie Summers has taken Assignment Bootcamp twice, Hot Markets for Your Art Part A and Part B, and Lilla’s Art Recipes: Drawing Faces, among others. She was recently approached by an international company interested in licensing her art for their website.
One of Maggie Summer’s finished pieces for Assignment Bootcamp. Bootcamp is an amazing opportunity to explore new markets and create eye-catching portfolio pieces like this.
Maggie says: “The assignments were fun, challenging and so valuable. I learned more through Assignment Bootcamp than I did in college and university, which has really stretched my artistic approach. I like that it is a “live” class and is deadline driven: it keeps the students in class engaged and working towards a common goal, sharing ideas and encouragement, as well as valuable input. The energy stays high and is infectious. It drives me to do my best work. I loved the variety of assignments which required different approaches and problem solving techniques.”
Camille Medina has taken a bunch of Make Art That Sells courses, including Illustrating Children’s Books, Hot Markets for Your Art Part A and Part B, Editorial LIVE: Illustrating for Magazines and More, Lilla’s Art Recipes: Drawing Faces, MATS MBA (Money BadAss) and more. She’s now signed a licensing contract with a UK greeting cards company and created a collection of 12 designs, was commissioned by her local council to work on an illustration to be featured in an exhibition at one of the city’s museums, and was commissioned through her agent for several projects based on work she had done for Make Art That Sells classes.
Camille Medina’s front cover created for Illustrating Children’s Books. She’s since signed a licensing contract with a UK greeting cards company.
Camille says: “Make Art That Sells classes are like an art playground, a self-care retreat and an art business workshop all in one. You get out of them feeling excited, refreshed, more knowledgeable, more confident, and wanting more!”
We’ve just heard that Irene Silvino’s art has been selected for the SCBWI Biennial Exhibition “Pictures at Play” in London this December. Pictures at Play is an exhibition of the best of children’s book illustration in SCBWI, selected by a jury panel of a celebrated illustrator, an art director and a commissioning editor.
Irene has taken Make Art That Sells courses including Illustrating Children’s Books, Editorial LIVE: Illustrating for Magazines and More, Hot Markets for Your Art Part B, and Assignment Bootcamp.
And finally, while not strictly an alumna success story, we were thrilled to hear that brilliant children’s book art director and Make Art That Sells co-teacher, Zoë Tucker, published her second children’s book this fall, based on one of the texts she wrote for Illustrating Children’s Books.
Earlier in 2019, Zoë published her first children’s book, Ada and the Number Crunching Machine, which she wrote for a previous Illustrating Children’s Books course, and which was illustrated by a Make Art That Sells student: read more here. Zoë writes three brand new and exclusive texts for each Illustrating Children’s Books class, based on her insider knowledge of the children’s book market, and we were delighted to hear that another of these, originally written as Greta and the Wolves, was picked up for publication in fall 2019. We can’t wait to see what Zoë does next – and you never know, next time you could be the one getting the illustration gig! (Prefer to write your own book? Then Lilla’s brand NEW course for 2020, My Kid Book Pitch, is for you!)
A huge congratulations to all our alumni from all of us here at Make Art That Sells!
Want to land amazing jobs and representation like these? Make an early New Year’s resolution to light a fire under your creative career in 2020: our Giant Cyber Sale is on now, with discounts across every single one of our raved-about job-snagging courses plus amazing bundles that will transform your art career! Hurry – check it out now! MUST END MONDAY!
Lots of love
The Make Art That Sells team xxx
