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Overview

You’ll get:

  • 15.5 hours of teaching videos to watch during the Course when it fits your schedule.

  • Downloadable illustrated materials filled with Information, Helpful Tips, Samples, etc

  • Unlimited access to all videos & textual resources, even after the course is finished.

  • Timely, professional feedback on your assignments.

  • Live Zoom sessions where you get to: ask questions of your teachers, receive further instruction/critique, and share your own ideas with your fellow students.

  • Free access to an online community of Kingdom artists who love Jesus and want to share Him with the world.

  • An opportunity to illustrate either:

    1. Your own written story if you completed the CBU Writing Course.....or…..

    2. Your choice from 3 carefully-chosen stories written by a CBU Author. This will give you a structure for the course, and allow you to dive in instantly.

  • Continued mentorship, after the course is finished, as you complete your own Children’s Books for Missions (only for students who are working on books for unreached children)

  • An opportunity to have your finished book or e-book shared & distributed among unreached children through our Unreached Children’s Library App (in development).

Course Contents

You’ll learn:

  • Planning a Picture Book (2 weeks) 

  • Creating Captivating Characters (2 weeks)

  • Illustrating Story Setting (2 weeks)

  • Finishing up a Picture Book (2 weeks)

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Since Biblically based stories for Unreached Children must also be Culturally Relevant, all CBU Courses begin with a Module that covers topics like:

  • Who are the Unreached People Groups?

  • What is Contextualisation?

  • How do we do Cultural Research?

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To encourage you spiritually along the way, you’ll receive Daily Devotionals about:​

  • Your Artistic Identity in Christ

  • The Fruitful Value of Creative Gifts

  • How Creativity relates to God’s Invitation to join in building His Kingdom.

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Course content

Course Expectations

Time Investment:

  • 2-3 hours/week total for learning: video lessons & downloaded resources

  • 10-20  hours/week minimum to work on assignments

  • 1 hour/week for live Zoom & Feedback sessions

  • Stay on pace with weekly schedule

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Accomplishments:

  • A 1st Draft "Book Dummy" (a story divided into pages and roughly illustrated with simple sketches)

  • A final designed main character drawn showing various poses & expressions

  • One of the story illustrations designed, drawn, & painted to completion

Course Expectation

Frequently Ask Questions

Q. Is this course for me?

Yes, this course is for you if ANY of these apply to you:

  • You will be taking the CBU Writing Course and wish to learn how to turn your written story into a picture book

  • You are an artist/illustrator/designer and/or work with unreached kids and would like to learn how to tell stories through visual arts

  • You have a heart to see children from Unreached People Groups encounter the Love of Jesus through Illustrated storybooks

  • You already have some basic drawing and/or painting skills (traditional or digital)

  • You want an intensive course that inspires and encourages but also pushes you to enhance whatever skills you have in illustrating

  • You are willing to receive feedback and act on it

  • You desire to be part of a supportive, creative community of fellow artists and designers

  • You are able to dedicate time in your weekly schedule to go through the lessons and work hard on your assignments

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This course is  NOT for you if…

  • You are a complete beginner and want to learn how to draw & paint. Though we help students enhance their skills, we do not offer Art Skills classes, because the internet is already filled with tutorials that can teach you this. If you are a complete beginner, we recommend you first learn basic art skills before applying to this course.

  • You are just looking for technical tutorials in Photoshop and/or Illustrator

  • You’re looking for a course that can launch you into a career as a professional children’s book illustrator. Though you will learn a lot in CBU about illustrating books, we do not focus on “career building”. There are other courses out there designed specifically for that, and we can even recommend some to you.

  • You are not interested in receiving feedback or developing your ideas & illustrations.

  • You have a lot going on in your life at the moment with little time. This course is intensive, so you would need to set aside 10-20 hours a week in order to thoroughly learn the material and complete the assignments.

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Q. I’m still a beginner in art, so does that mean I cannot do this course? 

If you already have a basic understanding of drawing/painting and are putting time and effort into learning more, you should be able to do this course and not feel too overwhelmed by it. If you reach out to us, we would be happy to look at your work and give feedback on your readiness to take the course.

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Q. I just want to know how to illustrate children's books, but not necessarily for unreached children, so can I still do this course? 

Yes, you can still do CBU and you will learn a lot.  But God has called CREATE Seeds to specifically serve unreached children, so though we help everyone, we do give priority to students who are focusing on stories for the unreached. Also, the ongoing mentoring that we offer beyond the course is only for the students who are working on books for unreached children. 

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Q. I’ve never taken an online class before. How does it work? 

You will access all of the lessons on your own time through a website called CAMPFIRE.  We gather once a week for a live meeting of instructors and all students who are able to attend.  Throughout each week, you will complete practice and preparatory work according to your own skill level.  At the end of each Unit, you will submit an assignment which is assessed & personal feedback is given.  Of course, the more effort & time you are able to invest, the more you will get out of it.

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Q. What format is the class taught in? 

All lessons are taught using pre-recorded videos and downloadable PDFs that contain a summary of the teaching, definitions, helpful tips, etc. Then, of course, a lot of your learning will happen through ongoing feedback and mentoring from your instructors.

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Q. Can I access CBM online courses from any device? 

Yes, you can ask them during our live Zoom meetings or anytime on the Discord App. 

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Q. What is a Discord App? 

Discord is an online communication app on your device that you’ll use to communicate with the CBM team & fellow students.  You will also be invited to join our Campfire Creatives Discord Community, where you can meet other like-minded “Kingdom Creators.”

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Q. Wait, what? Campfire Creatives? What is Campfire Creatives Discord Community? 

Campfire Creatives is a community of artists associated with CREATE International who love Jesus and want to share him with the world. There are artists, animators, app developers, designers, cartoonists, filmmakers, writers, etc. who are part of this community. It’s a space to learn, connect and collaborate.

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FAQs
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