Are you ready to super charge your art career in 2024? Would you like to focus on your art in the company of like-minded people? To be inspired and learn new things? To learn from experts in the industry?
Then check out the MAKE Art That Sells huge Cyber Sale on now, with at least 30% off everything and up to 50% off our career-changing bundles.
Plus, THREE brand NEW courses for 2024! They’re original, super cool, and you’re going to find them so helpful for your career. Check them out!
Click here to download your fab free Sale Guide for details of everything that’s included in our huge sale plus interactive worksheets, insightful quizzes, a yearly planner, and more.
I’ve put together this delicious smorgasbord of goodies to support your creative career through 2024 and beyond.
Last week was Thanksgiving here in the US, a holiday which centers on the joy of good people and good food. Here are some illustrations to whet your appetite for the foodie season.
Contact us to assign or license art. We’re happy to help you find the perfect artist or gorgeous images for your project!
Sarah writes: “Recently, the kids ABC board book; ‘O is for Ossicone’ launched in stores. I absolutely loved illustrating and working on this project with Simon & Schuster because although I have drawn many animals before, I hadn’t created a whole book of them! “
O is for Ossicone, illustrated by Sarah Papworth, published by Simon & Schuster.
“Did you know that ossicones are the hornlike parts of a giraffe’s head? Introduce young readers to unusual animal facts and new vocabulary like “baleen” in this alphabet book that has flaps on every page!”
What did you enjoy most about working on this book?
I think the thing that I liked most was figuring out how to create a good composition across the main pull out pages of the book. The book is designed with card flaps to lift up and see what’s underneath. So the close-up of an animal and the alphabet letter sits on top with the full animal and facts underneath when revealed. This meant there were two aspects to consider for the composition and I enjoyed the challenge.
What did you learn from doing this project?
I learnt that not all kids books need to be too cutesy, the team at Simon and Schuster had asked me to go slightly more realistic with my style, while keeping the colours cheery, and I enjoyed working this way.
Above: A finished illustration before the Simon & Schuster team added text.
Were there challenges?
With the cardboard flap being a “close-up/zoomed in” part of the whole animal, I needed to make sure I drew the illustrations large enough so that I could enlarge the part that is meant to be on the front section.
I sketched at my usual smaller size with pencil on paper, then I scanned those in to send to the publisher with some rough colour.
When they were approved, I blew the scale up and printed the roughs out at full size. Then I traced them at full size, plus scanned at high resolution, so I could enlarge them further.
This worked well.
Where did you find inspiration for this project?
I spent some time Googling the animals I needed to draw, and the team at Simon & Schuster gave me a great brief with images to show the body parts that had to be included. I wanted to keep the animal shapes as simple as I could, almost like Charlie Harper or Eric Carle – but in my own style. I also wanted the colours to be super gorgeous.
What medium did you use?
I used a fine-line pen for the linear details, and I added in hand-painted textures, but the main shapes and final brush details were created in Photoshop. I love to use a mix of both for speed but also enjoyment.
Above: My initial sketches and how I arrange multiple sketches on a page to scan in.
Above: From sketch to final.
I love how the finished project turned out. The quality of the book is lovely, and I felt really proud to hold it in my hands.
I also loved how I got into the flow of making this book, it was fun to draw in pencil for the roughs, create a colour rough and go to final on Photoshop.
Scroll down to see some of our artists’ projects which are now out on the market: Puzzles, children’s books, activity books, coloring pages, oh my! Enjoy!
Contact us to assign or license art. We’re happy to help you find the perfect artist or gorgeous images for your project!
I’m so lucky that with every project we commission or license for our artists, I get a copy of the final product delivered to the Studio. It means the Studio is bursting with color and beauty!
Sometimes I can’t help myself and I just have to take photos to share with you. Scroll down to get your eye candy hit for the day!
Contact us to assign or license art. We’re happy to help you find the perfect artist or gorgeous images for your project!
We had a fabulous time at our 9th Annual Artists and VIPs Retreat, held virtually via Zoom.
LRS Agents and Artists met with VIPs from markets such as publishing, home décor, and stationery. Artists and VIPs then broke into pairs for ten minutes apiece to view and discuss the artists’ gorgeous work.
We call it Speed Art Dating, and it’s a wonderful way for the artists and VIPs to meet.
Retreat 2023 highlights
Left: LRS Agents and Artists Zoom with VIPs–art directors, publishers, and editors.
Later, the artists and the VIPs broke into pairs for ten minutes apiece to view and discuss the artists’ gorgeous work.
We call it Speed Art Dating, and it’s a wonderful way for the artists and VIPs to meet.
Later, we held “LRS Artist Share Day,” where LRS artists could all be together, laugh, and share all the goss. Several artists also made small presentations on different subjects, such as recent creative trips, organizational tools, and arty toys that we all now need to go and buy.
Artists showed their gorgeous art to the VIPs a screenshared PDF.Those PDFs are now available for viewing and download here!They each include a few brand-new-never-before-seen pieces of art. Here is a selection of new images that were unveiled:
Character Play takes a mini story written by amazing Art Director Zoë Tucker, a brilliant toy concept by toy-master Riley Wilkinson, and squishes them together until they’re all melty. The result: amazing art! Scroll down to see…
Our most popular class, Illustrating Children’s Books, starts on Oct 9th! Join me THIS FRIDAY for a free live zoom with all the juicy details.
Looking to take your writing skills to the next level? My writing course, Treasure Hunt Your Writing Style, with Creative Bug is now live!
Use my Magic Writing card deck and follow writing prompts paired with an “oddity” or found object to inspire your writing.
Whether you’re looking to learn new writing techniques for your journal, social media, or as the basis for a book idea, this class will introduce you to a plethora of techniques and genres to jumpstart your writing practice.
See Fay’s beautiful studio, and her beautiful illustration work! Hear about her experience working at Designer’s Guild and how she landed representation with Lilla Rogers Studio.
“You Do You-nicorn is a sweet, funny story about inclusivity and staying true to yourself. A gender-fluid child shows their friends that they can be and do whatever they want and feel like–whether it’s playing the digeridoo-nicorn, painting a baboon-icorn, or changing their name to Ruth-icorn! Remember: Only YOU know how to do you! And you can feel like your own unicorn by assembling a sparkly unicorn headband with pieces included at the end of the book.”
You Do You-nicornactually 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.)
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.
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!
Below: From sketch to painting to Final Art
Join Erin on September 30th at 1 PM EST for a virtual picture book panel, hosted by Books of Wonder in New York, where she’ll read a snippet of You Do You-nicorn and take questions from the audience.
Copies of You Do You-nicorn (with signed bookplates!) will be available for purchase at the end.
