“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?

Or perhaps you’re itching to refresh your outdated portfolio?

Or maybe you’re battling with finding your signature illustration style, and don’t know how to break through?

Whichever of these it is, I can help you. As you probably know, I help illustrators take the Next Big Step in their illustration careers.

And, because you’re here, reading this right now, I’m guessing you’re someone who is ready to put together a stunning picture-book illustration portfolio that will bring tears to a publisher’s eyes.

In other words, a portfolio that fills their hearts with AWE . . . and gets them on the phone to you to sign you up!

BUT . . .

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

Or perhaps your existing portfolio needs a refresher.

Or perhaps you don’t have a successful portfolio yet (at least, not one that gets you signed 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.

Not only that, but this month (October 2024) I’m offering the course during a 48-hour window during which:

• you save nearly 50% on the usual price

• you have the chance to win the first-buyer prize (i.e. your money back!)

• you have the chance for the second-buyer prize (a free portfolio consultation at the outset of the course)

As I mentioned, the ‘doors’ will be open for only 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 with a whole lot of fluffy feel-goodery that never gets to the core of what you need to know.

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

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

And really uniquely. In your own unique style.

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

This 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 impact . . . without gimmicks!

2. Plan out your portfolio 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 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 entire curriculum around these things, but I believe that 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 the first to sign up, you get the course for FREE (I’ll send you your money back)

8. AND if you’re the second to sign up, you win a free 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!)

• free access to our exclusive online group for 12 months

• plus all the 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 developing a storyboard that evokes surprise 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 when the doors open for enrolments. Mx