Children’s and Youth Illustration Course

Do you want to pursue a career in children’s and youth illustration? Eina’s children’s illustration course is a specialized program that prepares you to illustrate stories, picture books, and visual projects for young audiences.

Through a practical, creative, and professional approach, you will learn how to illustrate children’s stories, develop your personal style, and explore the children’s publishing world with guidance from industry experts.

Download the information guide ↧

→ Workshop Character Illustration with Gabriela Rubio and Mercè Canals. Thursday, 6 November from 5 pm to 7 pm

→ Request an interview

→ Course in Children’s and Youth Illustration, from the Autonomous University of Barcelona
→ From 9 February to 29 June 2026
→ Monday and Wednesday from 5 pm to 8 pm
→ Onsite - 15 ECTS
→ 2.295 €
→ Registration open

Presentation of the Children’s Illustration Course

Eina’s specialization course in children’s and youth illustration offers a program designed to develop and adapt students’ personal style to the specific requirements of working for children and young audiences. It also incorporates optimal work processes that contribute to the professionalization of students as illustrators in this sector.

The children’s and youth illustration course is structured around three main objectives:

→ Equip students with their own unique voice.
→ Encourage exploration across different creative registers.
→ Support them in producing abundant, high-quality material that enables the creation or strengthening of a solid professional portfolio.

During the course, students develop projects in various areas, including early-reading publications, illustrations for magazines, textbooks, and children’s picture books. The program also focuses on storytelling through projects in children’s and youth literature, as well as illustrated albums. Each project is approached by analyzing and simulating the models and requirements of the current professional market.

Throughout its numerous editions, we have had the privilege of preparing professionals whose work is present in the current panorama of illustration. In fact, there is practically no Spanish-language publishing house that does not include the work of one of our alumni in its catalogue.

Among them are illustrators such as Anuska Allepuz, María José Ballesteros, Paula Bossio, Edurne Lacunza, Caro Gabo, Jana Glatt, Berta Maluenda, Ona Marcet, Manuel Marsol, Helena Melo, Pato Mena, Joan Negrescolor, Pili Parro, Sandra Rilova, Ana Seixas, Leire Salaberria, Lucía Serrano, and many more.

Who is this course for?

The children’s and youth illustration sector uniquely combines artistic creativity with the ability to visually communicate stories to a developing audience, making it a field as challenging as it is rewarding for any creator interested in narrative and/or childhood.

This course is especially aimed at:

Graduates in Design.
Degrees in Fine Arts or Advertising and Public Relations.
People with an interest in, skills in, or experience of visual arts, graphic arts, illustration, animation or comics.
People interested in childhood or pedagogy, with basic skills in graphic expression.

What you will learn

This children’s and youth illustration course is focused on professional practice and will provide you with the tools needed to develop as an illustrator in the field of literature for children and young audiences.

Throughout the program:

You will work on developing your own style, consistent with the requirements of the children’s and youth publishing market.
You will learn to conceptualize, plan, and execute real illustration projects for picture books, children’s stories, textbooks, and periodical publications.
You will explore graphic and narrative techniques to adapt your visual language to different ages, contexts, and editorial formats.
You will become familiar with professional processes such as editing, briefing, presenting originals, and interacting with publishers.
You will create an illustrated portfolio with your own proposals, which can serve as a showcase to enter the professional market.

The course focuses on the individual development of each student, with personalized guidance and constant practical orientation aimed at improving your narrative, expressive, and technical skills.

Teaching Staff

The course is taught by leading professionals in the field of children’s and youth illustration, with a distinguished career in publishing houses, cultural institutions, and specialized publications.

You will learn from active illustrators, writers, and editors who have received awards such as the Lazarillo, Apel·les Mestres, Bologna Ragazzi Award, Serra d’Or, and the National Illustration Award, among others.

The instructors forming the teaching team for this edition are:

Pep Brocal
Mercè Canals
Gabriela Rubio
Paloma Valdivia
Gusti
Arianna Squilloni
Jorge Zentner

Academic Program

Eina’s children’s and youth illustration course combines theory and practice to help you explore the different formats within the children’s publishing sector.

Throughout the course, you will work on guided exercises that allow you to experiment with various techniques, narratives, and audiences, from early-reader publications to picture books and textbooks. Each subject is designed to help you build a solid and professional portfolio while consolidating your own voice as a children’s illustrator.

Drawing Applied to Illustration

This workshop will focus on analyzing both the formal and content-related characteristics of illustrations. The analysis will be conducted through public critiques of the portfolio students submitted at the start of the course, linking style, technique, composition, line, color, etc., to the narrative objectives inherent in illustration projects and to works by reference illustrators in the professional field.

Magazine Illustration

This subject examines periodical publications aimed at children and young audiences. It describes the characteristics of their various specific formats, such as comics, games, puzzles, and short stories. In the practical part, projects adapted to this medium will be developed.

Early-Reader Publications

This subject focuses on understanding the world of children who have not yet fully developed reading and writing skills. The theoretical part covers conceptual elements that support child development. In the practical part, a project adapted to these needs will be developed.

Textbook Illustration

This subject examines the specific requirements of textbooks, such as conciseness, clarity, and ease of understanding. It will analyze the necessary resources to achieve a balance between pedagogical function and an attractive, original, and often playful visual presentation, aimed at facilitating school learning.

Narrative Illustration

This subject explores, in its broadest sense, the relationship between literary text and visual storytelling through pocket-format illustrated books within children’s and youth publishing collections. It will examine the technical, narrative, and artistic characteristics of illustration for ages 8 to 12, analyzing how graphic resources can enhance the reading experience.

Idea Generation

This subject provides an approach to children’s and youth illustration from a strictly narrative perspective, exploring the creative process through writing. Various methods will be addressed to unlock and accelerate creativity, with special emphasis on the relationship between artistic creation and emotional expression.

Picture Book Analysis

The course focuses on the narrative analysis of illustrated picture books, exploring the synergies between text and image. Through the study of notable works in the history of children’s and youth literature, key aspects of visual and literary storytelling, editorial design, and strategies used by authors to convey meaning will be addressed.

Illustrated Children’s Picture Book Project

The course approaches the illustrated picture book as the most emblematic and complex product within the field of children’s illustration. Its narrative and formal characteristics will be studied, analyzing the interaction between text and image and its impact on the reading experience. In the practical part, students will develop a personal illustrated picture book project, with special emphasis on artistic quality and narrative coherence.

Why study children’s illustration at Eina

If you are looking for a children’s illustration course in Barcelona with a professional, creative approach connected to the publishing sector, Eina is the place for you. You will join an active artistic community, with leading instructors and close guidance in developing your personal style and portfolio.

Studying at Eina also gives you access to a privileged environment, with over 1,500 m² of workshops, a photography studio, library, and exhibition spaces, as well as the opportunity to undertake professional internships and participate in the job board.

All this, with the guarantee of an accredited program by the UAB.

Discounts, fees and payment options

5% discount for:

UAB Alumni
Eina students and alumni.

10% discount for:

Members of the Association of Museologists of Catalonia (AMC)
Members of the Association of Professionals of Valencian Illustration (APIV)
Members of the Catalan Association of Art Critics (ACCA)
Members of the Professional Association of Illustrators of Catalonia (APIC)

- Consult the fees for all UAB-specific studies (Masters, Postgraduate and UAB courses

One-time payment option:

100% at the time of acceptance (payment must be made within 10 days
of acceptance to guarantee the reservation of the place)

Fractionated payment option:

50% at the time of acceptance (payment must be made within 10 days
of acceptance to guarantee the reservation of the place)
50%: before 15 days before the start of the course

For further details check on academic info.

Registration