Picture books are like windows that can transport children to new worlds, teach valuable life lessons, and ignite their imaginations. At the heart of these stories are the characters, the heroes, and heroines who lead young readers on unforgettable adventures. Creating characters that resonate...

It turns out that I love faces. Whether it be sketching, drawing, painting, an art piece, or an illustration, I delight in capturing a subject from the neck up.

Before I show you how to draw a face in 7 easy steps, I’d like to share a self-portrait that my art teacher Mr. Houseman...

My name is Cher Hart and I live in inland southeastern Australia with my husband and our quirky black rescue greyhound, Connie. When I’m not illustrating, I make maps for grown-ups and wrangle environmental spatial data.

If I were to describe my illustration style, I would say…...

Hi, I’m Vanessa Valentino…

I was born in Frankfurt to a mother from Hong Kong and a father from America, grew up in Beijing, and now live in Malaysia. These days when I’m not illustrating, I’m dreaming of snow and pretending I’m hiking the Alps on a crisp winter...

I first came across Lily's work, when she was shortlisted for the Gavin Bishop Award in 2019. So you can imagine how excited I was to have Lily join me for 8-weeks in the Picture Book Illustration e-Course (PBIC). 

(Above, Lily's Gavin Bishop Award entry)

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My name is Elise and I live on the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Australia. When I’m not illustrating, I’m raising my family as a stay at home mum. I’ve spent the last 15 months setting up a business; with commissions for pet and wildlife drawings, selling prints in local...

As an illustrator, it’s important to develop your own unique style, but where do you start? With the amount of visual information that we come into contact with each day – via blogs, emails, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to name a few – it’s easy to get...

A big part of being a children’s picture book illustrator is having the ability to draw well and being able to capture a character (or visual story) in your own unique ‘voice’. I’ve been illustrating picture books since 2000 and with more than a dozen publications...

I absolutely love this topic, as I find gesture is one of the most exciting things about illustrating a story. Whether it’s subtle and heartfelt or loud and expressive, gesture is what brings a character to life.

As an illustrator, non-verbal communication is essential to telling...

Below, I’ve listed my series of Skillshare classes in the sequence that I use when I develop any kind of character. From designing the face and head all the way through to deciding on illustration technique and style. Whether you’re new to illustration or a seasoned artist,...