Category: new licenses
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
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!”
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.
Artists like painting animals and people and flowers. See why! Deer, rabbits, a tiger and some chickens.
Stay tuned for a big announcement from the Studio coming next week!
Artists love painting animals, people, and flowers, which is good news for our clients, because as you’ll see below, they are picked up for loads of applications, such as picture books, wall covering, even magnet sets.
Contact us to assign or license–we’re happy to help!
I’m crazy about the style of course, but the color palette? Love.
From of a magnet set for Badge Bomb.
There’s a reason that Daniel gets a ton of board book work, and so many other things. His updated mid-century style, color palette, and vintage lithographic effect is so appealing.
If you like this piece, wait until you see the work Kendra’s doing for my Illustrating Children’s Books course. Stay tuned…or contact us to see more.
Like a Girl (Sterling Publishing)
Seriously, the colors. And the likeness. And the composition.
This may be why you opened this email! Sarah Walsh’s sketchbook. This is the kind of thing she does for herself.
Wall decor for Open Road Brands
Happy stylized sunflowers! Those pink cosmos blooms; the feathers on the chicken; the fine pen and ink lettering: you can see why this charmer was picked up for licensing.
I took a whole bunch of photos in the Studio of new products just in, illustrated by our illustrators. Plus a cool walking bird.
We have clients in so many industries and we love them all–editorial, home décor, stationery… You keep our artists engaged and busy, with loads of fascinating products you’ve asked them to illustrate.
Here’s a sampling of some recent products. Dive in and enjoy. And thank you to all of our clients, old and new, and future ones, too!
Contact us to assign or license–we’re happy to help!
Animation by Natasha Dewitz
Congratulations to Flora Waycott!
Flora’s stunning pop-up card for The Museum of Modern Art won a Louie Award for best Christmas card in the boxed category! The prestigious Louie Awards recognize the most outstanding greeting cards marketed in the U.S.
Congrats, Flora!
This is a fun one. Lots of Lovely Art’s gorgeous new art kit subscription box launched this month, fully illustrated by watercolor master Carolyn Gavin. It includes watercolors, markers, brush, pencil and an easy block colour project created exclusively by Carolyn for creating simple landscapes, as well as 3 great projects inspired by Hockney, Hundertwasser and Klee.
Happy journals and card sets by Hsinping Pan for teNeues. Coming soon: we’ve got lot of brand new books illustrated by Hsinping to show you.
Cover of The Mindfulness Journal by Trina Dalziel and card for Papyrus by Helen Dardik. By the way, the flowers on that Helen card are huge honkin’ gems.
Not only is Clairice Gifford an illustrator, but she’s a top-notch type designer, having lettered some impressive titles. Here’s a piece she did for Southern Living Magazine.
Look at these beauties we recently got in! Tara Lilly’s color palettes are charming, yet she always manages to come up with new ones. Plate series for TAG, Ltd.
You can see why Kendra’s images get snapped up for cards. They are modern and elegant, and easy to send to anyone. Here’s a recent design for Calypso Cards.
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!
xo
BIG NEWS! Plus animated Hank Williams, Susan’s going to NYC, and more!
We love photographing our artists’ illustrated products as they come in. Hope you enjoy them!
ART DIRECTORS: Agent Susan McCabe will be in NYC May 16-19 showing the new artist’s work plus our brand-new collections of available card art and our children’s book portfolio of the very best work. Be sure to contact Susan to schedule a visit. Not in NYC? We’re happy to send you a magazine-style portfolio of the card art or the children’s book art to keep for reference. Just give us a shout.
Animation by Natasha Dewitz
Walter Foster Publishing
Greeting Card for Sellers Publishing
Puzzle to Go for Mudpuppy
Greeting cards for Trader Joe’s
Greeting cards for Madison Park (left) and Sellers Publishing (right)
Great spots in Better Homes & Gardens “Do It Yourself” Magazine
See Anne Bentley’s cell phone, a mermaid animation, and more new art
Animation by Natasha Dewitz
What’s on Anne Bentley’s cell phone?
Bethesda Magazine
Stunning lettering by Clairice Gifford
Hodder & Stoughton Limited
A dreamy journal by Anke Rega
Personal piece
Time for planting! by Sarah Papworth
Personal piece
Mara Penny’s midnight beauties
Running Press
Bike Path map by Jessica Allen
Adirondack Life magazine
Look at this fabulous print that Kate Mason created for Hasbro’s Baby Alive “Special Edition” doll – just beautiful!
See a spa day animation, art on a wood slice, and witty dishtowels
Animation by Natasha Dewitz
Blue Q dishtowel
True Colors children’s book by Penguin Workshop
Yoga magazine
Blue Q oven mitt
Editions Milan
Personal piece
Calypso cards
Personal piece
Our latest animated image plus a whole mix of gorgeous new art.
Thought you’d enjoy some new work by our artists.
Contact us for art for your next project.
We’re delighted to help!
We’re very excited about our 3rd Annual Menagerie! Watch for your February 5th newsletter to get the link and password to see the hundreds of new pieces our artists are creating just for this!
Animation by Natasha Dewitz
From ‘This Little Scientist‘ for Simon & Schuster
From ‘The Practical Witches Spell Book‘ for Running Press/Perseus
For the cover of ‘Love a la Mode’ for Disney/Hyperion
Greeting card for Up with Paper
Personal work
Personal work
