Lilla here. I’ve created a series of five newsletters for you that are packed with the knowledge and wisdom I’ve gleaned from decades in the creative industry, as an art agent, an illustrator, an entrepreneur, an author and more. I’ll be answering some of the big questions I get asked, and sharing some of the things I think you need to know to make it as an illustrator.
Hi, I’m Lilla! I want to share some of the things that I’ve learned from my 30+ years in the creative industry.
So far, I’ve talked about 5 traits which will help you to be successful as an illustrator and how you can make time for your art, even when you have a ton of other things going on too (I’ve been there!). Check them out here.
In today’s newsletter, I’m going to build on the last one by sharing some ideas for how you can make the best use of your time, even when you only have an hour. Or, to put it another way, how to fuel the pump to get outta da funk.
You want to be really successful, you want to make great art, and you have limited time because you’re a human being on this planet. So how do you get down to business really fast? Successful artists can do that, and today I’m going to share some insights with you too.
How to get right down to the business of creating with just 1 hour
I like to think of it as setting yourself up for success.
The night before, outline all the steps required for the art you plan to create. It doesn’t have to be perfect—jot it down in your journal, on a scrap of paper, or even on Post-It notes, whatever works best for you.
Doodling in my studio.
Next, decide on the music you’ll play, gather the supplies you’ll need, and choose the paper for your project. Get your materials organized—whether that means having a well-stocked art supply bag or a designated stash box.
Finally, visualize the process step-by-step, ensuring the task is manageable. Choose something you can complete in about an hour to increase your chances of success. This could be as simple as a quick sketch, a couple of sketches, or deciding on your color palette—whatever feels achievable.
All of this is why, when I teach my courses, I break everything down into smaller steps and give you Mini assignments.
Minis are little warm-up illustration assignments which should only take you a short period of time. They are a step in your art where you can draw without thinking of the future or how good the piece is going to be or your success or anything, and they remind you how fun it is to make art. And guess what? People buy your joy!
My Mini assignments are designed to take most of the decision-making out of the process for you – because from making a decision it’s just a short skip to procrastination – and you don’t know what the finished assignment is going to be, so you can just create in the moment and not get hung up on what the final outcome will look like. I call this tricking you into making your best art, and it’s one of the reasons why my students create such beautiful pieces and why they surprise themselves again and again with what they can achieve.
In Assignment Bootcamp: Lettering, for example, I give you a gorgeous hand-picked curated font every day for the first week of each month that you can then work from for five minutes or an hour, whatever you like or have available. You don’t have to spend your hour disappearing into Pinterest.
In Illustrating Children’s Books, I give you three exclusive texts, carefully designed for all styles and all levels, and give you a Text Chooser to help you pick based on your personality and art style, so you don’t have to think about what to illustrate, you can just get into it.
Class work by Make Art That Sells student Erica Root for Assignment Bootcamp: Lettering.
And so on, across all my courses. Bye bye procrastination, hello inspiration!
I hope that you’ve found that helpful. I can’t wait to see what you’re going to do with your one hour!
Your Mini assignment #3
Your mini assignment this time is to write out your own recipe for your extra hour in some cool lettering (want to up your lettering game? You might want to check out this lettering course …)
First pick your recipe – what are you going to create with your one hour? Maybe a page of facial expressions or try out a new font or play with a new color palette … ?
Now your utensils – what media are you going to use? Inks or pencils or gouache, oh my!
And finally a dash of music for seasoning – what’s your soundtrack going to be? Write down whether you’re going to rock it to Gershwin or Taylor Swift, or maybe relisten to a live with Lilla.
And then, tuck in and enjoy!
- Tuesday, November 19th to Friday, December 6th: Mark your calendars for our huge annual sale, with at least 30% off everything and up to 50% off our career-changing bundles!
- Tuesday, November 19th: You won’t want to miss this! Join our FREE live Zoom All Star event at 12 pm ET/5 pm GMT to mark the beginning of our huge annual sale with FOUR of our amazing Make Art That Sells teachers: art agent Lilla Rogers, creative director Margo Tantau, educator and illustrator Tamisha Anthony and children’s book art director and author Zoë Tucker! Plan your career for 2025, ask our teachers anything, plus course giveaways galore!
- Next newsletter: How do you kick envy’s butt? And what does it say about YOU?
Lots of love
