Woohoo! I have officially completed my first Illustrating Children’s Books course taught by art agent Lilla Rogers and art director and author Zoë Tucker.
Some character expressions. Both characters were written by Zoe Tucker.
For those who are not familiar, this is a class taught once a year by Lilla and Zoë with the intent to help illustrators learn how to craft a picture book pitch that you can then send to publishers. It’s filled to the brim with industry insight, creative exercises and weekly assignments. You can check it out here. And you can ready more about Lilla and Zoë here.
I’d been eyeing the class for a while but was nervous about actually participating. Fortunately, my husband was there to give me a little push (he’s never been one to let me chicken-out) and I signed up at the very last minute. I’m soooooooo glad I did!
It took place over five weeks, with each week focusing on a different aspect of (obviously) illustrating a picture book. We talked about things like character design, facial expressions, poses, world-building, etc. Having illustrated two picture books before, I was already familiar with many of these subjects. However, I’ve been longing to write and illustrate my own picture books and felt like I needed some professional insight into how to both improve my style and how to actually present my ideas to publishers in a more professional manner. If you’re in a similar situation, I highly recommend signing up next year!
We were presented with five different manuscripts to choose from, each one with a very different tone and personality. I happened to choose one written by Zoë about a balloon that goes on his own little adventure around the world. As you can see, I had to draw a lot of this little sun balloon to get his personality just right.
Perhaps the most valuable parts of the course (although there was a lot of good stuff!) were the weekly critiques held over Facebook Live, Where Lilla and Zoë would select a handful of their favorite pieces to review and discuss. In a class of over 400-ish students (!!!), it was impossible to review everyone’s work, so you had to apply their critiques and insight to your own work. I was lucky enough to have my artwork either critiqued or mentioned several times but I was still very intimidated by how insanely professional everyone was.
I would not recommend this course if you are a complete novice when it comes to art. It’s not really a “how-to-draw-things” kind of class. This is definitely a course designed for those who have had at least some experience in the world of illustration.
Here are some of the most important things I learned both about myself and my artwork during the course:
Character is key! I realized that my characters, especially those designed for children’s publications, need to be more expressive and dynamic.
In the words of Lilla, “Honor your inner quirk”. Don’t get too caught up in what’s marketable. It’s good to know what’s trending and to be aware of which picture books are selling well, but don’t bend over backwards trying to be something you’re not. There’s a niche for you somewhere out there! (It might not even be picture books!) I think for me, this means following my desire to be loose, sketchy and expressive with gouache and other traditional media.
Comparison really IS the thief of joy. There are a lot of really talented artists out there and that’s ok! Many of them happened to be in the class and I would often grow nervous about sharing my own artwork in such a talented group. But I think a lot of professionals still deal with feelings of doubt. It takes practice but I think learning to be happy for the success of others can help you feel better about your own work.
Art is HARD. And you’re not weak for thinking it’s hard. I crave being able to sit down and get lost in a project everyday, but that doesn’t mean that it’s easy. I’ve learned that I need to know when to walk away from my desk and focus on other things. You know, like sleeping, eating, etc. That sounds insipidly obvious but I can get wrapped up in a project from dawn to 3 am if I’m not careful!
Don’t be afraid to socialize with other artists! Here’s a secret: most illustrators are actually pretty nice. I’m not sure why, but I’m always worried that other people will think I’m too weird and will do anything to avoid being around me (sad, I know). But the thing about creative types is that a lot of us actually like a bit of weirdness! I met so many kind, open-hearted and creative people on the Facebook group and over Instagram. And many of them, like me, are parents who are trying to balance their creative desires with the regular-life stuff. It was really refreshing!
I need to work on Hand-Lettering. Kind of a random (and obvious) one to add but I’ve noticed that many of my favorite illustrators (even the ones that work traditionally) have a great command of hand-lettering. I’ve always felt a little intimidated about including hand lettering in any of my work, but think about how charming it would look in a market scene? Or on the spines of books in a library?
The final cover design! There’s a lot I like, but still a lot that I think I would change.
Anyway, it was a great experience that busted my buns and made me take a long, hard look at what I’m good at and what I need to change. Overall, it was well worth the time and energy.
