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.

Category:Creativity
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Your MATS Prep

Your FREE assignment from Lilla: What will YOUR book be about?

Imagine holding your very own stunning art-driven non-fiction book in your hands, written and illustrated by YOU! Two stunning arty books agented by Lilla Rogers Studio. Your book could be an art instruction book, a memoir, a guided journal, a book of quotations – anything you can think of! Lilla’s non-fiction book course, My Arty Book Pitch, starts in less than two weeks, on Monday, October 14th – so if you’ve ever dreamed of writing your very own arty book, then you definitely don’t want to miss this. Q. What is an arty book anyway? It’s any book that’s art-driven (whether that’s illustrations, photographs or anything else) and stunning to look at: it may be practical too, but you would also find yourself picking it up and flicking through the pages just because it’s so damn pretty. It could be a travel guide, a heavily illustrated guided journal, a graphic

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Get Day 1 of class for FREE!

Get Day 1 of Lilla’s incredible My Arty Book Pitch course for FREE! Lilla’s unique My Arty Book Pitch course all about writing, illustrating and pitching your very own art-driven non-fiction book, starts in less than a month, on Monday, October 14th, and today we’re giving you a little taster with the fabulous interactive quiz you’ll get in Day 1 of class. If you’ve taken any of Lilla’s courses before, you’ll know that a huge part of her teaching style is breaking everything down into simple steps to make the whole process playful and enjoyable, with no overwhelm. So, to help you jump straight into class without getting hung up on what your arty book should be about, Lilla has created this insightful interactive quiz to help you tap into your unique arty book idea. Download your FREE copy of Lilla’s interactive quiz here then fill it out to discover

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Replay of Live with Lilla: FREE Color Demo Webinar and Q&A

Want to know more about color? Got a question for an art agent of 30 years?  Watch the replay of Lilla’s FREE Color Demo Webinar below! Great color palettes in your work is one of the most important things that agents and art directors look for, which is why I’ve picked it as my focus for our retreat in Portugal. Love The MATS Team xx P.S. If you follow any of my socials or have watched any of my recent lives, you may already be aware that I’m teaching a LIVE art retreat in Portugal in March 2025. It’s going to be incredible and I can’t wait to share the playful, transformative assignments I’ve created with my students. There are still a few limited spaces left, so if you’d like to join us then sign up here.  

MABP Free 5 part video series

FREE video series on writing and illustrating your very own book!

Learn how to write, illustrate and pitch your very own arty book with this incredible FREE video series from Lilla Rogers! Lilla answers your questions about pitching your very own book, and shows you tons of beautiful examples. Get ready to feel inspired! Watch the video series here. Non-fiction illustrated books, or arty books, are an amazing source of income for artists, crafters, illustrators, writers, designers, photographers and more – basically anyone who is passionate about a hobby or an interest. You don’t need to be an expert to write your own arty book: you just need to care about something you want to share. And you don’t need to be a writer either – think about craft how-tos, illustrated journals or books of illustrated quotations. For example, here’s art agent Lilla Rogers talking about A Year of Weeks, which was written and illustrated by Erica Root and agented by

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My secrets on how I style a flat lay photo

Styling a flatlay is just like concepting an illustration. I first ask myself, what is the story I’m trying to tell? Then, it’s about assembling items that tell little stories. You may ask, “Lilla why did you include cookies? Isn’t this an art retreat?” I added them because they represent luxury, snacking on delicacies. I imagine we’re snacking on them while we make art, like we did on my France retreat. Plus of course they’re really pretty and they inject a number of round shapes into an otherwise boxy flatlay. The tropical flowers give a sense of place–Portugal. I like to include them around the edges, especially when they are long-stemmed like these. Then I feature the activity–a specific example of what we will be doing, which in this case is painting the colors from the cards. Art materials like brushes and colored pencils are great to accessorize the photo, plus

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Last chance to save 20%!

HURRY – our 20% off flash sale on Lilla’s Art Recipes: Drawing Faces ends TODAY! Lilla’s Art Recipes: Drawing Faces approaches drawing faces in a completely new, kooky way with loads of cool props like Lilla’s vintage toys, beautiful African masks and more. Sign up now and save! Why learn to draw faces? The bottom line: being able to draw faces will get you more illustration work in tons of markets including editorial, books, children’s picture books and more – and more work means more money. The ability to draw faces makes your illustration career more interesting – and thus more rewarding – by opening up a huge range of subject matter. It’s particularly useful for the children’s picture book market – and Lilla’s Art Recipes: Drawing Faces includes extra teaching on how to draw children’s faces to help you out. It’ll give your confidence and your art career a

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20% flash sale! Draw faces + make money!

Do you want to learn how to draw faces in a way that’s accessible and enjoyable, with instant access – oh, and a tasty 20% off? Lilla’s Art Recipes: Drawing Faces approaches drawing faces in a completely new, kooky way with loads of cool props like these beautiful African masks. There’s no other course like it! Book here. Whatever stage you’re at in your art career, knowing how to draw faces is the perfect way to learn something new, improve your skills, and give your career a boost – and to make it as accessible as possible, you can grab Lilla’s Art Recipes: Drawing Faces right now for 20% off! That means it’s reduced from £59 (approx. $76) to just £45 (approx. $58)! The ability to draw faces will hugely increase how many illustration jobs you get, so it’s a fast and simple way to give your creative career a

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FLASH SALE + see the MATS student on Britain’s high street!

FLASH SALE! Dreaming of a home décor line all of your own? Get one step closer with 20% off our unique course, Creating Collections for Home Décor, but HURRY – this offer is only valid for the next 72 hours! Home décor includes all of the beautiful, decorative items you have in your home: bedlinens, kitchen textiles, ceramics like vases and dining sets, soft furnishings like rugs and cushions, and hundreds more. As you can probably imagine, it’s a HUGE market for your art: market analysis platform Statista puts the worldwide revenue for the home décor market for 2024 at an impressive US$133.60bn, and projects it will grow steadily, with an annual increase of 3.89% in the next five years. Meet your teachers! Trend queen creative director Margo Tantau (left) and top art agent Lilla Rogers (right) will teach you everything you need to know to sell your art in

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FREE worksheet: How to choose what to focus on next

Lilla here. Today I want to share a FREE worksheet that I’ve created for you to help you decide what to focus on next. I’ve worked with creatives for decades and I know how hard it can be to pick sometimes. You want to do all the things! Markets! You want to illustrate children’s books, and also maybe finally write up that kids’ story idea that’s been hanging around the back of your head, and you want to design for home décor and also maybe your own toy or game, and you want to look at getting into magazine illustration, too. And art supplies! You want to use all the toys! Like your gorgeous smudgy pastels, and also that amazing new fountain pen you just bought, and also your dreamy Japanese watercolors and maybe a little bit of gouache … And what to draw, what to draw – maybe some

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Plant parents assemble! Lilla’s favorite art from our Quarterly Art Challenge!

Our fourth FREE quarterly Art Challenge took place in June, and, as always, we loved seeing the amazing art that you created! Today we’re sharing Lilla’s favorite art from the challenge, and letting you know how you can take part in the next FREE challenge next month. The assignment was to draw a house plant (or two). Like florals, plants are a perennial (no pun intended) favorite for journals, notecards, bags, bolt fabric, wall art, editorial illustration, book illustration and more, so are a fantastic addition to any portfolio. Plus they’re open to all styles and media. The winning entry for the fourth FREE Quarterly Art Challenge, by Make Art That Sells student Kristina Skutlaberg. Kristina wins a FREE place in class – join in with our next challenge for your chance to win! As always, Lilla looked at every piece of art submitted before the deadline and – after