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Danelle Prestwich adaposes Make Art That Sells Illustrating Children's Books Student Showcase part 8 {Oct 2016 class}

Illustrating Children’s Books Student Showcase part 8 {Oct 2016 class}

We are so proud of our wonderful Make Art That Sells alumni and are pleased to showcase a series of gorgeous student work that was produced in our first session of Illustrating Children’s Books. Here is part 8 in the showcase series. *** Danelle Prestwich This image is from the “Poses” assignment. It is my favorite because I loved exploring the different poses mixed with expressions of my character. Her personality and character came alive for me during that assignment. How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow? The class opened my eyes to the world of Children’s Book illustrating. There was so much to the business side that I was unaware of- now I feel more prepared and grounded as I am building up my portfolio to send to art directors. What did you discover about yourself? During the length of the course I discovered that I am more capable

HENNA RYYNA%CC%88NEN PLANTING ICB1 WK4 Make Art That Sells Illustrating Children's Books Student Showcase part 7 {Oct 2016 class}

Illustrating Children’s Books Student Showcase part 7 {Oct 2016 class}

We are so proud of our wonderful Make Art That Sells alumni and are pleased to showcase a series of gorgeous student work that was produced in our first session of Illustrating Children’s Books.  Here is part 7 in the showcase series. *** Henna Ryynänen | Studio Spotnik In the ICB class I worked with the Giant turnip story and week 4 was my favourite. I have to admit I enjoyed all the weeks but after week 3 I really got in to this and had a huge progress in my style and way of thinking. How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow? The IBC class helped me to realise that there’s room for everyone in the art business. No matter if your style is very groovy, bold or really minimal you’ll have plenty of opportunities if you just keep trying and drawing daily. Art career is a process. Most

daily artmatssharp Make Art That Sells MY MATS PREP #matskidbook Day 5: Birdie in your scene

MY MATS PREP #matskidbook Day 5: Birdie in your scene

I truly love seeing what you draw. You enchant me with your imagination, sensitivity, talent. Are you enjoying yourself? Play. Visit Instagram and search the hashtags #mymatsprep and #matskidbook to see the vast array of terrific art being created this week for the MATS Prep.   You know, a few years ago we came up with the idea of a free mini series as preparation for our courses. We figured that it would be a way for the students to get geared up for class and also to get a taste for what my teaching style is like, to see if it’s a good fit. We have been wowed with the response to our MATS Preps (as I write this, there are around 2,000 posts on Instagram for #mymatsprep and over 2,500 for #mygtsprep), and I thoroughly enjoy writing them. I hope you’ve found them helpful. So today, for our last day of Prep,

get your free downloadable Make Art That Sells How to select a text to illustrate. Free down-load! Watch what one of our students says about our Illustrating Children’s Book course—starts Monday!

How to select a text to illustrate. Free down-load! Watch what one of our students says about our Illustrating Children’s Book course—starts Monday!

I thought it would be really fun to pull a handout from the upcoming Illustrating Children’s Books course (starts Monday!) and give it to you now so you could get started early. Download your free copy here. This handout will help you choose which text to illustrate for the course. It focuses on examining your personality type, art style, and preferred art media. I always want my students to be able to dive right into art-making, and the most effective way to accomplish this is by breaking everything down into tiny, bite-sized bits and making the process fun. This prevents procrastination and engages the creative brain. Hear directly from one of our students just how terrific the course was. Watch this fun short video by Kirsti Davidson.   The first step in creating an illustrated children’s book pitch is this: You need to select a text that shows off your style! The cool part of this course is that we actually provide you with three carefully-selected texts that you’ll enjoy illustrating. Don’t worry—we help you every step of the way to do your

daily artmatssharp Make Art That Sells MY MATS PREP #matskidbook Day 4: Scene Magic

MY MATS PREP #matskidbook Day 4: Scene Magic

You made some pretty cool scenes in a variety of styles yesterday! I dig your beautiful minds. By the way, if you’ve just joined us, you can start any time. Visit Instagram and search the hashtags #mymatsprep and #matskidbook to see the vast array of terrific art being created this week for the MATS Prep. Today, I’m going to teach you three giant tricks to create depth (distance) in your artwork. – If you draw something at the top of your page, it looks like it’s far away. For example, if you draw a little house toward the top of your page, it looks like it’s in the distance. That’s because our understanding of distance in art is that the higher up the page, the farther away. And then, by making stuff smaller, it enhances the illusion of distance. The reverse is true: things at the bottom of the page look close to the viewer.

CYNTHIA_JACQUETTE illustrating childrens books make art that sells

Illustrating Children’s Books Student Showcase part 6 {Oct 2016 class}

We are so proud of our wonderful Make Art That Sells alumni and are pleased to showcase a series of gorgeous student work that was produced in our first session of Illustrating Children’s Books. Here is part 6 in the showcase series. *** Christine Benda Attached you will find a copy of the image I used during the character poses week. This week was my favorite week! We had already spent some time developing our character, drawing their accessories and then drawing them with expressive facial emotions. The third week we worked hard on getting characters to show expression with their whole bodies. It was fun to use real humans as models for my farmer bunny from “The Enormous Turnip”. I had a lot of fun creating a whole page of poses for him. I really thought a lot about how he might move, what activities he may do, and especially playing with

daily artmatssharp Make Art That Sells MY MATS PREP #matskidbook Day 3: Setting Flip

MY MATS PREP #matskidbook Day 3: Setting Flip

I’m going to make you flip out today! Children are so in touch with their imagination. They live in fantasy land a great deal of the time. Children will love your imaginative world. I’m eager today to help you make some magic. Take the drawing you did of the view out of your bedroom window from yesterday (or if you didn’t do it yet, no worries; you can dive right in today). Now, flip the proportions of things. For example: Make huge buildings tiny. Make little insects huge. If the people were big, make them small. If they were small (like you’re looking down at the from the top floor of a building), then draw them huge. You get the idea. It’s going to be crazy! Share your images on Instagram: Tag us @makeartthatsells and use hashtags #mymatsprep and #matskidbook   Little people and huge plants. Draw it, and show us. I cannot wait to

DEBORAH_MELMON_illustrating childrens books make art that sells

Illustrating Children’s Books Student Showcase part 5 {Oct 2016 class}

We are so proud of our wonderful Make Art That Sells alumni and are pleased to showcase a series of gorgeous student work that was produced in our first session of Illustrating Children’s Books. Here is part 5 in the showcase series. *** Deborah Melmon Illustration Cover for Ada Lovelace story. This was one of my favorite weeks because it included hand-written type and combined all that we had learned in previous weeks to come up with one image that best summarized the story. How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow? Even though I am already a children’s book illustrator, the course helped me to really focus on character development and experiment with a story that was out of the range of what I normally do. Gave me confidence to push my style and think outside of the box. The course also gave me new energy for my illustration career.

daily artmatssharp Make Art That Sells MY MATS PREP #matskidbook Day 2: Setting

MY MATS PREP #matskidbook Day 2: Setting

We are pretending all week that you have just been commissioned to illustrate a children’s book. Yesterday, you played around with drawing a character called Birdie. Now, you’re going to play with the setting. The environment, or setting, is one of the most exciting parts of a children’s book. Why? Illustrators love settings because it’s their opportunity to create an imaginative world that adds to the text. I’d love to see what you do so be sure to share it on social media! Share your images on Instagram: Tag us @makeartthatsells and use hashtags #mymatsprep and #matskidbook What’s the view out of your window? Maybe you’d like to zoom in on your view. All photos by Lilla Rogers For today, you’re going to make a setting exploration drawing. Go to any window and draw what you see outside. You can draw from: A car window Looking out your office window Gazing

MIRKA_HOKKANEN illustrating childrens books make art that sells

Illustrating Children’s Books Student Showcase part 4 {Oct 2016 class}

We are so proud of our wonderful Make Art That Sells alumni and are pleased to showcase a series of gorgeous student work that was produced in our first session of Illustrating Children’s Books. Here is part 4 in the showcase series. *** Mirka Hokkanen The image is all the different poses for the farmer. The colored painting was done with watercolor and the rest of them were digital sketches. Week 3 was a nice culmination into exploration of the characters. It was a good exercise to get acquainted with the characters, and to draw them consistently. Which I haven’t really done before. How did the ‘Illustrating Children’s Book’ class help you grow? The class helped me grow in so many ways. I have better tools to draw characters more consistently, and it gave me the confidence to put together an illustration portfolio, and start looking for work illustrating children’s books. Which I