Lilla here! Today I’m going to share the first part of my FREE #MATSprep for my online course, Illustrating Children’s Books.
I really love teaching this course. Why? Because I feel your excitement, your commitment, and no matter if you’re starting at the beginning or are an experienced published illustrator, I’m so happy that you want to strive to make the best children’s book illustration that you can make. I love seeing your work, and I love watching the inevitable growth that occurs over the five weeks of the course.
What’s a #MATSprep? It’s a FREE warm up exercise to get you ready for class, and it’s open to everyone, whether you’re signed up for class or not.
Illustrating Children’s Books 2023 starts in less than two weeks, on Monday, October 9th, so over the week and a half, I’ll be sharing this free assignment I wrote especially for class. It’ll help you prepare for class, you’ll learn some useful tips about children’s book illustration, and it’s also a great way to find out a little bit more about me and my unique teaching style if you’re new to Make Art That Sells.
Your FREE assignment Part 1: Create a character
One of the most enjoyable parts of illustrating a children’s book, and one of the reasons that artists find it so rewarding, is digging deep and creating your own unique main character that readers will fall in love with from the get go. This prep will help you tune in to your own quirky self to create your own character, and it should be a lot of fun too.
Photo: Lilla Rogers
Here’s the first part of your FREE #MATSprep! In the photo above, I’ve gathered up some of my oddities from my collections to get you started. Be sure to blow it up on your laptop or iPad so you can see all the details clearly. Which one do you feel most drawn to? Does one jump out at you? Does one seem easy to draw? Do any of them spark memories or ideas for you?
Your mini assignment is to pick one of the items in the photo and draw them in any medium and any style you like. As you are drawing, make up a little story in your head about them. This will make your drawing have more interest, even if only you know the answers to these questions. Pretend you’re a kid playing with the item. What story will you make up?
Here are some things you can think about:
- What is your character called?
- Do they have a friend? Is it human, an animal, or a thing?
- Where do they live?
- What are they feeling right now?
Character sheet by Make Art That Sells student Brooke O’Neill for a previous Illustrating Children’s Books course. You’ll learn everything you need to show in your portfolio to catch an art director’s eye. Book here.
Tips from art agent Lilla:
Your character should be around 5 years old. This is going to help you get that children’s book illustration gig because it’s what art directors look for in your portfolio. Don’t know what a 5-year-old looks like? Google 5-year-old child. Generally, the eyes are large on the face and the head is large compared to the body. This is true for a human or an animal or object.
If it’s a non-human like an animal or object (like the butterfly or giraffe), it should still have a feeling of being a child. The age doesn’t have to be obvious, but for example, don’t give it a beard and mustache! (Note: If you draw the cowboy man, be sure to make him a child.)
The eyes of the character are really important to the art director that will hire you to do the book, so be sure we can easily see them, and that they are symmetrical.
Is your character likeable, appealing?
Character sheet for a previous Illustrating Children’s Books by Make Art That Sells student Raquel Russo. You’ll get three exclusive texts to work from by co-teacher and picture book author, Zoë Tucker.
When you’ve created your character, post to social media with the tag #MATSprep so that I can see it. I can’t wait to see what you do! Obsessing over my students’ art is one of the best things about my job.
Over the next week and a half, I’ll give you further assignments to add to and develop your character, so be sure to keep an eye on our newsletter/blog and Instagram account. For today, have fun drawing your character!
There’s a lot going on right now! Here are all the dates you need for the next few weeks – pop them on your calendar now.
- October 2nd: Get Part 2 of your FREE three-part #MATSprep warm up assignment for Illustrating Children’s Books.
- October 3rd: Complete the new assignment for Redrawing Black History and submit it to the class gallery by this date for a chance to get your art reviewed LIVE by Tamisha and Lilla. They’ll be looking at all the art submitted before the deadline to choose which pieces to review, so this is an amazing opportunity to get your art seen by a top art agent!
- October 5th: Get Part 3 of your FREE three-part #MATSprep warm up assignment for Illustrating Children’s Books.
- October 5th: Join Tamisha and Lilla for a LIVE review of the new assignment for Redrawing Black History at 12.30 pm ET/5.30 pm (please note the slightly later than usual time) – and maybe get YOUR art reviewed!
- October 6th: Join art agent Lilla and children’s book art director Zoë Tucker for a FREE live Zoom event at 12 noon ET/5 pm GMT ahead of Illustrating Children’s Books.
Lots of love
Lilla xoxo
