PBIC Self-Paced
Are you ready to transform your passion for illustration into a fulfilling career as a children’s picture book illustrator? Join Nina Rycroft in this self-paced programme designed to unleash your creative potential and guide you on your journey to illustration success!
What’s Inside?
8 Weekly Video Lessons: Walk through the entire process of illustrating a picture book, from character design to storyboarding and all the way to creating your final artwork.
Illustration Demos from Nina: Enjoy pre-recorded demonstrations where Nina works on the same manuscript as you. Gain insight as she shares her process, breaking down each task and tackling every step, leading you into your own version of each project.
Expert Interviews: Discover valuable insights from industry professionals through pre-recorded interviews that offer unique perspectives on the art and business of children’s book illustration.
Storyboarding Mastery: Storyboarding is a crucial part of picture book illustration, and this course guides you through it every step of the way. Learn about page breaks, story arcs, sketch thumbnails, and create a finished dummy book with easy-to-follow demos that give you the full experience.
Nina’s Final Florence Fox Illustration: Throughout the course, I encourage you to design your own characters, visual story, and final illustration for the course manuscript. However, if you prefer, you can follow along as Nina paints a full-scale watercolour illustration of Florence Fox in real time.
Comprehensive Workbook: Benefit from a 56-page workbook designed to enhance your learning journey, packed with projects, diagrams, examples, and resources to reinforce your skills throughout the programme.
What You’ll Achieve:
Hands-On Experience: Gain a comprehensive understanding and hands-on experience of what it takes to illustrate a picture book from start to finish.
Portfolio Piece: Design and illustrate a standout portfolio piece that showcases your newfound skills and creativity.
Character Design: Character design is a major focus of this programme. You’ll create character maps and vignette illustrations for Florence Fox and her forest friends, resulting in great portfolio additions.
Skills and Knowledge: Acquire essential skills and knowledge needed to illustrate your very first children’s picture book.
Personalised Action Plan: Nina will help you create a tailored action plan that aligns with your picture book goals, whether it’s to illustrate your own story, self-publish, or build a thriving career as a picture book illustrator.
Transform Your Dream into Reality: Turn your picture book dream into reality by gaining the confidence and tools needed for a fulfilling career in children’s picture book illustration.
Are You Ready to Illustrate Your Dream?
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn, grow, and create in a supportive and inspiring environment. Join Nina’s Picture Book Illustration e-Course and step into a world where your creativity knows no bounds!
Join PBIC Self-Paced
The self-paced programme is broken down into 8 weeks:
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Week 1: Learn the physical mechanics of picture books and generate the best ideas for your picture book story.
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Week 2: Design character maps, exploring age, size, proportion, group dynamics, interaction, movement, and the significance of storytelling with both animal and human possibilities.
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Week 3: Master visual storytelling through thumbnail sketches, understanding page breaks, and unraveling the impact of the story arc on pace, rhythm, and flow.
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Week 4: Craft your storyboard, considering page layout, design, text, and image placement while adding detail to your characters and settings.
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Week 5: Create a dummy book to see how your story reads with its turning pages.
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Week 6: Set the stage for your final piece and explore various illustration techniques.
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Week 7: Bring your final portfolio piece to life through illustration.
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Week 8: Discuss next steps and set the stage for your successful career as a children’s picture book illustrator.
Lesley McGee's journey from PBIC to published author/illustrator is truly remarkable. Her book, “The Fabulous Fruit Shake Mystery,” published by Little Pink Dog Books in 2023, stands as a testament to the talent and creativity fostered within the PBIC community.
Transform your picture book journey with PBIC Self-Paced—whether you’re a seasoned artist or just starting. Move from confusion to confidence with a step-by-step blueprint, weekly inspiration, video lessons, and demos. Join hundreds of students who have taken this course and turned their picture book dreams into reality! Take the first step toward your creative adventure today!
Call To Action“The scaffolding of the course made learning and participating successful and attainable. While falling behind, I was still able to continue at my own pace with support and encouragement. This course has enabled me to follow my intention of preparing and completing my own picture book. As an author my preference was to work with my own text and this was managed beautifully. The course is attainable in 8 weeks providing it is approached with singular determination – it is a demanding course and for this, I congratulate Nina and her team. I will be definitely pursuing this course again...” – Nette Hilton
“…Nina encourages a healthy community of artists. I felt that everyone was respectful of each other, and I’ve personally made some great friendships. Nina’s feedback was really helpful her constructive criticism was very professional and respectful of people’s feelings. I personally loved all of the feedback Nina gave, and I believe it helped me to become a better illustrator. Overall it was a great course thank you Nina!“ – Amy Calautti
“It was the best thing I’ve done for myself all year. Quality and intuitive instruction. Nina not only guides you through everything but has a way of teaching that makes you feel like you can accomplish whatever the task is. She gives you the unique tools and insight from her many years as an illustrator to be able to break down the process into manageable pieces. I loved it. I would do it again.” – Nichole Wade
“All of the picture book skills from Nina’s picture book illustration e-course fed directly into projects that came afterward: shaping my portfolio, researching, layout, thumbnails, storyboards, and pacing. My first traditionally published book as an author/illustrator came as a result of a competition, for which I had to submit a whole dummy book. I used everything I’d learnt on the course to help with the illustration side.” – Sue Rinaldi
Hi, I’m Nina!
With over two decades in the illustration industry, I’ve had the pleasure of teaching more than 64,000 students worldwide. My passion lies in sharing my knowledge and helping others harness their creativity.
I have a portfolio of over a dozen published picture books, including notable titles such as Boom Bah! by Phil Cummings, No More Kisses by Margaret Wild, Dinosaurs Love Cheese and Good Dog Hank by Jackie French, and Pooka, which won the YABBA Award in 2013. I also wrote and illustrated my own picture book, Ballroom Bonanza. This experience has solidified my reputation as a respected figure in the industry.
What Makes This Course Different
I go beyond teaching technical skills; I strive to inspire, support, and empower aspiring illustrators to turn their creative passions into sustainable careers by providing a solid foundation for their artistic aspirations.
A key aspect of my teaching approach is my belief in hands-on learning. I understand that true integration of new knowledge comes from not just being given information but also experiencing it firsthand. I apply this philosophy to all the programmes I teach, ensuring that my students actively engage with the material.
“The Picture Book Illutration e-Course allowed me to connect with other like-minded creators. I felt accountable to make progress and get out of my comfort zone. Elements that I am still incorporating in my practice today.” – Cesar Lador
“Nina gave me the confidence to stretch myself in every way and to know that if I really worked hard I would achieve my goals and make it as a picture book illustrator. ” – Nichole Wade
“Nina gave me the confidence to storyboard my entire manuscript in a format that I could submit to publishers. In addition to three published titles as author, I now have a title in which I am both author and illustrator...” – Inda Ahmad Zahri
Frequently Asked Questions
How much time do I need to dedicate each week?
What happens after I join?
How is the content delivered?
Can I work on my own manuscript?
Will I complete a picture book by the end of the course?
What if I am still finding my style?
Are absolute beginners welcome?
