“Pitch-perfect Portfolio” Picture-book Course 

Create a Picture-book Portfolio that Publishers LOVE!

Hello, it’s Margrete here

Are you LONGING to get signed up as an illustrator?

Are you ITCHING to refresh your outdated portfolio?

Or are you BATTLING with finding your true genius style, and don’t know how to break through?

As you probably know, I help illustrators take the Next Big Step in their illustration careers.

I do this either through one-off coaching sessions, ongoing portfolio-development coaching, storyboard development and, of course, illustration courses.

And, because you’re here reading this right now, I know you’re someone who longs for a stunning portfolio of breathtaking illustrations that bring tears to a publisher’s eyes.

In other words, a portfolio that will fill their hearts with AWE!

BUT . . .

Perhaps you’re feeling like your illustration style needs a new lease of life.

Or perhaps your existing portfolio needs a refresher.

Or perhaps you don’t have a successful portfolio yet (not one that gets publishers on the phone to sign you up).

Or perhaps you who DON’T HAVE A PORTFOLIO at all?

Or maybe you don’t even have something you could call an ILLUSTRATION; let alone the dozen-or-so targeted illustrations you need to successfully pitch your portfolio to a publisher.

If you are any of these things . . . then today is an auspicious day for you!

Because I’m offering an opportunity that will revolutionise the way you illustrate, and that will transform the way you think about the powerful artform of narrative illustration.

This opportunity is Pitch-perfect Portfolio.

You may have heard me mention it a few times already, but now is THE time.

The ‘doors’ will only be open for a limited time.

And before you go thinking . . .

“Oh no, Margrete, I don’t have TIME for another course (I have an inbox full of other courses I haven’t even started!!)” . . .

let me reassure you, this isn’t a basic course-course.

I know you’re too busy for a whole lot of fluffy feel-goodery that never really gets to the core of what you need to know.

You’re too busy getting your portfolio together, right?

And I know that to create a successful, profitable and impactful portfolio, what you don’t need is a whole swag more theory and rambling information . . . especially not information you’ve already had access to in other courses.

What you actually need is help getting it done . . . and getting it done really well . . . and really effectively!

And really uniquely. In your very own unique style.

So I’ve developed a hands-on, step-by-step, module-by-module portfolio development program.

My portfolio development program is where I walk you, week by week, through the best, most effective and most practical steps to:

1. Inject meaningful mood into your illustration so that every mark you make has narrative and emotional impact . . . without gimmicks!

2. Plan out your illustrations stage by stage so that you finish with an amazing portfolio that shows a publisher you know exactly what an illustrator needs to do.

3. Develop narrative content that brings a story to life (again, without a gimmick in sight).

4. Develop your own unique signature style, starting from wherever you are now even if you’ve never illustrated anything in your life.

Plus, of course, there are bonuses.

5. BONUS - I throw in all the templates and cheat sheets and check-lists that I use in my everyday job as a picture-book publisher. (Most picture-book courses base their curriculum around these things, but I think these basic know-hows should be free, so you can get on with what’s really important. But what these bonuses mean is you can join Pitch-perfect Portfolio as a complete beginner and still have access to the basics without having to take a separate course.)

6. BONUS - live Q&A calls with me for 12 months where I give you feedback and answer any and all queries about all things picture-book publishing.

7. PLUS if you’re one of the first to sign up, you get a 25% discount on a one-on-one portfolio-development call with me, where I identify your areas of strength, the areas where more work is needed, and ways to uncover your unique signature illustration style.

Just in case you’re wondering . . .

there is no fluff in this course.

I will give you vital information BUT I will not overwhelm you with shallow information.

Nor will I waste hours of your valuable time with theory-based videos and PowerPoint slides.

Instead, I am serving up:

•  the simple science you need to make your illustrations impactful

• the exact steps you need to take (and exactly how to take them)

• The exact old habits you need to break (and exactly how to break them)

• The exact new habits you need to develop (and how to develop them)

• The new mindset you need to adopt (and how to adopt it)

And this includes:

• live Q&A sessions with me

• homework and accountability (yes, you have to actually hand in your homework . . . I’m going to make sure you get this done!)

• access to our exclusive online group

• plus all the swipe files, templates, check lists and schedules you need to make becoming a professional illustrator as stress-free as possible. 

And here’s the thing . . . I know everyone always says their course is absolutely unique and has never been taught anywhere, ever in the history of the universe.

But I am quietly confident that Pitch-perfect Portfolio truly is unique and is not taught anywhere else, even at a tertiary level.

And here is why:

• I’ve been publishing and art-directing award-winning picture-books for nearly 25 years

• I have introduced major illustrators to picture-book publishing (including Freya Blackwood and Nick Bland)

• I have helped dozens of other illustrators (and authors) find their feet and develop their careers

• I have written an 80K-word thesis on the science of visual narrative (and been published in international academic publications on the same subject)

• I have discovered a connection between visual aesthetics and visual neuroscience that no one else appears to have made

• I have applied this discovery to the art of visual narrative - a three-way connection and practical application that I’ve not found anywhere else, despite extensive research

So this course is built around:

• the discoveries I made in my research

• combined with my experience as a publisher of award-winning picture books

• my experience coaching illustrators in the early stages of their development

• as well as ongoing real-life work art directing picture books with illustrators at every stage of their careers.

Here’s what we’ll be studying together:

Module #1 - we create a simple figure, then explore placement and scale in relation to horizons, and how we can manipulate mood by manipulating composition on the page.

Module #2 - we dive deep into tonal value, tonal keys, light, and the narrative power of lighting and shadow

Module #3 - we play with the narrative potential of positive and negative space in the form of houses, trees and clouds

Module #4 - we work on fully developing our characters, creating character sheets and introducing characters into the settings we’ve developed in the first 3 modules

Module #5 - we learn about creating a narrative arc and creating a stpryboard that evokes suprise and delight at every turn of the page; and we finalise pieces we’ve been developing so far to build our irresistible portfolio.

I want to be available and hands-on, every step of the way, to make sure you get to the end of the course with a fabulous portfolio that is pitch perfect and ready for presentation to publishers.

Which is exactly what Pitch-perfect Portfolio is all about.

And while it will be offered again next year, it won’t be available again at this price with all this extra hands-on feedback and support and access to me (because I keep adding new things).

So if you are ready to:

1. learn the science of impactful picture-book illustration

2. develop your signature illustration style

3. learn how to generate surprise and delight with every illustration

4. create an amazing, impactful portfolio

5. confidently show your work to the world of professional publishing  . . .

In fact, if you’re ready to completely change the way you think, feel and DO illustration . . .

Hope to see you in the next round when we reopen for enrolments. Mx