Lilla’s longest and most wide-ranging illustration course, Portfolio Club, has been running for six months now, so today we thought we’d share some of Lilla’s favorite pieces so far, to bring a little brightness and beauty to your inbox.
Lilla says: “I am so proud of the top-notch art by my students for the Portfolio Club course and am delighted to share them with you today.”
Portfolio Club is eight fabulous months long – which means students still have two months of amazing new content to look forward to – and it covers a huge variety of art-markets with quirky and inspiring assignments written by Lilla as though she were an art or creative director reaching out with a real-life job.
It’s been wonderful to watch our brilliant students fill their illustration portfolios with such incredible art!
In January, the assignment was to create a full-page magazine illustration to accompany an article about regular journal practice. The brief mentioned to include a variety of icons – including a person if the artist wanted – laid out either as a scene or simply placed on a page, either with or without lettering.
Some of Lilla’s favorite pieces for the January assignment on a regular journal practice, from (l-r) Ben Chu, Karin Lauria and Kristina Rodriguez.
(Want to learn how to get magazine illustration work? Be sure to check out Lilla’s self-paced course, Editorial: Illustrating for Magazines & More!)
February’s Portfolio Club assignment was to create a set of four ceramic dessert plates, each featuring a different dessert and a decorative border.
Two of Lilla’s favorite pieces of art from the February assignment by (l-r) Erica Root and Ana Reljin Ljubisa.
(Dreaming of your own home décor collection? Don’t miss Creating Collections for Home Décor, or dip your toe into this thrilling art market with Home Décor PLUS.)
The assignment for March was to create a label for a fizzy seltzer drink with some lettering and a bold, modern, vivid look.
Gorgeous packaging labels for March, by (l-r) Heather Manning, Tjarda Borsboom and Bridget Stoyko.
April’s Portfolio Club assignment was to create a sample cover for an illustrated non-fiction book of uplifting quotations and journal prompts.
Illustrated non-fiction books are a huge market for artists! Lilla loved these portfolio pieces for April by (l-r) Kate Merritt, Cyndi Wojciechowski and Jo Podmore.
(If you’d love to build a career in the amazing world of illustrated books, take a look at Lilla’s unique My Arty Book Pitch course.)
In Portfolio Club in May, the brief was to create a tarot deck – a huge market for artists – starting with the Empress card. The artist’s take could be modern or traditional, but suggested the card feature mystical symbols.
Tarot card decks are another fantastic art market for illustrators! Gorgeous portfolio art for May by (l-r) Becka Lee Gruber, Veronique Godbout and Alexandra Imrie.
Finally, the assignment for Portfolio Club for June was to create a floral pattern of paisleys and daisies for a sock collection, with a cheerfulcolor palette and some lettering.
June’s assignment was to create some fabulous sock designs. Lilla loved this art by (l-r) Amy Clarke, Cynthia Jacquette and Jeni Paltiel.
Registration for Portfolio Club is closed for this year (join the 2027 waitlist here), but if you want to explore a huge range of markets then be sure to take a look at Hot Markets for Your Market Part A and Part B, or get them both with the great value Top 10 Markets bundle, to check out ten markets which buy a ton of art!
Congrats to all our Portfolio Club students for their fantastic work – we can’t wait to see what you do in July and August!
Lots of love
The Make Art That Sells team xxx
