Category: Books
Want to know what our artists think makes a great art director?
I recently asked our artists what they think makes a great art director. What kinds of things help artists thrive and do their best work? Read on to see their responses!
Contact us to assign or license–we’re happy to help!
Fully illustrated biography of Anne Frank (Penguin Random House)
Buy it here
Lilla: Anke, can you tell us what makes a great art director?
Anke: I like it if I get inspiration from the AD but then have the freedom to create and can feel free to reach out if I need to–like having a frame for a project but freedom within it. If an AD wants changes I like it if they say something like, “this looks great already but could you change this or this?”
I think it’s important that the Art Director is available when you’re in the middle of a project so that you don’t have to wait too long for the answer, so you can keep working right away.
Lilla: Can you give us an example of a comment by an art director that was especially meaningful to you?
Anke: For the Anne Frank book I mostly worked with the designer Janene Spencer. After we finished the project, she wrote an email to me. One thing she wrote, was that I’m an amazing person to work with. It made me so happy and proud to read this. The AD Alice Todd has been so nice too. Always so kind in her words and thanking me so much for my work. I loved it as it was a lot work and it gives you a really good feeling during the project if everyone is being so kind and thankful. I’m the same the other way round as I like this vibe so much and it makes all our days just so much nicer.
Sarah Papworth
Part of a series of illustrations for an article on the 2019 fitness and nutrition forecast for The Washington Post. These were done with a mixture of pencil lines and watercolor.
Lilla: Sarah, what things are most important to you when working with an art director? What makes an art director great in your book?
Sarah Papworth: Friendliness is probably number one. And good organisation for a project, especially if it’s a long project. For me, these two things really help with making a job enjoyable and less stressful.
Lilla: What do you enjoy most about working with art directors? How do you find it beneficial?
Sarah: It’s fun working with different art directors, as I learn so much from their vast knowledge and experience in their field. And it’s wonderful working towards an idea/vision together. I always feel grateful for their help in getting a piece to look it’s best. Sometimes you can’t see the changes that are needed in your own work, so a fresh pair of eyes is amazing. It’s definitely a team effort.
It was great working with Victoria Fogg at the Washington Post on the Local Living pull-out cover (above). Victoria had seen my portfolio and knew which direction she wanted to go with, and that she wanted to feature the little people in the illustration. My style is quite flexible, and I use a lot of different mediums, so having the art direction and a brief to work to means I can be focused, but also play around within those borders.
One of the many illustrations by Sarah Papworth for the fully-illustrated text
I Know A Woman by Kate Hodges (Quarto Group)
Buy it here
Above: This was a much longer project, 84 illustrations in total, with a tight deadline. Working with Melissa Hookway at Quarto on my first book was a brilliant experience for me. I learnt to work quicker, and how to keep up the pace and enthusiasm working through a long project.
Melissa was super-organised. She created a spread sheet to track our progress, and gave me briefs for each portrait, which meant I could really focus on drawing and getting the illustrations to look as good as possible in a short amount of time.
Cover of the Weekend/Going Out Guide for The Washington Post
Lilla: Jennifer, what makes a great art director?
Jennifer: I love it when an art director takes the time to provide critical feedback and challenges me to do my best work. We’re a team with a shared goal of making an amazing product. It’s great when we can collaborate on something we’re both really proud of!
Katie Vernon for Anthropologie
Lilla: Katie, what did you like about working with your art director at Anthropologie?
Katie: I love when an AD has a unique vision for turning my illustration into a beautiful product.
Here’s why these artists get so many exciting commissions. A new animation, a piece for Disney/Hyperion plus whole bunch of gorgeous personal pieces available for licensing
Today I’d love to give you a tour of some recent pieces by our artists and a little bit about why they attract so many commissions.
Contact us to assign or license–we’re happy to help!
Animation by Natasha Dewitz
We love Sarajo Freiden’s appealing art, and in particular, how she depicts characters. Sarajo has illustrated a number of books and loads of articles–we’re talking The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Boston Globe–and a huge mix of work for brands like All Bran, Klutz, and Godiva Chocolatier because of her lively characters, juicy color and fresh style.
Clairice is regularly commissioned to illustrate book covers, magazine headlines, and pretty gift products because she creates such beautiful typography, interspersed with her charming illustrations. I’m talking Celestial Seasonings packaging, a Clarkson Potter coloring book, Crate & Barrel ornaments, a whole bolt fabric line, even a rom-com map for Entertainment Weekly!
Flow Magazine (France)
Two of the most amazing things about Tara’s work and why she gets so many commissions–greeting cards, licensed product lines with Anthropologie, a gratitude planner for Scholastic, an illustrated book on Emily Dickinson–are her absolutely stunning color palettes and her beautiful way with paint. I find her art calming.
Personal piece, available for licensing
One of the striking elements of Bonnie’s work is her loose, bold black line that seems to dance with an uninhibited freedom. Her strong line is one of the reasons why she gets so many book cover commissions–her line reads well small which is important on book sites such as Amazon.
Disney|Hyperion
Flora Waycott’s brand-new book is now available! Buy your copy on Amazon or Indiebound and enjoy drawing lots of wonderful things via Flora’s charming step-by-step illustrations.
It would probably be easier to chat about what kinds of jobs Helen has not been commissioned to illustrate! From wine glasses to chocolate packaging, to book covers and magazine illustrations, Helen, who boasts almost 300K Instagram followers, is always in demand. Her style is wholly unique, sporting exuberant color that is broadly appealing.
Personal piece, available for licensing
Another artist that gets a vast array of commissions is Carolyn Gavin. From wine labels, temporary tattoos, chocolate packaging, puzzles, home decor collections, apparel, magazine illustrations, and loads of packaging illustrations for L’Occitane, she’s worked in pretty much every category you can think of. Her paint is luscious. See why she has almost 400K followers on Instagram. Yeah, you read that right.
Collection for Ooh La La Fabric
Here’s another artist with a wholly original style, and the ability to illustrate concepts in a delightful way. This is exactly why she has illustrated THREE children’s books for James Patterson in the Big Words for Little Geniuses series.
Bigger Words for Little Geniuses (Jimmy Patterson Books)
Besides her work–a sloth!–for the beloved quirky company Blue Q, Kate has done ornaments for Crate and Barrel, designs for Hasbro’s Baby Alive, bags for Publix stores, and loads of greeting cards, but maybe my favorite is her surface design for garden pots and birdhouses. She gets work in these markets because her work has an appealing, accessible charm with a touch of quirkiness. Her colors are like candy, and her imagery is a delight to peruse.
Personal piece, available for licensing
In addition to a card deck for Chronicle, print ads for Ivory soap, and reusable bags for Safeway, one of Linda’s most meaningful commissions was a recent series of covers for Oncology Nursing Magazine. There is an ethereal quality to Linda’s work that has great appeal.
Personal piece, available for licensing
The big reveal: See the work our artists created for my recent Illustrating Children’s Book course
Today, we’d love to show you work by our artists that they created for my recent course, Illustrating Children’s Books, which I co-teach online with art director Zoë Tucker. We emphasize the importance of creating a compelling character with “spark”, as Zoë often says, and the artist needs to be able to sustain continuity in the character’s poses. Most of all, the work must have an appealing, unique style appropriate for the text. Check out the work below to see this in action.
Contact us to assign or license–we’re happy to help!
Animation by Natasha Dewitz
Featuring Mara Penny: check out TWO of her newest, fully illustrated books and her huge bolt fabric collection
Today, we’re delighted to feature our artist Mara Penny, who lives in Oakland, California. I fell in love with her work a few years ago when I spotted her in my courses at Make Art that Sells. She brings a joy to her work and fresh color palettes that are irresistible.
Dive in below and check out TWO of her newest, fully illustrated books and her huge bolt fabric collection (and a peek inside her home!)
Check out Mara’s fully-illustrated brand-new book, Like a Girl (Sterling)
Publishers Weekly writes, “Penny works in stylized collages that distinctively capture the likenesses of the women, who encompass people of varying backgrounds and abilities.”
Above: From Like a Girl(Sterling)
Animation by Natasha Dewitz
The Practical Witch’s Spell Book (Running Press)
The cool part about Mara is that she is able to paint such beautiful and magical subjects as you can see here, in her fully-illustrated book, The Practical Witch’s Spell Book. Her magical style was one of the many things that attracted me to Mara’s work initially, and I was eager for her to get a book that would showcase that part of her work, and so I was delighted when she was commissioned to illustrated this book.
A complete introduction to modern magic and witchcraft with spells and incantations for love, happiness, and success. See interiors below.
One of Mara’s dream projects was to design a bolt fabric collection, and so we were over the moon when she was commissioned to create several lines for the esteemed bolt fabric company Moda. She was asked to illustrate all 50 the United States.
Below, enjoy her first line from the Southwest region, called Desert Song. Mara illustrated the State Birds, State Flowers, and State Maps of Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona for this collection.
Above: Mara was asked to create four different colorways for each pattern, which was a treat for this master colorist!
Mara’s studio
Mara Penny writes, “I have a gallery wall next to my desk that includes a portrait of my grandmother (top left) when she was about my age. That oil painting was my security blanket when I was very little. It was unframed and I would drag it around the house with me. The edges are roughed up and dog-eared. She was an artist, and the first oil painting she made was of an olive tree that hangs next to my desk. My daughter’s name is Olive so it’s a full-circle moment!”
Get your hands on two fully-illustrated brand-new books by our stellar artists!
Get your hands on two fully-illustrated brand-new books by our stellar artists. I Know an Artist by Sarah Papworth is one of the most brilliantly illustrated books I’ve seen in a while (above), and Flora Waycott has created a masterpiece for all those wanting to draw even better (below).
Contact us to assign or license–we’re happy to help!
Animation by Natasha Dewitz
From Sarah Papworth’s sumptuously illustrated book I Know an Artist: The inspiring connections between the world’s greatest artists (Quarto). Order your copy here.
—> BIG NEWS! We are delighted to announce Flora’s latest authored and illustrated book!
Pre-order Flora Waycott’s gorgeous book, Inspired Artist: Draw Every Little Thing: Learn to draw more than 100 everyday items, from food to fashion (Quarto). Written and fully illustrated by Flora, you’ll learn to draw and paint more than 100 of your favorite everyday objects.
Above: Interiors from Flora Waycott’s lavishly-illustrated brand-new book.
But wait there’s more!
All you have to do is email a screenshot of your receipt to florawaycott@gmail.com. Click here to pre-order!
Originally from Sweden, Åsa Gilland now resides in Jakarta, Indonesia, where diversity is a way of life. Her ability to draw such a rich range of characters with heart is one of the reasons that she is so heavily booked with children’s picture books.
Savor this lovely piece by the divine watercolorist Carolyn Gavin, from her travels to Cassis and Guatemala. You can see why L’Occitane has commissioned Carolyn to illustrate a number of their products.
Revel in Jennifer M Potter’s dreamy, slightly gothic illustration for Folktale Week. She depicts a character from a Slavic tale called Beauty and the Horns. Jennifer’s ability to render so vividly is one of the reasons that she is in such heavy demand in the book market.
Jessica Allen recently sent us this lovely shot of her painting mid-century feminist icon Betty Friedan.
Seems like we’re on a historical kick these days. Savor this cream-puff of an illustration by Kelly Anne Dalton. She recently completed a few covers for a major publisher depicting imagery from the 1920s.
There’s a reason that Tara gets a ton of greeting card, calendar and stationery commissions from all the best companies. Plus look for her collection for Anthropologie coming Fall 2019!
Sneak peek! Wanna see the proofs of Hsinping Pan’s latest book for James Patterson?
I’m dying to show you the proofs for Hsinping Pan’s latest book for Jimmy Patterson Books. You can pre-order it today! Hsinping is hot, hot, hot! She’s very in-demand for book illustration and you can see why. Scroll down to see three recent books she’s illustrated.
Contact us to assign or license–we’re happy to help!
Animation by Natasha Dewitz from Cuddly Critters for Little Geniuses
Be Kind (Storey Publishing)
I hope you enjoyed the show! Want great art for your project? Don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d be delighted to assist you with any of your art needs. Get to know us here!
How does an artist illustrate Eva Hesse with string and lettering? Lots of lettering by our artists.
Want to see the various ways in which seven top artists create beautiful and brilliant lettering? Read on.
Fun Facts: Did you know that agent Kim Fleming is fluent in French, and agent Joanne Hus is fluent in Spanish? Yup!
Contact us to assign or license–we’re happy to help!
Animation by Natasha Dewitz
“Let’s keep asking questions”
Clairice Gifford’s typographic illustration for Flow Magazine (France)
From the sketchbook of the genius Helen Dardik
Julia’s sketchbook from my MBA course
Lovely serif uppercase lettering from Marenthe’s sketchbook
We love this innovative lettering treatment from Sarah’s book “I Know An Artist” (Quarto)
Trina created delicate serif upper and lower case lettering in this gardening illustration for Baltimore Magazine.
My favorite picks this week
We love showing you the latest and greatest by our artists. In this edition: a dragon, two unicorns, mermaids, a sloth, a wolf, and we think it’s a yeti. Plus lots of gorgeous lettering.
Contact us to assign or license–we’re happy to help!
Animation by Natasha Dewitz
Galison/Mudpuppy
Valentine’s Card for BBDO Worldwide for AT&T campaign
Bedding for Anthropologie
Journal cover for Compendium
Jimmy Patterson Books
Personal piece
Personal piece for Folktale Week
Goal Map created for Lilla’s MATS Money Bad Ass (MBA) Class
Let me show you a few of my favorite picks: from a home spa on a swing chair, to a portrait of Marie Curie…
I’m happy to show you a few favorite pieces by my artists: from body-positivity yoga people, to a big-eyed cat for a board book, to painting on leather. Enjoy!
Contact us to assign or license–we’re happy to help!
Animation by Natasha Dewitz
I love the cool body positivity people illustrated by Katie Vernon.
From “I Know a Woman”, Aurum Press/Quarto
Not only do I love the historically accurate illustrated setting, but the color palette of aqua hues is lovely.
Campbell/Pan Macmillian
Daniel has a way of creating strong, cover-worthy characters. And the fur!
From the illustrated magazine Honest History
I have yet to see a piece by Sarah Walsh that I don’t love, and this is no exception. Sarah paints with such warmth, confidence and a cool yet accessible style.
I love this lush, dreamy piece that Anke created for our Menagerie on creating one’s own spa life. It’s the watery paint and the telling details–cacti, old radio, sleeping cat–that got me.
Flora writes: “A collaboration is in the works with the talented Namu Leather Goods. I will be painting on a limited number of leather pouches before they are hand constucted by Namu. I have never painted on leather before! It feels so good to try something different – this image shows some practice pieces.”
Always a star with decorative elements, I loved seeing Flora’s work on the textured surface and the muted tones.
I just fully enjoy the delight apparent in this piece by Kate, bursting with charming icons.
I hope you enjoyed the show! Want great art for your project? Don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d be delighted to assist you with any of your art needs. Get to know us here!
A few of my favorite picks
Today I’m sharing a few of my favorite picks by my artists.
Animation by Anke Rega
Kelly Anne is currently taking my Illustrating Children’s Book course and writes, “Time for another round of Make Art That Sells Illustrating Children’s Books. I chose “Greta & the Wolves”, a wonderful text by co-teacher Zoe Tucker. I can’t wait to dig into the story and Greta’s world over the next four weeks.”
Clairice writes, “I recently did the design for these Fika cookie boxes for Valentine’s Day. So excited to see the actual packaging and is it bad I’m even more excited to eat the cookies. The lettering says ‘many hugs’ in Swedish.”
Click on this image to see a delightful video that Hsinping Pan created for Land of Nod.
Åsa writes, “Here’s a sneak peek of something I’ve been working on. Last year started out very rough but in autumn some amazing things happened. The fabulous Lilla Rogers Studio took me on and I remember telling Lilla that I’d love to illustrate a children’s book. I am so grateful that happened and for getting to work on this beautiful story The Perfect Shelter for Little Tiger Press, coming in the Spring of 2020. Crazy what can happen in a year.”
Bambi writes, “Meet Jack and Pearl… working on my characters for the latest Make Art That Sells kids book class and getting happily swept away by a world of tide pools and ocean goodness. Story by the lovely Zoe Tucker“. I can’t wait to see where this goes.
I hope you enjoyed the show! Want great art for your project? Don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d be delighted to assist you with any of your art needs. Get to know us here!
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xo
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