We are absolutely delighted to share this wonderful collection of artwork from students on our Illustrating Children’s Books Diploma Course, and if ever there were a post to stop you in your tracks and simply smile, this is it.
Children’s book illustration is a discipline that demands a very particular kind of magic. It asks you to build whole worlds, to create characters that feel instantly loveable, to balance narrative and image, warmth and wonder, all within a single frame. The students we are celebrating today do all of that and more.
Natalie Tzobanakis has created a gloriously atmospheric night scene, full of movement and joy, with a grandmother and child dancing together under a crescent moon and a sky scattered with golden stars. The watercolour washes are luminous and the composition has a real sense of story, you immediately want to know what comes next.
Katherine Shackleton has taken a wonderfully inventive approach, combining watercolour with what appears to be a papercut technique to create a sun-drenched nature scene alive with dragonflies, flowers and birds. It is joyful, original and technically impressive, exactly the kind of bold creative thinking that this course encourages.
Emma Allen’s work is simply breathtaking. Her two richly detailed illustrations tell an enchanting story of childhood adventure, from a sunlit river scene packed with butterflies, ducks, rabbits and beautifully patterned trees, to a dreamy moonlit candy-land where a child sleeps peacefully in a little boat while the world around them sparkles with colour and character. The level of detail in these pieces is extraordinary, and the warmth and humour that runs through every corner of each image is the hallmark of a truly gifted illustrator.
The Illustrating Children’s Books Diploma Course is designed for students who want to develop not just their technical skills but their storytelling instincts, their sense of character, and their own distinctive visual voice. The work shown here is a testament to just how far that journey can take you.
If you have ever dreamed of creating the kind of illustrations that children return to again and again, we would love to welcome you to the course. You can find out more here.
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