Illustrating Children’s Books 2025 starts in just over a week, on Monday, July 7th! To help you get ready for class and warm up your creative muscles, we’re sharing a series of five FREE assignments from course co-teacher and renowned art agent, Lilla Rogers: read on for Part 2!
How to create a setting for a picture book
What’s Illustrating Children’s Books? It’s an incredible five-week LIVE online course that will teach you everything you need to know to launch or boost your children’s picture book illustration career.
This will be the twelfth time that your teachers, art agent and Make Art That Sells founder, Lilla Rogers, and acclaimed children’s book art director and author, Zoë Tucker, have run this course – and each time, it just gets better and better!
Art by Make Art That Sells student Pamela Goodman for Illustrating Children’s Books. You’ll create a pitch presentation containing everything an art director needs to see, including a beautiful full page spread like this. Sign up now!
Every year, our students net dozens of wonderful book deals – read about some of them here – and we can’t wait to see what you’re going to do this time. Want in? Book your spot here.
HERE’S YOUR MATSPREP DAY 2 ASSIGNMENT!
For this #MATSprep, we’re imagining that you’ve just been commissioned to illustrate a children’s book, just like so many Make Art That Sells alumni. How wonderful! Last week, you got to know a character called “Zoë” – if you missed the assignment, find it here.
Today, you’re going to play with the setting by drawing the view out of your own window. 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. It’s a chance to really stamp your own unique personality on a book, and to lose yourself in a magical world of your own creation.
What’s the view from your window? Here’s some inspiration: Lilla’s beautiful garden in Massachussetts (left) and downtown Tokyo with bullet train by Make Art That Sells co-founder Beth Kempton. Draw what you see from your window!
Part of what makes a children’s book so appealing is a magical environment. Whether you draw realistically, or paint in a moody style, or design in a witty way, it’s the well-observed details that matter, and it’s why we devote an entire week of Illustrating Children’s Books to creating a stunning environment for your characters.
For today, you’re going to make a setting exploration drawing. Go to your window and draw what you see outside. Do your visual research. Look up at the sky, look down below, look for people, cars, trees, things on the sidewalk, things in the distance. You can draw in any style you like. We can’t wait to see what you see!
What’s the view from your window? More inspiration from the Make Art That Sells team: Louise’s studio in Spain and beautiful Georgian architecture in Bath, England from Becky.
Advice from Lilla:
“But Lilla, the view out of my window is really ugly. Or boring. Or lame.”
Lilla says: “First of all, I doubt that. You may be tired of it but we’re not. Here’s what I say to you: Use anything as an opportunity to be creative. Look and look and look. Space out. Daydream. See what comes. You are a creative person! To be a success, you must be able to make magic out of any assignment. That’s why the client will come to you!”
Lilla adds: “When I was starting out as an illustrator, I realized that any assignment had the potential to be an award-winning piece. I thought, ‘What would my art heroes do with this? They would do something amazing, so maybe I could too if I open my mind and visualize. (Deep breath!) I just need to imagine something marvelous.’ And so can you! Maybe not right away, but bit by bit you will delight yourself as your work becomes more consistently beautiful. So, think about that as you embark on your assignment today.”
Art for class by Make Art That Sells student Rhaida El Touny. Learn everything you need to know to build or boost your children’s book illustration career from your industry expert teachers.
If you like, you can add the name of your town or city to your art so that we can enjoy the huge variety of #MATSprep participants. We have students from all over the world and it’s going to be remarkable to see the variety of life out there: city streets, country living, mountains, deserts, villages, the seaside and more. We can’t wait to learn more about you!
Show us your art!
As with last week’s assignment, don’t forget to share your art on social media and tag us in with @makeartthatsells and use the tag #MATSPrepICB12 so that Lilla can see what you do
Lilla’s Tip of the Day: Lilla says: “The best artists are known for their style, and art directors come to them for what they (the artist) can uniquely deliver. Allow yourself to take the risk to try something different. Be open to whatever style emerges today as you draw. Maybe it’s a slightly different look. There’s no law that says you need to stay in one style.”
Do you want five weeks of daily drawing prompts and thrilling structured assignments that will help you make even better art and build a successful career in the world of children’s book illustration? Do you want to spend five weeks enjoying Lilla’s warm step-by-step teaching style? Hurry hurry – book your spot here!
- Monday, July 7th: Illustrating Children’s Books starts! Join your teachers, former top art agent Lilla and brilliant children’s book art director Zoë, for five incredible weeks where you’ll learn a ton about the picture book industry and create a ready-to-send pitch that contains everything an art director needs to see to give you work! Don’t miss out! Sign up here.
- Available NOW! Sign up for the Brilliant Kid Book Bundle and save a whopping 20% on art agent Lilla’s last two LIVE courses for the year, student-favorite Illustrating Children’s Books and the wonderful Assignment Bootcamp: Lettering. Find out more here.
- Next newsletter: Don’t miss Part 3 of your FREE five-part #MATSPrep warm-up illustration assignment for Illustrating Children’s Books!
Lots of love
Lilla and the Make Art That Sells team xxx
P.S. Be sure to join your teachers, Lilla and Zoë, in a FREE live Zoom event on the first day of class, Monday, July 7th, at 12 noon ET/5 pm BST! They’ll be discussing the MATSprep assignment, showing off some of their favorite children’s books, answering your questions and giving away a FREE place in class! Set an alarm now!
