Work by MATS student Anna Wilson for our most recent Illustrating Children’s Books course.
Our outstanding Illustrating Children’s Books online course already gets rave reviews from our students, because it’s enormous fun, produces beautiful art and snags great jobs. Plus for our most recent course, co-teachers art agent Lilla Rogers and children’s book art director Zoë Tucker had a surprise for our students: right before class started, they announced that every one of the weekly reviews of student work would be LIVE! This means that students were able to respond to their teachers, add comments, ask questions and get answers, all in real time, which is highly motivating and encourages each student bring their A-game! There is no other course out there like this and as a result we have been seeing some absolutely incredible art.
We are launching another brand-new children’s book illustration course in August! What’s the difference between Illustrating Children’s Books and Illustrating Children’s Books PLUS? What’s the same? And which one should you take?! Your wonderful teachers, art agent Lilla and children’s book art director Zoë reveal all in our video below.
How does it work? Each week, students have a different assignment to complete and a deadline to submit their work to the online gallery. Co-teachers Lilla and Zoë then look at every single piece of work submitted and choose their favorites to discuss in a LIVE online event. There isn’t time to discuss every piece, but Lilla and Zoë are extremely skilled at choosing pieces which contain teachable moments for everyone, so it’s a fantastic opportunity for every student to learn how they can improve their art and get more great jobs. And if your piece is chosen – well, just imagine how it would feel to have an art agent and children’s book art director discuss your work and give you tips while you can add comments and ask questions in return!
The work which our students make blows us away week after week, but it’s also amazing to see the changes they make after each live review. It’s staggering how sometimes even a tiny change can make such a huge impact! So today we thought we’d share some of the student work that was submitted to the gallery vs updates students made after watching the live reviews so you can see the difference for yourselves. Prepare to be amazed!
Lilla says: “Spot the difference! Two tiny changes … can you find them? This is a charming piece and we loved Lee Foster Wilson’s gorgeous modern color. We suggested that Lee’s character interact more with the kids in front by simply changing the direction of her pupils and the direction of her feet. It’s incredible to see what a difference such small changes can make.”
Lilla says: “We loved Michelle Tran’s style and her use of color in her original image of her character. We suggested that she take it from great to absolutely knock-out by adding some seaweed embellishments, subtly altering her expression and making the background slightly darker so the pearl really pops. Again, it’s amazing to see how such small changes can make such a big difference!”
Lilla says: “Lynn Gaines’ Pearl is absolutely adorable and we loved her charming habitat too. We suggested she remove the seaweed from in front of Pearl’s face and mute and darken the background so that Pearl really stands out. What other little changes can you see?”
Lilla says: “This was Lynn Gaines’ submission from week 2, which is all about expressions, and we loved the wonderful variety of emotions which Lynn has included. After the review, she has edited the layout so that Jack the merboy interacting with the tiny Pearl is a central focal point, while all those lovely emotions are still evident.”
Lilla says: “How sweet is Erica Root’s Bernadette! In the review we discussed turning the girl’s eyes towards the viewer to create a more compelling image that makes more of an emotional connection with the viewer. Removing the text around the character gives a cleaner finish and allows her to stand out more.”
Lilla says: “This is a brilliant piece from Natelle Quek, but for a strong kids’ book pitch the art director needs to see clearly that the artist can do a variety of expressions. The After image shows a fabulous range of emotions – well done!”
Lilla says: “By darkening and unifying the background and removing the text, Audrey Suau’s main character, Pearl, pops beautifully, giving a cleaner and faster read.”
We hope that you enjoyed the show! Isn’t it amazing to see the changes in some of these before and afters?
If you’re kicking yourself for not signing up then we have good news: Illustrating Children’s Books laid-back kid sister, Illustrating Children’s Books PLUS starts NEXT WEEK, and there’s still time to get involved! Illustrating Children’s Books PLUS is a shorter, more relaxed course which will help you focus on cranking out some superb art for your portfolio. Read more about it and snag your spot here!
See you in class
Lots of love
The MATS team xxx
P.S. Can you believe that Lilla Rogers Studio has scooped up yet another Make Art That Sells student for representation? Find out who in next week’s newsletter!
