Find out how you can create winning characters for games, books and more – and see the character that became a game that became a book!
It’s less than a month until the start of Bootcamp Special: Character Play, the popular course, now in its third year, that’s all about creating appealing characters for books, games, toys and more.
Learning how to create characters can be fantastic for your creative career. Why? Because they’re the centre point of products like picture books, toys and games (including plush toys, play sets, card and board games and more), and because you can licence them in so many art markets – markets like clothing, cushions, bedlinens, tea towels and oven gloves, phone cases, bags, wall art, and dozens more.
In this unique course, you’ll join brilliant children’s book art director and author, Zoë Tucker, and creative director, art agent and smash-hit game creator, Riley Wilkinson, for three months of content that will spark your creativity and help fill your portfolio with art designed to get you work in markets like stickers, puzzles, food packaging, children’s book illustration – you can read some student success stories here and we’ll be sharing more in next week’s newsletter.
Meet your teachers! Join brilliant children’s book art director and author, Zoë (left), and creative director, art agent and smash-hit game creator, Riley (right), to create winning characters designed to get you jobs.
Each month you’ll focus on a different kind of character. First, you’ll get an exclusive mini-text from picture book author Zoë Tucker, plus supporting downloads to help you start to focus on your unique character, including a gorgeous Character Inspiration Board created for you by art agent Lilla.
Then Riley will show you how you can use your character to create toys, games, play sets, and more, ready for licensing. And every month you’ll finish up with a live event with Zoë, Riley and top art agent Lilla Rogers.
Want to see how you can license your characters for books, toys, games and more? Here’s the character that became a game that became a book … !
Erin Vanessa came up with the idea of You Do You-nicorn in class, before turning it into a book. Check out that pop-out headband – Riley will give you lots of ideas to amp up your creations in class!
You Do You-nicorn is a brand new book published by Running Press Kids/Hachette that was written and illustrated by Erin Vanessa, a Make Art That Sells student who is now represented by Lilla Rogers Studio after Lilla spotted her art in class.
You Do You-nicorn originally started as a game concept, which Erin created in class for Make Art That Sells.
Erin originally created her You-nicorn character in a Make Art That Sells class. Erin says: “You Do You-nicorn actually started out as a game concept. I wanted to make a memory match game that would encourage kids to try new things: swimming, roller skating, playing the saxophone, and so on. (At the time, I also imagined it would feature unicorn characters.)”
A spread from You Do You-nicorn, written and illustrated by Make Art That Sells student Erin Vanessa and published by Running Press.
But Erin found she was hugely inspired by the character she’d created. She says: “Over the next few months, though, words for a manuscript started appearing in my mind as I went for walks or exercised. After allowing the words to form organically in my brain without writing anything down, I eventually felt compelled to write it all in one sitting, and that’s how the manuscript for You Do You-nicorn was born.”
Erin illustrated as well as wrote You Do You-nicorn. She says: “I like to hand-paint my illustrations with watercolor, gouache, and pencil crayon, and then edit in Photoshop. Julie and Frances, my incredible editor and art director at Running Press, gave me tons of creative freedom, so the process of making the book was a blast and it just flew by!”
Do you want to learn how you can create winning characters like this? Then hurry hurry – class starts soon! Find out more and sign up here.
- Class starts Monday, July 8th: Join brilliant children’s book art director and picture book author, Zoë Tucker, and creative director, art agent and smash-hit game creator, Riley Wilkinson, for Bootcamp Special: Character Play and discover how to make winning characters for books, toys, games and more! FUN FACT: This course is just £99 (approx. $126)!
- Monday, July 8th: FREE live event! Meet your teachers! Join Zoë and Riley for a FREE live Zoom event at 12 noon ET/5 pm BST on the first day of Bootcamp Special: Character Play to meet your teachers and get your questions answered by two industry experts!
- Next newsletter: See some of our recent real-life student success stories from Bootcamp Special: Character Play (and if you just can’t wait, check out more of our alumni success stories here).
Lots of love
The Make Art That Sells team xxx
