“Make Your Marks and Splashes”

  The core education of this membership site is 12 (home study)  lessons:  Make Your Marks and Splashes: A Power Course on Creating Effective Illustrations for Childrens Books, Magazines and Other Media for Children.  

This fun, practical unique online class will provide you with the basics of illustrating for children’s books, magazines and other media for children, and will help you with all of your art-making from now on.

Those editors and art directors at children’s book publishing houses want to see samples of your color work. So expect to complete some finished, full color pieces for your story. You can upload your best piece from the course to this site, if you wish. 

You’ll learn all the steps in preparing thumbnails, a book “dummy” and a submission package for an editor and/or art director at a publishing house. 

You’ll discover how to use visual references, transfer sketches to a painting surface and work in an assured way with color. Learn the right methods for submitting your final art (after you land that book illustration contract!) and how to effectively market yourself and your work for future assignments. 

The lessons in this home study program are by Mark Mitchell, an award winning children’s book author and illustrator. (He did the illustration at the top of this post that appeared in Appleseeds.)

More about the course

You’ll receive a hands-on  introduction to children’s book and magazine illustration.

You’ll gain an exceptional understanding of the children’s book market and how to proceed with any book or magazine illustration project.

You will learn to prepare thumbnail sketches, storyboards and a book “dummy,” and find the reference you need to help you to draw confidently. 

The course will provide you with a real understanding of picture and page design, visual perspective, artistic anatomy and watercolor technique.   You’ll also find insights on working with editors and art directors and pointers for marketing yourself and your work in the intensely competitive field of children’s media. 

As you work through the lessons, you’ll find your individual style emerging as you start to develop artistic confidence.