The best book illustrators for hire in the United Kingdom

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A experienced and passionate children's book illustrator bringing stories to life through magical artwork.

Genres: Picture Books, Children's, Fiction, Children’s Non-Fiction, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Edward 5 star rating

Brighton, United Kingdom

Graphic Design professional with over 20 years experience specialising in cover design and illustration.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Business & Management, Nature, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Fantasy, and Literary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Warner Music
  • Penguin Books UK
  • Self-employed

Louise 5 star rating

England, United Kingdom

Hello, I am an Illustrator living & working in Somerset. My style is honest, inviting & brings the everyday to life.

Genres: Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Classics, Home & Garden, Weddings, Short Story, and Fashion & Textiles.

Work experience:

  • Ernest Journal - Tina Smith, Jo Keeling
  • Author Andrew Sutton
  • The Hunterian Museum & Glasgow University
  • Curator of 'Museum of memory', Kate McStraw,
  • Tina Smith, Dan Linstead -Immediate Media
  • Pretty Nostalgic
  • Another Escape
  • Upper Hand Press. (William Cass, Author & Ann Starr, Publisher)
  • Marbella Club Hotel & Smokes Creative

Emma 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

A freelance book cover designer with over 20 years of experience working across a wide variety of imprints at HarperCollins and LittleBrown.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Action & Adventure, Historical Fiction, Classics, Women's Fiction, Mystery & Crime, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Little Brown
  • HarperCollins

Nick 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

I am a book cover designer with 20 years experience. I have designed everything from thrillers, crime books and illustrated womens fiction.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • HarperCollins

Let’s create a book cover that reflects the excellence of your writing. Bring your story to life with a stunning, bespoke cover design!

Genres: Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Gaming & LitRPG, Comics & Graphic Novels, Military Science Fiction, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Steampunk, Post-Apocalyptic, and Dystopian.

Work experience:

  • Self Employed

With over 20 years as a designer I can create for you an eye catching and professional book cover design that will get your book noticed.

Genres: Mystery & Crime, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Music, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Historical Fiction, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Ghost Design
  • Allcity Media
  • Self-employed
  • Various

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Hello! I can help give your book the cover that it deserves: bespoke, beautiful and bold. I've spent 30 years designing and illustrating.

Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Non-Fiction, Anthologies, Picture Books, and Children's.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Waverley Books
  • Department of Medical Illustration, West Glasgow Hospitals University

An illustrator with a love for food, helping authors and publishers bring their foodie stories and recipes to life.

Genres: Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Sara 5 star rating

Chippenham, UK

Hello, I’m a professional and friendly illustrator/designer with over 13 years experience. I am so looking forward to working with you.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, Middle Grade, Children's, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, and Inspirational.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Portico Designs Ltd

Experienced and multi-talented book designer who can help make your book something special. Covers, layout, typography, beautiful imagery...

Genres: Design, Non-Fiction, Architecture, Music, Humanities & Social Sciences, Entertainment, Photography, History, Travel, and Art.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Bloomsbury Publishing
  • Thames & Hudson

A coffee addicted book designer helping authors and publishers bring their stories to life! Go on, judge a book by it's cover...

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, and Action & Adventure.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Promoworx

I’ve been an illustrator since 2008 I work in editorial, publishing and advertising.

Genres: History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Classics, Fiction, Cultural & Ethnic, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Poetry, Steampunk, and Science Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

I am an extremely creative and versatile designer with over 25 years experience designing books from film to food to travel and sports.

Genres: Sports & Outdoors, Non-Fiction, Travel, Humor & Comedy, Fiction, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, and Nature.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Award-winning illustrator focused on fantasy, horror, and historical. Working with worldwide Publishers since 2003. No AI used in my work.

Genres: Mystery & Crime, Fiction, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Post-Apocalyptic, Steampunk, and Epic Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Book cover artist specialising in illustration and fine art photo collage. All covers come with cover reveal graphics. No AI 🙅🏻‍♀️

Genres: LGBTQ Fiction, Fiction, Poetry, Women's Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, Contemporary Fiction, Dark Romance, Romance, and Romantic Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • Hollyoaks, Lime Pictures
  • Self-employed
  • Left Bank Pictures

Andy 5 star rating

Brighton, United Kingdom

An illustrator of children's picture books, Young Adult books and book covers. A humorous style with expressive characters.

Genres: Picture Books, Children's, Fiction, Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Action & Adventure, Fantasy, Humor & Comedy, and Young Adult.

Work experience:

  • Minds eye productions
  • Artworld
  • Climax
  • Beyond Reality Games
  • Self-employed

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Hire the best book illustrators in the UK

You’ve done the hard work of getting a story on paper. Now let us help you find the perfect illustrator to bring your words to life.

In many genres, particularly those for a younger audience, the words and the pictures will become intertwined. Both should complement the other perfectly. If you think back to your most beloved children’s books, chances are that you still vividly remember the art that brought the story to life in front of your very eyes. So whether you’re publishing a children’s book or a technical piece of writing, your story deserves the illustrations that can illuminate it and take it to the next level.

But how can you find the perfect illustrator for your story? It’s probably not a surprise that talented illustrators are highly in-demand. But it’s not enough to simply be gifted. The ideal illustrator should have previously worked in your genre and have years of experience in the industry. More importantly, their style of illustration must match with your own unique voice.

If you’re struggling to find the right book illustrator to fit this profile, Reedsy can step in. Our book illustrators have worked for the biggest publishers and the most prestigious illustration agencies in the UK. We rigorously vet and accept only the top 3% of talent in the industry to ensure that you’re seeing the best freelancers available. What’s more, our platform lets you browse each illustrator’s individual gallery, so that you can get a feel for their illustration style before you commit to a collaboration. So what are you waiting for? Simply sign up for a free Reedsy account today to meet the perfect book illustrator for hire in the UK who can breathe life into your story.

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Step 2

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Step 3

Request quotes

Request quotes from up to five freelancers at any time. They’ll look at your sample pages to give you a tailored quote as well as a sense of how they work.

Step 4

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