Masterclass 1: Bringing Characters to Life with Dapo Adeola & Chanté Timothy

Creating appealing, engaging and authentic characters is essential to making successful picture books. In this one-day masterclass you’ll explore character case studies, and use practical exercises and group sharing to transform your concepts into believable characters through movement, gesture and interaction, using story to bring them to life. Post-masterclass, you’ll also have an opportunity to develop and submit your character studies for written critical feedback. All you’ll need to bring is a character concept (detailed guidance will be provided by the artists when you sign up).

This masterclass will be delivered in-person with a limited number of attendees able to join online.

With:

• Dapo Adeola is an award-winning children’s book illustrator and character designer who creates characters and images that challenge expectations around race and gender in a fun and upbeat way. He is the co-creator and illustrator of the bestselling picture book Look Up!, winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and the Number 1 debut picture book of 2019. Dapo also runs illustration and character design workshops in and out of schools, to help highlight the importance of representation in popular media and the possibilities of a career in illustration to children from diverse ethnicities.

• Chanté Timothy is a children’s book illustrator whose work explores movement, expression, and storytelling through her characters. A Pathways alumni who is published in four amazing titles, Hey You! by Dapo Adeola, My Big Mouth by Steven Camden, Happy Here introduced by Sharna Jackson alongside 10 Black British authors and 10 Illustrators, and A Black Woman Did That by Malaika Adero. Chanté’s work consists of vibrant imagery focused on different themes of diversity.

Masterclass 2: Illustrating People - the Nosy Parker’s Guide with Sara Ogilvie & Jane Buckley

No matter how simple or complex your illustration style, observation and capturing detail from body language is vital in making authentic, convincing characters and narratives that readers can emotionally connect with. Over two half-days of playful exercises and real-life assignments you’ll explore facial expressions and body language, draw from life and memory, and evolve characters, interactions and scenes with humour and empathy. Involves homework between sessions. All you’ll need to bring is a sketchbook.

This masterclass will be delivered online with a limited number of attendees able to join in-person.

With:

• Sara Ogilvie is an award-winning illustrator and printmaker. In 2010, her first picture book Dogs Don’t do Ballet with writer Anna Kemp was published for Simon and Schuster. It led to a Booktrust’s Best New Illustrators award in 2011 which paved the way for ten years of successful picture book collaborations picking up recognition on shortlists including the Roald Dahl Funny prize, Sainsbury's Picture Book awards, and the Waterstones Children's Prize. This year, The Hospital Dog, in collaboration with Julia Donaldson, won the Indie Book Prize in the picture book category. Izzy Gizmo, written by Pip Jones, is currently being animated and orchestrated for Music in the Round based in Sheffield.

• Jane Buckley - With over twenty years’ experience in children’s publishing, Jane has worked for a wealth of publishers including Penguin Random House, Little Tiger Press, Kingfisher, and Dorling Kindersley. Throughout her career, she’s worked with a variety of award-winning illustrators such as Benji Davies, Sara Ogilvie, Liz Pichon, and Kate Hindley. Jane started her journey studying Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University, as a painter and filmmaker with a keen eye for a good story and, as a result, the picture book world soon beckoned. Through her determination and hard work, she now finds herself as the British Book Awards Designer of the Year winner and Art Director of Picture Books and Novelty at Simon & Schuster UK.

Who: You must be over 18 to attend the masterclasses.

When:

• Masterclass 1: Saturday 27th November 2021
• Masterclass 2: Saturday 11th December 2021 & Saturday 15th January 2022

Where:

• Centre for Literacy in Primary Education, London, SE1 8QW
• Birkbeck, University of London & online

Tickets:

• £120 [early bird, if booked by Sunday 14th November 2021]
• £150 [from Monday 15th November 2021]

Pathways Plus is a series of Masterclasses and Short Courses for all aspiring illustrators, delivered by award-winning illustrators and highly-experienced children's book publishers. The courses provide an amazing opportunity to learn how to illustrate children's books from the best in the industry as well as giving participants a real insight into the world of children's publishing.

Pathways Plus courses can be taken as one-offs or as a package and have been developed by the same team who created Pathways Into Children's Publishing, a unique, highly-acclaimed two-year professional training programme for aspiring and emerging illustrators.

All Pathways Plus courses involve:

• professional advice
• shared insights and experiences
• practical tasks
• creative guidance
• resource-sharing
• interaction with tutors and participants
• critical feedback