estelle corke – Designer

I have worked as an artist for almost 30 years. After graduating from university with a BA(hons) I began as a commercial illustrator providing art in many different mediums and subjects for packaging, advertising and magazine editorials. I made my way in to children's book illustration when I had my daughter, she appears in quite a few books as a toddler, she's now a fully fledged adult!

My style is traditional in watercolour and gouache- I also clean up the artwork digitally using photoshop. I provide illustration artwork scans ready for print; but not the typograpy, I leave that to an expert graphic designer. The age range for my books is usually from baby to under 10. My Modus Operandi is to start with character studies, moving on to internal pencil layouts with suggested areas for text. Sometimes I create the cover at the beginning and sometimes at the end- when the feel of the book has been developed. The artwork is executed, usually with the approval of the client gradually through the spreads so everyone is happy.

Clients include: Anno Domini Publishing, Albert Whitman, BBC children's books, Child's Play International , Coppenrath Verlag, Harper Collins, Clean Slate Press, I See Me! Ciranda, Oxford University Press, Starbright Books, Shutterfly, Paraclete Press, PJLibrary, Richmond Publishing, Readers Digest, Scholastic, Tiger Tales, Lady bird, Miles Kelly, Nursery Education, SPCK , Lion Hudson, Worthy Ideals, Hollan Publishing inc, Zonderkids.

Notably, I have recently worked with two self-published writers, the whole process was wonderfully smooth and quite a delight! Cindy B Witty with her first book, "Musical Soulmates" which won a Bronze medal from the" Living Now Book Awards 2023" and Janice Mc Morris's first book, "Ivy and the Hummingbird", both listed in my portfolio of books.

Testimonials:

"I'm so happy that Zonderkidz chose Estelle to illustrate "God made Mommy Special" and "God made Daddy Special". She brought my words to life with her vibrant use of color and lovely animal depictions. No wonder these two titles are among my best selling board books!" Glenys Nellist. Author of 30+children's books.

"I needed an illustrator for my upcoming children's book, "Musical Soulmates". I feared that I wouldn't find an illustrator who would present my characters as I imagined. Estelle was able to read my manuscript and create exactly what I envisioned my characters and scenery to be. She worked with me during the creative process to make the characters come alive. I couldn't have been happier with the finished illustrations." Cindy B Witty Author.