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Category:Alumni Success
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Write a picture book illustration success story like this

Check out this picture book illustration success story! Hurry hurry HURRY – registration for our career-changing Illustrating Children’s Books course closes TODAY, but there’s still time to sign up! Join now to get instant access to all the class materials released so far, including Daily Sketchbook prompts, lessons on things like pitching, the first Art Director’s Cheat Sheet from Zoë, and bonus lessons from former art agent and illustrator Lilla. Plus the rest of the class only got the first assignment yesterday, so you still have time to catch up and maybe get your art reviewed in the first weekly LIVE review on Monday! Sign up here. picture book illustration success story: Martina Stuhlberger Today we wanted to share an amazing success story from Make Art That Sells student Martina Stuhlberger, who is currently working on her sixth and seventh books since taking Illustrating Children’s Books! Martina (left) and with the

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HOW many picture book deals?!

Building a lucrative career in the dreamy world of children’s book illustration is totally possible – and we’ve got the receipts to prove it (see below!). It isn’t just about skill or style – for example, you also need to show an art director or publisher that you have what it takes to create a character that will appeal to children, and that you can recreate in different poses and with different expressions while still being identifiably the same character. That’s where our student favorite Illustrating Children’s Books course comes in! Now in its tenth year (and twelfth iteration), you’ll spend five intense weeks creating an eye-catching ready-to-send pitch presentation that contains everything you need to show an art director or publisher so they give you that gig! Meet your teachers! Former top art agent, Lilla (left), and children’s book art director and picture book author, Zoë (right), have tons

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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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Wow! Alumni success interview with Siski Kalla

We’ve got a fabulous student success story to share with you today! Art agent Lilla’s main motivation in founding Make Art That Sells is helping creative people prosper and thrive and make real money from their art, and that’s why we love to share success stories from our wonderful community. Make Art That Sells student Siski Kalla recently got in touch to let us know that since taking Make Art That Sells courses, she’s landed multiple traditional book illustration contracts, is now represented by an agency, and has worked with lots of self-published authors too. She told us: “It’s now my full-time career! I always recommend Make Art That Sells. Best fun ever too!” We knew we had to find out more about everything Siski has been up to, so we reached out with some more questions: enjoy our alumni success interview with Siski below. Siski Kalla Siski (left) plus

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See the beautiful books our students have illustrated

Picture books are one of the most magical and rewarding art markets out there, and we couldn’t be more excited to see so many of our graduates landing incredible picture book illustration deals! Here’s your teacher! As an art agent for 30 years, Lilla has viewed thousands of artists’ portfolios and agented many hundreds of picture books, so she knows just what you need to show in your portfolio. Today, we’re celebrating some of the amazing picture book success stories our talented students have shared with us – they’re truly inspiring! (Love these? You can explore even more of our alumni’s fantastic achievements right here.) And don’t forget—our huge Spring Sale is happening right now! That means 25% off every single course – and if your dream is to get paid for illustrating picture books, don’t miss our game-changing Get Me a Picture Book Deal bundle, packed with even bigger

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Look who’s represented

You know what’s great? Making art and getting paid for it. You know what’s also great? Getting an agent. Having an agent is amazing, because they negotiate contracts and fees and promote you, and leave the best part – making art – to you. Make Art That Sells courses are really effective at helping artists land representation, because they help you build a powerful illustration portfolio that contains everything an agent needs to see in order to get you work.  And let’s face it – Lilla should know! As an art agent for 30 years and a full-time illustrator for over a decade, she’s created our raved-about Make Art That Sells courses to help artists like you land agents and get commissions. In fact, if you check out our amazing public Zoom event with Lilla and illustrator Tamisha Anthony from earlier this week, you’ll see that Tamisha talks about how

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MATS classes really work! Read Adam’s success story

Our huge annual sale ends TOMORROW! If you’re thinking of taking any of our courses in 2025 then you won’t get them cheaper than this, so don’t miss out – shop the sale now! And don’t forget, if you’ve already bought a course (or two) and are now kicking yourself for not getting a bundle instead, that’s not a problem at all – simply email Louise at [email protected] and she will help you out! Get FREE creative career advice from Lilla Rogers in the live Zoom event TOMORROW, Friday, December 6th at 1 pm ET/6 pm GMT! Join Lilla for a FREE live Zoom event tomorrow and get FREE creative career advice, plus you could win courses and gorgeous products, and more! With more than 40 years of creative industry experience – as an art agent, an author, a speaker, a columnist, an educator and more – Lilla has got

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Did you hear the huge news from Margo Tantau?

In case you missed it, we recently had some HUGE (and hugely exciting) news from one of our brilliant teachers, fabulous trend queen and creative director, Margo Tantau. Margo has now set up her own art agency, Tantau Studio – and not only has she already taken on some Make Art That Sells students for representation, but she’s actively looking for more! This means that when you take one of Margo’s classes, you’re getting your art directly in front of an agent who is looking for more artists to represent! Lilla Rogers says: “Our community has just gotten an incredible gift. Margo Tantau—my dear friend, a brilliant creative director, the founder of the popular Windowsills Chats podcast, and my co-teacher at Make Art That Sells—has founded a brand new illustration agency, Tantau Studio! With decades of experience in the home decor and licensing industry, she brings her wealth of expertise

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Don’t miss these amazing student success book deal stories

Imagine holding your very own book, written and/or illustrated by you, in your hands … Imagine spotting it in the wild in the library or bookstore … Imagine getting invited to your favorite local bookshop or school or radio station to do a reading … Imagine this being your job – that you’re getting paid to do! Just some of the hundreds of books agented by Lilla Rogers Studio. Ready to hold the book YOU illustrated in your hands – and get paid for it? Grab a career-making course in our giant annual sale. Books are a fabulous market for both artists and writers, because they’re constantly in demand, hugely satisfying to work on, and a great source of income. That’s why, after decades of seeing what’s in demand and what’s selling in the art market, Lilla now offers not one but THREE book courses – all currently 30% off