Writing and Illustration of a Non-Fiction Picturebook

Through non-fiction children’s books, you can poetically translate the real world using illustrations and words. Author, illustrator, and director Catarina Sobral writes award-winning picturebooks that have been exhibited around the world and published in 16 different languages.

In this course, she teaches you how to write and illustrate a story rooted in real events that appeals to a broad audience. Develop the storytelling and drawing skills needed to create the first and last spread of a captivating picturebook. Become a visual storyteller and craft a non-fiction picturebook for young readers.

Begin the course by getting to know author, illustrator, and director Catarina Sobral. She talks through the journey that led her to craft award-winning picturebooks that have been published in 16 different languages. Find out about the influences which inspire her work.

Dive into what a non-fiction picturebook is, using examples to explore the different formats they can take. Learn how to incorporate Catarina’s key concepts for non-fiction picturebooks into your work. She discusses the importance of universality, permeability, and affectivity for appealing to a wide audience. Then start sketching your first spread, and later the glossary, experimenting with color, shapes, and contrast.

Time to warm up your drawing and writing skills! Learn a new illustration technique designed for spot color printing, using both digital and analogue tools. Then explore how to structure a non-fiction text. Catarina guides you through how to write a captivating first line, how to create intentional page breaks, when to end your story, and more.

Put what you’ve learned into practice, starting by choosing a theme for your story. Dive into the writing part of your project by using Catarina’s advice to create a glossary full of fun, yet surprising concepts. Then start sketching your double-page spread, and later the glossary, experimenting with color, shapes, and spacing.