9/6/23

Check out these new arrivals

Our talented illustrators have been hard at work creating stunning new books and products. Don’t miss the shell-shaped puzzle!

Contact us to assign or license art. We’re happy to help you find the perfect artist or gorgeous images for your project!

Beautiful books and products by LRS Artists!

Clockwise from top left: Erica Root, Clairice Gifford, Tara Lilly,Åsa Gilland, Mara Penny.

Zoë Ingram
Drawing for the Soul (David & Charles) available TODAY!

Buy it here.

“Learn how to use drawing to soothe your soul with this beginner’s guide to drawing for relaxation.

So many drawing books focus on the result of your drawing, but this fresh approach looks first at the process of drawing as a means to de-stress and unwind.”

 

Tequitia Andrews
What’s the Big Idea?

(Simon & Schuster UK)

Buy it here.

“Have you ever wondered what capitalism is? How about feminism, ecology, epidemiology or astronomy?

 

Well, this book will give you straightforward, easy-to-understand answers to all your troublesome-word questions WITHOUT going on and on for ages OR using even BIGGER words to explain them.”

 

Sarah Walsh
Flow magazine

Created for an article on the importance of non-sexual intimacy.

 

Charlotte Bruijn
From 4 histoires pour mes 4 ans (Fleurus Editions)

Buy it here.

 

Rebecca Jones
Mermaid Cove — Shell-shaped puzzle (Mudpuppy)

Buy it here.

 

Katie Vernon
Illustration for Visitor’s Guide

(Galena County Tourism)

9/6/23

Check out my NEW Creative Bug class!

Lots of exciting news today! My sparkly new Creative Bug class “Treasure Hunt Your Writing Style: A Daily Practice” goes live today!

Plus there are two spots left in my Lettering Retreat in France, April/May 2024. Scroll down for more details!

 

NEW Class on Creative Bug goes LIVE today!

Treasure Hunt Your Writing Style:

A Daily Practice

Looking to take your writing skills to the next level? My writing course, Treasure Hunt Your Writing Style, with Creative Bug is now live!In this month-long class, use the 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.

It is also the perfect stepping stone for my more in-depth writing courses on Make Art That Sells. Dive into the world of creating captivating stories for young readers with My Kid Book Pitch, or learn how to write stunning illustrated non-fiction books in My Arty Book Pitch. Both courses guide you through crafting and pitching your book proposal to publishers.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity!

HURRY! Only 2 spots left

for my Lettering Retreat in France!

Read more and sign up here.

I’m holding a week-long lettering retreat in France hosted by UpTrek in the tranquil countryside of southern France, surrounded by the picturesque Occitanie region, April 29 – May 4, 2024.

It’s a dream come true for me—instructing a handful of creative people IRL, then chatting in the afternoon for an Ask the Agent Anything circle, in an incredibly picturesque setting featuring gourmet meals and dazzling day trips to medieval towns, vintage markets, and a vineyard.

This adventure originally sold out in one day but two spots opened up recently, so hurry—they will probably sell immediately!

Make sure to sign up for the wait list if you don’t grab one of these two spots.

This is going to an amazing trip. I get to hang out and teach a small group of artists my major passion: lettering.

Plus, let me advise you on your career! Read more here.

Each participant will receive an inspiring 25-card lettering deck.
Everyone is capable of enjoying and mastering lettering. If you can hold a pencil then I can teach you any number of techniques, tools and embellishments to find enjoyment in letter-making. Lettering is a beautiful way to enhance your illustration work and to increase income, but even if you’re not an illustrator, it’s a source of personal pleasure such as embellishing your journal entries or as a meditation technique.

Read more and sign up here.

Lettering has always been a huge part of my creative career, first as an illustrator, then author, then content creator. But mostly, I love the calming nature of letter-forming, the endless sources of font vintage inspiration, and the variety of materials one can use to create letterforms.

You’ll try out lettering techniques, relax in the garden and chat with new friends over wine, and explore charming villages, explore the beautiful surroundings, take day trips to nearby towns and landmarks, and make new friends.

Read all the juicy deets here.

  • April 29 – May 6, 2024
  • Teyssode, Occitanie, France
  • Perfect for all levels; for those who simply want to try their hand at lettering or for those wishing to deepen their lettering technique and style.
  • For those who wish to glean insight from an agent and entrepreneur on creative business, illustration, and more.
  • Limited to 16 students

Questions about booking? The retreat is organized by the awesome folks at UpTrek. Take a look at the booking page and if you still have questions, you can reach out to them directly at contact@uptrek.com.

Book your place HERE!

8/29/23

A day in the life of artist Tequitia Andrews

Welcome to A Day In The Life of our stellar artist, Tequitia Andrews. Take a look into her life as a full-time illustrator.
Tequitia Andrews
Tequitia Andrews (pronounced ta-key-ta) is an artist and illustrator from Richmond, Virginia.

A graduate of Virginia State University, Tequitia didn’t pursue a career as an artist until her 30’s.

Starting off primarily as a painter, Tequitia took an independent learning journey in all the different facets of art making. She found her voice in the world of illustration.

A typical day for me looks like…I’m a night owl, but I try to start my day around 10 a.m. It’s summer right now, but usually homeschooling lessons are at the start of the day and then I start work in the afternoon until dinner.

If I am on a deadline, after dinner I’ll work until my eyes become blurry. Otherwise, I may play around in my sketchbook. To help me unwind from the day, I play endless games of Solitaire while watching TV or listening to an audiobook.

My favorite project so far…An Earth Song by Langston Hughes, published by Cameron Books.

Langston Hughes is one of my favorite poets, so it was an honor. Also, this was the first book where I came up with concept completely on my own.

It was wonderful, (and also intimidating) to be given the assignment with confidence that what I came up with would be great.

Above: Artwork from An Earth Song (Cameron Books)

Buy it here.

My favorite art tools are…Pen and paper. And it’s funny because I am an art supply junkie. I have all these paints, pencils, markers, crayons, etc. yet I normally default to a good pen and plain sketchbook. My favorite pens are microns and brush pens.
I’m looking forward to…Getting back into traditional painting. I’ve been working digitally (iPad and Photoshop) for the past few years and while it has made some aspects of art making easier and transportable, I really miss creating on canvas.
In my free time I like to…Spend time with my husband and children. I consider myself somewhat of a crafter, but the truth is I have a closet and a table full of unfinished projects. So my free time is spent playing Solitaire.
Thanks Tequitia!

You can see more of Tequitia’s beautiful illustration work here.

8/28/23

Ruth Burrows’ Illustrator’s Guide to Procreate is a winner!

We’re thrilled to announce the publication of Ruth Burrows’ new

“how-to” book which she wrote and illustrated. Read our interview with the inimitable Ruth, below.

 

Ruth Burrows
The Illustrators Guide to Procreate: How to make digital art on your iPad, written and illustrated by Ruth Burrows, published by David & Charles.

Buy it here.

“Artist and illustrator Ruth Burrows takes a beginner-friendly, jargon-free approach to explaining how to get the most from Procreate, delivering not a heavy technical manual but rather, an inspirational workbook that encourages you to play, make mistakes and seek out your own way of using the app.”

From Ruth:

I’m very proud of writing and illustrating my own book about Procreate.

I love the fact that the book is now out in the world, people are reading it and doing the projects and sending me messages to say how much it is helping them!

What did you learn from doing this project?

I learned that I actually enjoy writing and really enjoyed the process of breaking down the projects into steps and organising the screenshots in a way that helps the reader understand how the app works.

Were there challenges on this project?

The challenges were all time-related. I had to kind of start and finish each project in one sitting so I didn’t lose momentum. That made for some pretty late nights!

What was the original inspiration for the book?

I was approached by the publisher who had the original idea to do a book about Procreate for illustrators.

Where did you find inspiration for this project?

I found inspiration from my own practice. I love to apply my illustrations and artwork to different products like greetings cards, tote bags, fabric, mugs and coasters. I wanted the people to understand that the work you make on Procreate can be applied in so many different ways.

How long did you work on writing the book?

All the ideas were planned out in one, almost day long meeting. I then went away and developed the projects further. The whole process took about a year but if I’m honest, I did the bulk of the work in the last 3 months!

Images, right: A project from The Illustrator’s Guide to Procreate.
Where is your Studio? Where do you live?

My studio and art shop is located in the historic market town of Sleaford in Lincolnshire, UK

What are your favorite art materials?

When I’m not hunched over my iPad using Procreate I love to go mad with acrylic paint, covering sheets of paper with bold shapes and colours. I then cut them up and collage them into semi-abstract works or photograph them to use as textures in my digital work.

How do you surround yourself with inspiration?

I am surrounded by art materials and supplies in my shop and I also have a lot of creative people dropping in to buy stuff, I always ask them what they’re working on and have some really inspiring chats throughout the day!

What is “a day in the life” like for you?

Wake up in my tiny cabin and take Sandy for a walk; Drive 20 minutes to the studio and shop; Work on client work in between serving customers; Take Sandy for a walk beside the river around 5pm.

I sometimes work late at the shop if I have things to finish but if it’s client work, I take it home, listen to a podcast and work into the night.

Then go to bed in my tiny cabin!

Right, above: Ruth’s shop in Lincolnshire, UK

Right, below: Sandy the studio dog (@sandystudiodog ) outside the shop.

Thanks Ruth!

The Illustrators Guide to Procreate: How to make digital art on your iPadis available now. Buy it here!

See more of Ruth’s gorgeous illustration work here.

8/21/23

Agendas, calendars, and books, oh my.

Check out these incredible books and products by our artists, all recently released!

 

Contact us to assign or license art. We’re happy to help you find the perfect artist or gorgeous images for your project!

 

Kay Wolfersperger
Illustrated agenda for Editions Auzou.

Buy it here.

 

Kendra Binney
A Coral Reef Story (Macmillan)Second in the series, after An Arctic Story.Buy it here.

 

Katie Vernon
Happy Halloweenie(Simon Kids)Board book written and illustrated by Katie Vernon.Buy it here.
Tisha Lee
My Breathing Earth (Yeehoo Press)Buy it here.
Sarah Walsh
Erin Vanessa

 

 

Tea Towel (Blue Q)

Buy it here.

2024 Calendar (Polestar)

Buy it here.

 

 

Maria Gabriela Gama
Maruga Koops
Savvy Minds Ventures

Buy it here.

HarperCollins

Buy it here.

7/31/23

Fun eye candy coming your way

Our artists are quirky, sweet, funny, touching, and their art reflects that. We hope you enjoy this selection of recent personal art.

 

Contact us to assign or license art. We’re happy to help you find the perfect artist or gorgeous images for your project!

 

Jenny Miriam
OK, we know it’s not Easter but HOW CUTE are these bunnies?

Available for licensing as of this writing.

 

Tisha Lee
Available for licensing as of this writing.
Katie Vernon
UFO rainbow dogs? Why not!

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Sarah Papworth
Anke Rega
Available for licensing as of this writing.

 

Trina Dalziel
We just love Trina’s delicate linework, perfect for this cozy scene.

Available for licensing as of this writing.

Charlotte Bruijn
Flora Waycott
Available for license as of this writing.
7/31/23

Take a deep dive into Brian Lambert’s recently released book.

We’re thrilled to announce the publication of Plants to the Rescue, illustrated by Brian Lambert, published by Neon Squid.

Read our interview with Brian, below.

Brian Lambert
Brian says:

This book was published by Neon Squid who mainly publish STEM-focused books.

It was written by the wonderful Dr. Vikram Baliga, who uses his social media following to teach people about plants, science, and conservation efforts.

I loved working on this book! Plants are just plain fun to draw and color, so getting to do a whole book of them was a blast!

Plants to the Rescue,illustrated by Brian Lambert, published by Neon Squid.

Buy it here.

“From climate change to plastic pollution, this book explores real issues facing the planet and how plants can contribute to solutions.”

Q. What did you learn from doing this project?

A. I learned a whole lot about plants, which you can too if you read the book! I have a whole arsenal of nifty facts that I can trot out at fancy dinner parties now.

Q. What did you love about the theme?

A. The book is about how plants can be used to solve some of our planet’s biggest issues, from huge scale things like global climate change to much smaller things like how you can use a banana peel to help with sunburns and bug bites! Science! It’s just fun to learn about all these kinds of things!

Q. How do you come up with your sketches? Do you do research?

A. For this project the publisher provided me with a very thorough brief and a rough sketch layout that I basically used to just fill in the blanks. So, you can kind of imagine getting a page with a bunch of boxes drawn in to indicate buildings and some little stick figures here and there and then the text is also roughed in so I know where I need to leave open space.

The brief would also have a description of what they want. For the city page they told me they wanted a rooftop garden, a skybridge, and a building that uses hydroponics, etc.
Sometimes I did do a little extra research. For example, I watched some YouTube videos about modern and future construction techniques and what kind of buildings they expected to be able to build in the future so that I felt I was drawing buildings that were at least somewhat plausible.
Q. How do you decide on color palettes?

A. The AD really wanted bright vibrant colors. I also knew I was going to need a lot of different types of greens as this was a book about plants.

The base colors were from a color palette that Lilla Rogers had provided in a class, but I then expanded it.

For each color, I made a lighter version by adding a tinge of yellow, and a darker version by adding a little blue. I’ve found this makes the colors more interesting.

I ended up with an amazing palette that is extremely versatile.

Q. Were there challenges on this project?

A. The biggest challenge came about halfway through the project when I got appendicitis! The publisher was very understanding about giving me more time but it was hard not to feel stressed about getting everything done in time after that.

Q. How long did you work on the book?

It took about 9 months from the first sketch to sending in the final illustrations.

 

Q. What medium did you use for the illustrations?

I use the Procreate app on a 12.9in iPad Pro from 2021, and I use some slightly altered pencil brushes from maxpacks.com.

Thanks so much Brian!

Plants to the Rescue is available now: Buy it here!

See more of Brian’s beautiful illustration work here.

7/20/23

See amazing books and products by our artists!

Outstanding books and products for you this month. Fancy learning Procreate? Need a stylish new tote or lunch satchel? We’ve got you covered.

 

Contact us to assign or license art. We’re happy to help you find the perfect artist or gorgeous images for your project!

 

Ruth Burrows
The one we’ve all been waiting for– Ruth Burrows’s Procreate Book!
Ruth writes: In this book, I would like to introduce you to the way I make my art and illustration using Procreate. It’s a “how-to” book, but it’s also a “how you might want to” guide.
The Illustrator’s Guide to Procreate (David & Charles)

Written and illustrated by Ruth Burrows.

Buy it here!

 

Sarah Walsh
Tara Lilly
Who doesn’t want bags like these?
Mushroom Tote by Sarah Walsh (Blue Q)

Buy it here.

Floral Lunch satchel by Tara Lilly

(The Somewhere Co.)

Buy it here.

 

Åsa Gilland
Introducing the third title in Terra Babies at Home, a board book series that presents plants, animals, and the environment to early readers from the intimacy of their home and helps them connect to the natural world.

Selected by the American Library Association’s Sustainablity Roundtable as one of the top ten sustainability-themed children’s books in 2022!

Published by Duopress.

Buy it here!

 

Janie Secker
Fabulous portrait of Dolly Parton, as part of Rebel Girls Rock: 25 Tales of Women in Music (Rebel Girls)

Buy it here.

 

Maruga Koops
Congrats to Maruga for the US release of her picture book Hip Hip Hooray! (Clavis Publishing)

Buy it here.

 

Maria Gabriela Gama
Erin

Vanessa

Cottage Door Press

Buy it here.

Yeehoo Press

Buy it here.

7/12/23

Gorgeous personal work by our artists

See below for our artists’ gorgeous personal work–we hope it inspires you.

Contact us to assign or license art. We’re happy to help you find the perfect artist or gorgeous images for your project!

Kendra Binney
Available for licensing as of this writing.

 

Rebecca Jones
Available for licensing as of this writing.

 

Kim Fleming
Available for licensing as of this writing.

 

Julia Christians
Available for licensing as of this writing.

 

Clairice Gifford
Available for licensing as of this writing.

 

Erica Root
Available for license as of this writing.
This Week’s Featured Toy Pitch
Our Toy and Games Agent Riley Wilkinson has been working with our artists on some fabulous toy concepts for you. Feast your eyes!
Munch by Mara Penny
This beautifully illustrated card game by Mara Penny is a fresh take on the classic game of War.

The fast-paced game play features educational facts about the ecosystem and food chain.

Contact us for more information about this fantastic toy pitch.

See more toy concepts–ready to license–here.

7/11/23

GIANT NEWS! We have taken on a NEW ARTIST!

Yup, you read that right. We’ve taken on a new artist!
When I teach over at Make Art That Sells, I have the enviable job of watching students grow into incredible artists, and there are always many I swoon over.
However, we just couldn’t resist the work of Fay Ford. Fay comes from a background as a textile designer at the renowned Designers Guild and brings her magical watercolor finesse to all the illustrations she creates.
Contact us to assign or license art. We’re happy to help you find the perfect artist or gorgeous images for your project!

Fay Ford
Oxfordshire, UK
What medium do you use?
I trained as a textile designer when traditional painting was the only way! I still love to paint and draw by hand, and I use pretty much everything, gouache, watercolour, inks, acrylics and colour pencils, for my artwork and then use digital to finish things off.
Click here to read more of Fay’s Q&A.
We’re delighted to welcome Fay Ford to our group!
Fay lives in the UK with her husband, two Labradoodles, and, when they’re home from Uni, two sons. She splits her time between the quiet green countryside of Oxfordshire and the beautiful open skies of the Cornish coast.
Fay studied Printed Textile Design at Central St Martin’s School of Art and Design in London and worked for many years in-house as a textile designer at both Designers Guild and Diane Harrison Designs.
See her portfolio here.