Imaginary Friends • Artlingo Story Time

Your imaginary friend comes to life in an Artlingo Story.

An exciting, creative project for the kids – where imaginatoion, drawing and the English language meet

Does your child have an imaginary friend?
Or would they happily create a magical creature who is always by their side?

In the Imaginary Friends – Artlingo Story Time project, I invite children to imagine their own creature and tell us what makes it special. Your task as a parent is simply to listen and write down what your child says.

For participation, all you need is a conversation, a little time, and to fill out the form.

What is this adventure about?

Fantasy, art and English - all in one unique experience

Children are full of stories and extraordinary characters: three-legged sharks, pink elephants, winged cats, star-eyed unicorns…

The Imaginary Friends' purpose is

to give space to free imagination,
to encourage self-expression through drawing and storytelling,
and to let children meet the English language naturally through a short, simple English story.

The chosen characters:

will come to life through my drawing, and
I will write a short English story, where the hero is the child's creature.

Your can read it together, use it as a bedtime story — and the English language becomes connected to a positive, joyful experience.

Artlingo Imaginary Friends – How does it work?

Children’s imagination is capable of wonders — and the Artlingo Imaginary Friends project celebrates exactly that.

Every week, I choose one submitted imaginary creature or character idea. From the chosen idea, I create an Artlingo-style illustration and write a short, adorable story to go with it.

The weekly Imaginary Friend will be visible on the Artlingo page for a full week, together with its story, so everyone can get to know the new little friend.

For those who would like to keep the experience as a memory, a digital package is available, which includes:

the full-color, high-resolution illustration,
the Artlingo story written for it,
a printable coloring page featuring the same character.

The price of the digital package is 1,990 Ft.

Imaginary Friends is going to become a continuously growing Artlingo world — inspired by children, where a new imaginary friend is born every week.

✨ Frequently Asked Questions

What do we need to submit?
Just one thing: a description of the child’s imaginary creature. It can be a single sentence, a few characteristics — anything that brings the idea to life.

Do we need to send a drawing of it?
No. I create the illustration based on the child’s description. If the child would like to include their own drawing, I’m happy to see it — but it’s optional.

How do we submit the idea?
Through the form on this website (scroll down to find it).

When do you choose the weekly character?
Once a week.

How many characters appear on the page?
One per week, only the current one is visible.

Do we have to buy the digital package?
No. The weekly Imaginary Friend is visible for free.

What is included in the 1,990 Ft package?
The high-resolution illustration, the Artlingo story, and a printable coloring page.

Step by step

How can you join the Imaginary Friends Story Time?

The process is very simple — the important part is that the child tells the story, and the parent helps write down what they say.

Talk together about an imaginary creature

Ask your child questions like:
“If you had a special creature that was always with you, what would it be like?”
“Tell me about a friend who helps you when you feel scared or nervous!”
“If they were a storybook hero, what would their superpower be?”

Write down what your child tells you

No need to ‘polish’ it — what matters is keeping their own thoughts and words.

Fill out the form below

In the form, you can add your child’s details, the creature’s description, and, if you’d like, a short seed of a story.

If you also make a drawing of it, feel free to attach a photo.

I’m always happy to see the original child’s drawing as well — it’s wonderful inspiration for the illustration later on.

Conversation starters

What is worth telling about the imaginary friend?

You’ll find the questions below in the form as well — and you can use them at home as gentle prompts for your conversation.

Child's name and age

The name of the imaginary friend

What does it look like? (What color is it? Is it small or big? Does it have something special — like wings, fins, three legs, sparkling eyes, a hat, striped socks?)

Where does it live? (Under the water, in a forest, above the clouds, in a secret place…)

What makes it special? (What can it do? Does it have a “superpower”? How is it different from other creatures?)

How does it help the child or others? (For example: when they feel scared, when something new is happening, when they’re sad, or when they feel very proud of themselves.)

Was there a day when this creature helped? Ask your child to tell the story in 2–3 sentences, for example: “Once, something happened when…”

English stories, a natural language experience

How does English connect to all of this?

The finished stories are written in simple English, created especially for children:

with short sentences,
with repeating phrases,
with plenty of emotional and action-based vocabulary,

so the result is a set of easy-to-follow, lovable mini-stories.

This way, the child

meets the English language through the story of their very own creature,
hears/reads English expressions in a natural, playful context,
and experiences the feeling: “This story was created from my idea.”

If you’d like, I can also include a short Hungarian helper section / word list so you can read the story together — even as a bedtime story.

For parents

A shared, creative experience for both of you

This project is, above all, about creativity, connection, and joy. You can simply sink into the couch and listen as your child builds a world of their very own:

you ask,
they tell the story
and I help bring it to life through illustration and an English story.

By filling out the form, you’re already taking a step toward turning your child’s imagination into something tangible, lovable, and lasting.

Final thoughts

Ready to begin the Imaginary Friends – Artlingo Story Time?

If you’d like to join this creative project, just fill out the form below with your child’s imaginary creature.

It can be a brave shark, a pink elephant, a star-eyed dragon, or anything else — there’s room here for every imaginary friend.

I look forward to your stories, and I’m truly honored that you share a glimpse of your children’s colorful inner world with me. 💚

Imaginary Friends • Artlingo Story Time

Your child’s imaginary friend becomes an English story

English version is coming soon.

I’m currently working on the full English description of the Imaginary Friends – Artlingo Story Time project. The idea is the same: children imagine a creature, parents write down their words, and from time to time I turn some of these ideas into an Artlingo colouring page and a short English story.

Until then, feel free to browse the Hungarian version and contact me if you’re an English-speaking family in Szeged who would like to join. 💚

Full English content is on its way. If you’re interested already, please write to artlingostudio@gmail.com.

🔒 Copyright Notice

All elements of the Artlingo Imaginary Friends project — including the illustrations, stories, Artlingo-style character designs, project structure, and written content — are protected by copyright.

No part of the images, texts, concepts, or project materials may be copied, reproduced, modified, distributed, or used for personal or commercial purposes without prior written permission from Artlingo.

Character descriptions submitted by families remain their own, but the illustrations and stories created from them are original intellectual property of Artlingo.