Course Prices
Inside UK
£400.00
Outside UK
£425.00
Instalments UK & International
£400.00 in 4 instalments at £100.00 each
International students will not be supplied with a paper copy
Illustrating Children’s Books Diploma Course
Bring your characters to life in a world of imagination. This flexible, self-paced online course is designed to help you explore the art of illustrating for children — whether you’re creating storybook scenes, standalone characters, or simply looking to engage younger audiences with your illustrations.
Who is this course for?
This course is ideal for anyone who wants to create artwork for children — whether or not you’re planning to illustrate a full book. No prior illustration experience is necessary, but some drawing and painting experience is advisable. Students will benefit from the structured assignments and one-to-one tutor feedback.
- Aspiring children’s book illustrators
- Artists interested in drawing for children’s magazines or learning materials
- Creatives looking to refine a playful, narrative-driven art style
Your tutor will tailor their guidance to suit your personal interests and goals.
What to expect
- Flexible distance learning — normally takes 1 year to complete, but up to 2 years given, so work at your own pace
- Work primarily in watercolours, or use other media you enjoy
- Submit 6 assignments, designed as publisher’s briefs, online and receive detailed tutor feedback
- No exams or formal grades — this is a vocational, skills-based course
What you’ll learn
- How to develop original characters with personality and emotion
- The basics of visual storytelling — layout, pacing, and point of view
- How to create engaging scenes and compositions that appeal to children
- Using colour, expression, and movement to bring energy to your work
- Techniques for working with watercolours (although you can use other media if you prefer)
Whether you’re illustrating a story or focusing on standalone images, the course will help you create work that connects with younger audiences.
Meet your tutor
Your tutor for this course is Paul Weaver, an experienced illustrator and art educator. Paul provides supportive, constructive feedback to help you build your confidence and develop your own visual voice. His advice is tailored to each student's progress and style.
Student feedback
This course has inspired students of all levels — from complete beginners to those building illustration portfolios. Here’s what they say:
“I loved this course. It really stretched my imagination and taught me new skills.”
— C. Day“The assignments gave me the confidence to explore watercolours and character design. I’m now working on my own picture book!”
— S. Matthews“This was the first time I tried drawing with children in mind. I loved every minute and found my tutor’s support invaluable.”
— Dani L.
👉 View Student Gallery for this Course
FAQs
Do I need experience to take this course?
Some basic drawing and painting skills are recommended, but no prior illustration experience is required. The course starts with the fundamentals and builds from there.
Do I have to illustrate a full children’s book?
Not at all! While the assignments are designed as publisher-style briefs, they focus on storytelling, characters, and composition — whether you’re working on full narratives or individual scenes.
Can I use digital media or other traditional materials?
Yes. Watercolours are encouraged, but you can use the media that suit your style and workflow — including digital tools or coloured pencils.
Students are able to upload their artwork to the 'The Art Room' on our website. Each student is
given a unique username and password on enrolment for their own private area in
The Art Room.
Students can upload their artwork for the tutor to collect and
critique. The tutor will then upload feedback for the student to download. If
you do not have facilities to upload your artwork, you can mail your artwork to
the tutors centre and receive your artwork back with your critique.
It is essential you label all
packages/artwork with your student number.
Comprehensive Course Support for Your Creative Journey
At London Art College, each of our courses is meticulously designed to provide an in-depth exploration of its subject matter. We understand the value of personalized guidance, and our dedicated tutors are here to support you every step of the way.
What You Can Expect:
Expert Guidance: Each course is led by a dedicated tutor who ensures that the content is current and relevant. Your tutor will provide personalized advice and encouragement, helping you to effectively apply the techniques you learn.
Practical Learning: Our courses feature regular exercises and assignments designed to reinforce your skills and challenge your progress. These practical tasks allow you to practice and master the techniques taught throughout the course.
Personalized Feedback: Submit your assignments online via digital photographs through your personal art room account. Your tutor will provide detailed critiques and feedback, which you can download and retain for future reference.
Build Your Portfolio: Many assignments are ideal for inclusion in your personal portfolio, showcasing your development and achievements. These submissions are also used to assess your progress and award your diploma upon successful completion.
Your Path to Success:
By the end of your course, you will have acquired new skills and knowledge that enhance your creative abilities and contribute to your personal and professional growth. Our goal is to support your development and help you enjoy the journey of learning and creating.
Embark on your artistic journey with confidence, knowing that our dedicated tutors and comprehensive support are here to guide you towards achieving your goals.
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Click the download button below to view a pdf sample course page which will open in a new tab. Alternatively right click and save the file. Please be patient for it to load.
Below are a few images from the course.
I really enjoyed studying this course I found the subjects interesting and felt it taught me different skills. My tutor was also amazing when it came to feedback that helped me improve my skills.
I loved this course. I already work in an artistic field but am looking to develop a career in children's book illustration, so this course was perfect. It really stretched my imagination.
I have recently completed the Illustrating Children's Books Course and gained a Merit Diploma. I found the course extremely interesting and Maggy's feedback was quick and very constructive and made me think about my artwork differently as well as giving me more confidence in my approach to each assignment, loved every moment of my journey through the course, especially assignment five.
I really enjoyed the course and found Maggy's detailed critiques of immense benefit and will continue to refer to them long into the future.
I thank London Art College and my tutor Maggy for a course that help me to use other techniques and skills to produce a good children's book.
This was a worthwhile course for me. I learned a great deal and feel ready to apply for work with publishers.
An absolutely wonderful course from start to finish. I feel my skills have improved massively from the challenging and rewarding assignments. Maggy's feedback was really helpful, and I now feel much for confident in my art.
I really Loved this course curriculum and learned a lot from this course. It really helped me improve a lot on my skills, as well as my thinking processes.
Having completed this final assignment, I have looked back over the journey. There is a lot of useful information in the study units and I’ll continue to look back over the course material because I’m sure that I can continue to learn from it. I have learned to persevere with a task and not to accept my initial efforts as the limit of my ability. I have shown myself that when I think I can’t draw… a person… a cow… a tortoise…etc, that it is possible if I do the required research. There is no room for laziness! Colour schemes work best when selected carefully to reflect the mood of the story. Composition is important and needs planning. I know that when I get sloppy or careless I regret it afterwards because that is when I make marks that don’t sit well in the image. I feel quite positive about the improvements that I can make in my illustration skills in the future and I think that I can continue to try different things to develop my own style. Thank you for your support and your valued comments.
I have enjoyed this course and I believe my artistic skills have improved due to Maggie Robert’s detailed feedback.
I have had a lot of experience with courses, exams, programmes etc in various fields and I found Maggys feedback to be exceptional. It was very fast, full, really helpful. Thanks so much for that.
Thank you for helping students in remote areas through the digital services you offer. It gave me the opportunity to develop my skills as an artist.
Maggie was great at helping me understand the course and the assignments at hand, giving me advice on what to improve on, super happy with her.
The college does not provide materials with its courses as most students can obtain what they will need locally at lower cost.
For this course we suggest the following rough guide to the materials you will need :
- A range of Graphite pencil 2B – 6B
- Soft eraser or putty eraser
- Marker pens
- Cheap sketchbook for practicing mark making
- Dip pen and ink (waterproof for use with washes and water soluble for use alone) and more detail on pens on page 34 of the course materials.
- Pad of cartridge paper - try different types for different media
- Water colour paints in half pans
- Brushes
- Board
- Watercolour paper - a Not surface to begin with and then experiment with Hot pressed and a Rough surface
- Other materials may be suggested to you individually as the course progresses.
The course can be completed using digital media if preferred. There is one assignment which required watercolour.
Maggy's recommended reading material -
Children's Picture books: The Art of Visual Storytelling
Martin Salisbury and Morag Styles
ISBN-13: 9781856697385
This can be purchased online and we have added two links below of the book on Amazon.