Starting October 12th 2026
The Brand Foundation Workshop
Build the foundation of a creative business that gets you booked.
In 6 weeks, you'll walk away with a clear brand, a stronger portfolio, an outreach system, and quotes you can send without second-guessing your rate.
A hands-on workshop with a former art director turned children's book illustrator.
We start together on October 12.
$127
$97 — First cohort price!
Use code FIRST
You finally said yes to your art. So why does it feel like nobody's looking?
Maybe you spent a decade in graphic design, building brands for everyone but yourself. Maybe you taught, or managed a team, and drew at night once the house went quiet.
Now you're doing it for real. You've got a portfolio, an Instagram account, maybe even a website.
You post every week and refresh your portfolio every few months. You study the illustrators you admire and try to figure out what they're doing differently.
And your inbox stays quiet.
You open Instagram to post and lose an hour scrolling other illustrators, wondering why their work gets picked up and yours doesn't.
When someone asks what kind of art you make, you say "um, a bit of everything" and cringe the second it's out.
You've bought courses on Procreate and color theory, and you still don't know how to get hired.
Your portfolio has 40 pieces and no thread holding them together.
You've drafted an email to an art director four times and never hit send.
The Problem Isn't You.
The creative world runs on one big promise: post often, build a great portfolio, and the right people will find you.
So you post. You polish. And when nobody notices, you start doubting your work.
It isn't your fault. You were handed a posting schedule, when what you needed was a way to reach the art directors, authors and clients who actually hire illustrators.
Then there's the course trap. Another Procreate class, another 30-day Instagram challenge, another certificate for the folder.
Learning feels productive. It keeps you busy right up until you notice you still haven't pitched anyone.
I know because I spent my whole first year as an illustrator doing exactly that. None of it got me hired.
Imagine opening your IPAD on a Monday and knowing exactly what to do
You know what your work is about, and you can say it in one sentence.
Your portfolio is smaller, and every piece in it sounds like you.
You have a list of art directors, publishers and clients who fit your work, plus a simple rhythm for reaching out to them.
When someone asks for a quote, you send a professional one with a rate you can explain.
Your website, your posts and your newsletter all tell the same story about who you are.
And when someone at a dinner party asks what you do, you answer without the "um."
Before I did this work for myself, I answered that question differently for every person in front of me: Designer for my banker, art director for old clients, and a vague 'I draw too' for everyone else. After 26 years in design and art direction, I'd been an illustrator for about two minutes, and I wasn't owning it yet.
Now I say it first: I'm a children's book illustrator, my work is warm, accessible and has a touch of mischief to it.
-INTRODUCING-
The Brand Foundation Workshop
A 6-week, hands-on workshop where you build the base of your creative business one week at a time,
with me and your cohort beside you.
How it works
Each week, you get one video lesson and workbook exercises tied directly to it. Then we meet for a live Q&A to workshop your answers together.
The community stays open the whole time, so you're never stuck alone with a blank page.
Plan on 2 to 3 hours a week.
6 video modules, one released each week
A workbook built to match every module
Weekly live Q&A calls
Access to the community for the full 6 weeks
+Lifetime access to all materials
What you'll build:
Week 1: Your Foundation
Dig into your origin story, your core values and the real reason you make art. You'll end the week with the "why" every other decision will lean on.
Value: $97
Week 2: Your Artist's DNA
Find the visual patterns already hiding in your work, name your North Star and define your unique voice. By Sunday, you'll know which portfolio pieces belong and which ones can go.
Value: $97
Week 3: Your Audience
Get clear on who you're really for and what they need from you. Then write a brand statement you'll actually use when you introduce yourself.
Value: $97
Week 4: Your Outreach Tools
Turn your brand into a website, social media and newsletter that speak the same language, with content pillars so you always know what to post.
Value: $97
Week 5: Your Business Tools
Set up an outreach system you can run every week, plus contracts and quotes you can send with confidence. We'll also map out your week so all of this fits around your real life.
Value: $97
Week 6: Looking Forward
Plan your year and give your bigger dreams a real spot on the calendar.
Value: $97
Weekly live Q&A with me (6 sessions)
Bring your workbook answers and we'll work through them together. Can't make it live? Every session is recorded.
Value: $400
Private community for the whole cohort
Share your progress, get unstuck and meet other creatives building the same foundation.
Value: $97
PLUS these Bonuses:
BONUS #1
100+ North Star Words
(Value: $27)
Find the words for what your work makes people feel, so naming your North Star in Week 2 takes minutes instead of an evening of staring at a blank page.
BONUS #2
The Creative North Star
(Value: $47)
If you haven't done the exercise yet, this is its worksheet that will support Week 2
BONUS #3
Q&A Replay Library
(Value: $47)
Rewatch any session, including the ones where someone else asked the question you were afraid to ask.
BONUS #4
Portfolio Audit Checklist
(Value: $27)
Run every piece in your portfolio through your new brand in one sitting.
+One year of paid Late-Bloomer Club Substack (Value: $60)
Everything you get
6 weekly workshops (video + workbook)
$582
6 live Q&A sessions
$400
Private community
$97
Portfolio Audit Checklist
$27
The Creative North Star
$47
Q&A Replay Library
$47
One month of paid Substack
$60
TOTAL VALUE
$1,260
Early bird, first 48 hours: $97
Regular price: $127
What people say about the Brand Foundation Worksheet
Your worksheet was the first I've actually finished in years.
Natalia Díaz Jiménez
This gave me motivation and peace. I was feeling aimless.
Malu Mirones
I have also been a victim of hiding behind education, but you are so right that you learn more once you do it.
Juliana Castro
This workshop is perfect for you if
You're starting a second career in illustration and want to skip years of guessing.
You're a graphic designer moving into children's illustration, and you know how to brand a client but freeze when it's your turn.
You have a portfolio but no clear way to reach the people who hire.
You're ready to put in 2 to 3 hours of real work a week for 6 weeks.
My "do the work" guarantee
Complete all 6 workbooks and join or watch the weekly Q&As.
If you reach the end of Week 6 without a brand statement you can use and a plan for reaching the right people, email me your completed workbook within 14 days of our last session. I'll refund every dollar.
I'm asking you to do the work because the work is what changes things. If you do it and it still doesn't help, you shouldn't pay for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will this work for me?
This is broad enough for you to make it your own. I won’t lie: you will need to buckle up and do the work, but I will be there along with you to help you through it.I already bought the Brand Foundation Worksheet. Is this the same thing?
They work together. The worksheet is the WHAT: it tells you what to look for. The workshop is the HOW: it walks you through actually finding it, with guided video lessons, a deeper workbook, live support and community.I've bought courses before and they didn't help. Why would this be different?
Courses hand you information and leave you to apply it someday. Here, you build your brand statement, your portfolio edit and your outreach system during the 6 weeks, with me there to check your work.
I don't have the time.
That's exactly why this has an end date. You'll spend 2 to 3 hours a week, and every hour goes into something you'll keep using. Compare that to the hours you already spend posting and hoping.This is too expensive.
It's $97 in the first 48 hours and $127 after that. One booked project pays for it. If you do the work and it doesn't help, the guarantee has you covered.How much time does this take each week?
Enough to do the work properly without burning you out. Each workbook moves at a real, sustainable pace. Plan for an average of 2 to 3 hours of work per week.What if I can't make the live Q&A?
It'll be recorded. Live attendance is a bonus, and you can catch up whenever it suits you.When does it start?
Cart opens October 5. The workshop begins October 12. Enrollment closes October 10.
WHO AM I ANYWAY?
Hi! I'm Valerie
I'm Valerie. I spent 26 years in branding, graphic design and art direction, helping hundreds of clients build their identities from scratch.
Now I'm a children's book illustrator, with Bon voyage M. Flacon and Le chat qui avait neuf noms on shelves, and with dozens of illustrations now living in children's magazines. I used everything I learned on the other side of the desk to build my own illustration business.
Three years later I'm fully booked, working with publishers I love, and doing work that feels unmistakably mine.
This workshop is that process, step by step, so you can build your creative business.
Valerie xo
Your art is ready. Let's build the business around it.
$127
$97 early bird price, first 48 hours only
© {2026} Valerie Parizeault. All Rights Reserved.