Back to News

New Signed Artist: April Hartmann

Published on 21/03/2022

For more than 20 years, April Hartmann has been illustrating for children. She loves to create playful characters and imaginary worlds that inspire young minds. Her illustration style is layered and textural, beginning with traditional mediums of watercolors, gouache and pastel, and bringing it all together in Photoshop.

April earned her BFA in Illustration at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. Her career began as a Graphic Designer and Art Director, working in Houston, Texas and then Chicago, all while building her illustration career on the side. Currently residing in southwestern Pennsylvania, she enjoys the beautiful hilly surroundings, and life as a full-time freelance illustrator.

April is a member of SCBWI and also the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators.

When she’s not at the drawing table, she’s usually involved in some other creative task like writing, decorating, or testing recipes to get her family to eat more vegetables.

 

Other News

How to Create the Perfect Puzzle for the Adult Market

Illustrations by Advocate Art illustrators Victor McLindon, Jo Parry, James Newman Gray, and Lisa Alderson How to Create the Perfect Puzzle Teacher: Amanda Hendon, Global Manager at Advocate Art I often think of jigsaw puzzles as something that will never go out of fashion – tried and true, they’re a reliable form of entertainment for…

Celebrations to Include in Your Portfolio Part 3

Illustrations by Advocate Art illustrators Aditi Kakade Beaufrand, Anuki Lopez, Fabiana Attanasio, and Beatrice Tinarelli, and Astound US Inc. illustrators Joel and Ashley Selby. Celebrations to Include in Your Portfolio Part 3 Teacher: ITSme Society Who doesn’t love a celebration! As we talked about earlier in this series, books that celebrate a special occasion or…

Top 10 Writing No-No’s

Top 10 Writing No-No’s  Teacher: Lil Chase, senior editor at Caroline Wakeman Literary Agency There are many tropes and cliches writers use that immediately turn off an agent or commissioning editor. Some are worse than others and some are personal to that particular editor. Here are a few of the repeat offenders you might want…

New On Demand / Self Paced Courses Coming Soon!

Character Study Intensive and Graphic Novel Bootcamp ITSme Learning is excited to announce our new on demand, self paced Character Study Intensive and Graphic Novel Bootcamp courses! We have been asked for an in depth look into these areas, and we are here to provide that education. In addition to our free resources and mentorship…

Poetry Tricks for Children’s Authors

Poetry Tricks for Children’s Authors Teacher: Lil Chase, senior editor at Caroline Wakeman Literary Agency I would not advise people to use flowery prose when writing for children. In general, it’s best to speak plainly and let the action tell your story. However, studying the tricks used in poetry is a really good way to…

International Trends: Children’s Book Illustrators in the Chinese Book Market

Illustrations by Yeon Agency Illustrators Alizee Favier, Caroline Romanet, Fann Chen, Jisun Lee, Kousuke & Konatsu Sako, and Mai Ngo. International Trends: Children’s Book Illustrators in the Chinese Book Market Teacher: Zejun Yao, Yeon Agency Managing Agent Children’s books have a special place in our hearts, and their stories have their roots firmly planted in…

Menu