The best book illustrators for hire in the United Kingdom

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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

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

Vanessa 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

🟡 Experienced book designer available for book cover and interior book design/typesetting. 🟡

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Business & Management, Christian Non-Fiction, Religion & Spirituality, Poetry, Thriller & Suspense, Humor & Comedy, and Self-Help & Self-Improvement.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

James 5 star rating

Chester, United Kingdom

Simple, but fun pencil and pen illustrator. I love middle grade, chapter books, and non-fiction for kids and adults.

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Middle Grade Fantasy, Business & Management, Health & Wellbeing, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Epic Fantasy, and Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • James Warwood Books

Jason 5 star rating

Hassocks, United Kingdom

Book jacket design designer with over twenty years experience in the industry.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Business & Management, Non-Fiction, Political Science & Current Affairs, Humanities & Social Sciences, Philosophy, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, and Technology.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Patrick 5 star rating

Brighton, United Kingdom

With 30 years experience designing covers for the UK's top publishing houses, I also art direct, illustrate and do hand lettering for covers

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Action & Adventure, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller & Suspense, Cozy Mysteries, Mystery & Crime, Historical Mysteries, and Science Fiction.

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

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Illustrator specialising in vibrant covers for adult & children's fiction/non-fiction. Bloomsbury Publishing, The Guardian, The WSJ

Genres: Picture Books, Children's, Fiction, Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Classics, Contemporary Fiction, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Cozy Mysteries, Mystery & Crime, Contemporary Romance, and Romance.

Work experience:

  • Neo Creative
  • Self-employed
  • Virtue / Vice DACH
  • Strukt Vienna

I am a book cover artist with a wide range of styles and who loves anything fantasy and whimsical.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Cultural & Ethnic, Dark Romance, Romance, Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, and Contemporary Romance.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • The Ink Slinger

I'm a talented designer with a decade of experience in creating beautiful books, from standard paperbacks to luxury collectors editions.

Genres: Mystery & Crime, Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Games Workshop

Smashing illustrated maps, cartography designed to your targeted readership. Good at getting the design right first time.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Design, Non-Fiction, Geography, Humanities & Social Sciences, Travel, Holiday, Transportation, Nature, and History.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Award winning designer with over twenty years experience. Produced covers for Penguin, Faber, Vintage, Folio Society and more.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Classics, Espionage, Thriller & Suspense, Cozy Mysteries, Mystery & Crime, Psychological Thriller, Poetry, Middle Grade Fantasy, and Children's.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Hi, I'm Ed and with 25 years of publishing experience as a designer, illustrator and art director, I'm looking forward to working with you!

Genres: Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Fiction, Cozy Mysteries, Mystery & Crime, Education & Reference, and Contemporary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Tall Tree Ltd
  • Self-employed
  • Marshall Editions

Illustrator crafting intricate, nature-infused imagery with hand-drawn linework, ink washes & textures for poetry, fiction & non-fiction.

Genres: Anthologies, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Poetry, Inspirational, Non-Fiction, Historical Fiction, Psychology, and Humanities & Social Sciences.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Greenhouse Communications
  • Kineo

Book designer and illustrator. 20 years experience in publishing. Penguin, DK, Orchard, Templar, Scholastic, Ladybird, BBC, JKP and more.

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

Work experience:

  • DK, Ladybird, BBC Children's Books, Disney's Planet
  • Self-employed

Mia 5 star rating

Shrewsbury, UK

I specialise in illustration for children aged 3-7. I create endearing characters using vibrant colour palettes, soft textures and detail.

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • MarcoPolo Learning

A Japanese illustrator currently based in London, UK Speciality: Illustration for Landscape, Architecture, Cities

Genres: Travel, Non-Fiction, Holiday, Fiction, Calendars, DIY & Crafts, Coming of Age, Chick Lit, Women's Fiction, and Architecture.

Work experience:

  • 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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