Illustoria 2025 Issue #26: Blue

Welcome to the Blue Issue of Illustoria! Explore the many hues and moods of this fascinating color, with cover art by Isabelle Arsenault—made with a cyanotype print process using sunlight to create turquoise tints.

Learn how to make blue ink from copper pennies and a slurp-tastic blue Slime Drink with Dog Chef (Illustoria’s in-house celebrity cook). Try a blue-themed fill-in-the-blank writing game, and capture wild ideas in your own story-planning diagram. Learn about dangerous blue creatures like the popevine swallowtail butterfly and the blue dragon sea slug. Read myths about how the sky became blue, written by young authors around the globe. Check out interviews with cover artist and an ink-maker from Toronto.

Find all this plus ponder how blue feels with our guest poet; revel in all the shades of blue: azure, indigo, cobalt, and ultramarine; find blue-hued music, book, and art supply recommendations from Illustoria’s staff and contributing artists; and that’s just the tip of the (blue) iceberg!

Illustoria is a print magazine for creative kids and their grownups. They celebrate visual storytelling, makers, and DIY culture through stories, art, comics, interviews, crafts, and activities. Our high-quality triannual publication is geared toward readers ages 6–12 and the young at heart. Illustoria is the official publication of the International Alliance of Youth Writing Centers, publishing writing and art by young people alongside accomplished professionals.