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Saturday Art School
Create, Illustrate and Craft an Extraord...

Create, Illustrate and Craft an Extraordinary Book

Ages: 13–16
Term: Spring
Length: 8 weeks

Overview

Unleash your imagination and creative skills in this exciting eight-session Saturday Art School course, designed for students aged 13–16. Throughout this engaging series of workshops, your artist will explore idea generation, drawing and painting techniques, and experiment with simple pop-up and paper construction, extended pages and printmaking, including techniques such as styrofoam printing. They'll learn how to craft their own story, illustrate it beautifully, and bring everything together in a professionally bound book.

Course information

Through a combination of creative writing, illustration, and practical craft skills, this course offers a rewarding experience that combines storytelling with visual art. By the end of the course, you'll have produced a fully finished, handcrafted book that reflects your personality and artistic voice.

Techniques for drafting and editing written stories or poems
Skills in creating illustrations that communicate and enhance narratives
Design and layout skills for a cohesive book project
Fundamentals of bookbinding and hand-crafting a professional-looking book
How to develop a personal artistic style through combined writing and illustration

Timetable

Session 1: Introduction to storytelling and drafting ideas. Brainstorming and initial writing of short stories, poems or personal narratives.
Session 2: Developing and refining written drafts. Creating rough thumbnail sketches for illustrations.
Session 3: Producing and experimenting with illustrations to complement the text. Exploring different drawing techniques and visual storytelling methods.
Session 4: Designing the layout of the book, integrating text and images. Planning the overall structure and presentation.
Session 5: Finalising artwork and text layout. Preparing the pages for binding.
Session 6: Introduction to bookbinding techniques. Assembling and binding individual pages into a complete book.
Session 7: Finishing touches: colouring, detailing and enhancing pages. Refining the book for presentation,
Session 8: Completing the hand-crafted book. Sharing and reflecting on final projects.

Students will leave with their own hand-bound, professionally crafted books, containing original stories and artwork. This project will showcase their creativity, storytelling ability and craftsmanship, leaving them with a treasured piece of their own artistic and literary expression

Students can request a digital Certificate of Attendance if 100% attendance has been achieved by the end of the course. To request a certificate, please email academy@aub.ac.uk with student name and course completed.

What you need to know

When does it run?

Spring term 2027

Saturdays 23 and 30 January
Saturdays 6, 13, 20 and 27 February
Saturdays 6 and 13 March

How long is the course?

8 Saturdays

What time are the classes?

09.30–12.30

Who's this course for?

This course has been developed for aspiring students aged 13-16.

Does my young artist need any qualifications or experience?

No, this is an introductory course, so your young artist doesn’t need any previous experience, just buckets of enthusiasm.

This course is suitable for any young artist with a passion for creative arts – both complete beginners and those with some previous experience.

I’m not sure if this is suitable for my young artist. Can I speak to someone?

Yes, of course! If you’d like to discuss if this course is suitable for your young artist, get in touch with us: email academy@aub.ac.uk or call 01202 363222.

How much does this course cost?

£269

What's included in this price?

All course materials and resources
Everything your young artist will need to take part in the course will be provided by us – no hidden costs.

Classes are practical, so your young artists should wear clothes that you don’t mind getting messy.
Drinks and snacks for break time and duration of class; please ensure snacks don’t contain nuts.
It’s strongly advised mobile phones, tablets and other valuables aren’t brought to class. Any personal possessions are the responsibility of your young artist and AUB won’t be liable for any loss or damage.

Meet your tutor

Laura Wyatt

Laura Wyatt is a professional illustrator and watercolour artist whose work is playful and interactive, often featuring pop-up elements.

Text that reads ' start their creative journey'. This overlays three smiley faces.

Book your young artist's place today

Book now

Course gallery

Open pop-up book with colourful pages showing green jungle scenes, winding road, parrot illustration, and purple covers

Open accordion-style book with colorful illustrated panels showing landscapes, buildings, and abstract shapes in blues, greens, reds, and purples on dark circular surface

Open notebook with red cloud shapes drawn on cream pages, coloured pencils visible in spine, other notebooks stacked behind

Open children's book showing astronaut figure in grey patterned suit with turquoise details on left page, purple planet with white crescent and stars on right page

Paper craft diorama with dark blue starry background, yellow-orange star shape, blue circle with white clouds, and white rabbit silhouettes

Room corner with space-themed wall mural featuring Earth, Saturn, white rocket, and orange comet against purple-blue starry background

Beyond the course

This could just be the start of your young artist's creative journey! After this course, your young artist could further their animation skills with our stage 2 course, continue to harness their creativity and explore alternative Saturday Art School subjects, look forward to the future and the next step(s) in their creative journey by exploring AUB's Foundation Diploma in Art, Design and Media.