Illustrating Children's Books

This Spring, we have had the honor of hosting a six-week workshop course on Creating and Illustrating Children's Books with Nancy Carlson. The class focused on all aspects of designing and creating picture books, from character development, to plot, to creating book dummies.

Each week, Nancy led the class through demonstrations, the do's and don'ts of creating picture books, in the industry information, and of course, she read some of her favorite and most inspiring children's books from her personal collection.

Students brought their ideas and sketches to class for critique and round table discussion, and throughout the class were able to fully develop their stories, characters, and begin their books. It was great to see each person's process and work develop over the course of the class. 

About Nancy Carlson:

Nancy is an incredible teacher and prolific artist, who has published, written, and illustrated more than 60 children's books. Along with publishing, Nancy also teaches classes at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and various other institutions, and is a guest and visiting artist at hundred of school classrooms each year. 

You can see more of Nancy's projects and books here.

Keep an eye out for new classes! We have several other upcoming courses including:

May 11th, 11:00-1:30 Light Grey Art Lab

Bells, Beatles, and Bell Jars: Watercolor Painting with Francesca Buchko  

A fun and relaxing watercolor painting class, where students can paint from specimens, including bones, bird wings, fossils, and plants. 

May 20th, 9:30- 3:00  New York Workshop

Diving into Surface Design: Visiting Surtex taught by Lindsay Nohl in New York.

Join Light Grey Art Lab and Paper Bicycle LLC founder Lindsay Nohl for a day-trip workshop to the National Stationary Surtex Convention. This will be a guided tour talking about art-licensing, marketing, and portfolio development.