The Ultimate Guide to Continuing Education Courses in Children’s Book Illustration
Back in 2020, during lockdown, I was searching for resources to kickstart my career in children’s book illustration. One day, I stumbled upon the wonderful world of online classes and workshops and instantly became hooked. As a working professional with undergraduate and graduate degrees in unrelated fields, going back to school to study illustration full-time wasn’t an option for me, so I needed a more flexible, short-term solution. I started by taking self-paced, asynchronous courses but quickly discovered through trial and error that I needed the accountability and 1:1 time with an instructor that live courses offered. I found that live, online courses provided the hands-on experience I was looking for, along with real-time critiques and feedback from instructors and peers. Being in a cohort with other students enabled me to begin forming a community and the sorts of professional relationships that would otherwise be hard to form through self-paced courses. Plus, I could take these courses all from the comfort of my home and at a fraction of the cost of traditional for-credit university art or illustration programs. In short, these live courses offered me three very important things: 1) flexibility/accessibility, 2) accountability, and 3) affordability.
To help other aspiring children’s book illustrators, in this post I’ve compiled a list of courses in children’s book illustration offered through university Professional and Continuing Education or Extension programs. These live, online courses are accessible to learners at a distance, more affordable than for-credit options (averaging around $500), and taught in English. They also cater to illustrators at all levels, from beginners to more intermediate and early professional illustrators.
When choosing which course to take, I personally recommend researching the instructor. This can give you a good idea of the types of art they specialize in and help guide you toward the right fit. Country, cost, duration, and meeting times are also important things to consider when choosing the right course for you. Below, I have broken down the list by country.
USA
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD): RISD offers a continuing education course in "Children's Book Illustration: Introduction" (link), in addition to other courses to bring your children's books to life like courses on illustrating pop-up books and book covers (link).
School of Visual Arts (SVA) NYC: SVA offers a continuing education course called "Children's Book Illustration," offered during Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters with online and in-person options (link). I had the pleasure of taking this course with the wonderful author/illustrator Monica Wellington. Check out Monica's blog where she interviews past students who have gone on to be published illustrators (link).
UC San Diego (UCSD): UCSD offers a certificate in children's book illustration (link). You can choose to either complete the full certificate or take classes on their own.
UC Berkeley: UCB offers a course titled "Illustrating Children's Books" in their extension program (link).
Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD): MCAD offers a continuing education course called "Picture Books II: Illustrate a Children's Book (online)" (link).
Montgomery College, Maryland: Montgomery College offers a course titled "Children's Book Illustration," taught most recently by illustrator Rebecca Solow (link).
Otis College of Art and Design: Otis regularly offers an online extension course called "Illustrating Children's Books" (link)
Canada
Alberta University of the Arts: AUArts offers a course titled "Children's Book Illustration" (link) and (link).
George Brown College: George Brown regularly offers an online, continuing education course in "Children's Book Illustration" (link). This seems to be the most affordable option from this list for total number of contact hours.
Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD): OCAD offers a continuing studies online class called "Children’s Book Illustration Studio" (link).
Red River College Polytechnic: RRC Polytechnic offers a course called "Children's Book Illustration" in their Graphic Communications program (link).
International
University of the Arts London: UAL offers an online short course titled "Illustrating for Books Online Short Course" (link) as well as another short course called "Book Illustration Short Course" (link).
VCUarts Qatar: VCUarts Qatar has a course called "Illustrating for Young Readers: The Art of Children’s Book Cover Design (18+) – Online" (link).
Let me know if you found this resource helpful! And feel free to share it with anyone who you think might benefit.
Did I miss any courses? Reach out to me at salmaillustrate@gmail.com. I’ll gladly update the list and give you credit!
**Disclaimer: Please note that I am not affiliated with any of these programs or institutions, nor have I been compensated by them in any way. The information shared here is purely for your reference and should not be considered an endorsement or recommendation. If you have any questions about a particular course, I encourage you to contact the respective program or instructor directly.
You can find a version of this guide on my website: www.salmaillustrate.com/blog