Lilla here. Today I’m going to make you flip out, literally.
For the past days, I’ve been sharing some FREE assignments that I created for you to get ready for my online course, Illustrating Children’s Books. I hope you’ll join us: class starts Monday, May 23rd, so book your spot now!
Today I’m eager to help you make some magic that will give your picture book illustrations more visual impact. Think about your audience. Children are so in touch with their imaginations: they even live in fantasy land a great deal of the time! They are going to love the imaginative worlds that you create: whether it’s dreamy, moody, whimsical or witty, digging deep into a manuscript and creating all those little details is one of the most rewarding parts of children’s book illustration.
Art by Make Art That Sells student Jenny Miriam, who is now represented by Lilla Rogers Studio after Lilla spotted her in class. Want to get your art in front of an art agent? Book your place here!
Here’s today’s assignment …
I want you to take the drawing you did of the view out of your bedroom window last week (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!
Little people and huge plants in my terrarium. Photo by Lilla Rogers.
This is a powerful tool that you can use to make your scenes pop. Play around with it. Experiment. Stay loose. Don’t worry too much about the end result. Find the joy in it.
Show us your art!
When you’re done, share your art on social media so I can see it. Make sure you tag us in using @makeartthatsells and the tags #MATSprep and #matskidbook. I cannot wait to enjoy what you’ve done!
I’ve been obsessing over your incredible art on Instagram this week. Check the hashtag #matsprep to see the vast array of terrific art that has been created so far!
Lilla’s Tip of the Day: To be a great artist, you need to take risks and let people see your mind. You need to be willing to try new things, and try what you feel like drawing. Sometimes it’s baby steps, but keep pushing forward.
You’ll be creating some more scene magic in Part 4 on Monday next week. I’ll be sharing a free mini art class all about how you can create depth or distance in your artwork and take it to the next level. Until then …
Lots of love
P.S. Want to win a FREE place in class? Join me and my brilliant Illustrating Children’s Books co-teacher, children’s book art director and author Zoë Tucker, for a FREE live Zoom event on the first day of class, Monday, May 23rd, at 12 noon ET/5 pm BST. We’ll be answering your questions, sharing tips we’ve learned from our decades in the industry, showing off some dreamy art and giving away a FREE place in class. Pop a Post-It on your ipad now!
