The best book illustrators for hire in the United Kingdom

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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

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

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

Sarah 5 star rating

England, United Kingdom

Specialist children's book illustrator and designer, creating beautiful and engaging books and content.

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Pearson Education
  • John Brown Media
  • Redan Publishing

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.

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

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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

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

An award-winning freelance Illustrator with over 8 years of experience creating book covers, album sleeves and artworks for exhibition.

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Poetry, and Literary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • The Big Sky

Artist and Illustrator, I love creating compelling worlds full of natural forms, expressive figures and creatures both real and fantastical

Genres: Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Comics & Graphic Novels, and Historical Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Senior designer in publishing with nearly ten years' experience in book jacket design and illustration.

Genres: Romantic Fantasy, Romance, Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, Poetry, Literary Fiction, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Non-Fiction, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Music, and Nature.

Work experience:

  • Birlinn Ltd
  • Freelance

Jem 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

I have over 20 years experience in designing bestselling book covers

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Action & Adventure, Chick Lit, Women's Fiction, Espionage, Thriller & Suspense, and Sports & Outdoors.

Work experience:

  • Simon and Schuster
  • Transworld

Award winning Latvian illustrator based in London, UK. Specialising in hyperactive, bold, trippy, characterful images.

Genres: Humor & Comedy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Non-Fiction, Fantasy, Entertainment, Fashion & Textiles, Mashups, Music, and Humanities & Social Sciences.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Versatile illustrator, artist & digital sculptor for all your awesome sci-fi and fantasy art needs.

Genres: Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Military Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Space Opera, Steampunk, Horror, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Freelance

A passionate illustrator dedicated to bringing stories to life through vibrant and imaginative artwork. Let's make your ideas a reality!

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

Work experience:

  • Fromlucy
  • Self-employed

Zoe 5 star rating

Dorchester, UK

Hi, my name is Zoe and I'm a freelance illustrator and designer with a passion for all things children's book related!

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

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 3

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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.

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