The best book illustrators for hire in the United Kingdom

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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

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, and Humor & Comedy.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • James Warwood Books

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

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

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

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

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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Children's illustrator specialising in comical animal paintings (actual and invented), with over thirty years experience in the business.

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

I am an illustrator with 5+ years of experience I create bright narrative filled pieces of work that will be sure to catch readers eyes.

Genres: LGBTQ Fiction, Fiction, LGBTQ Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Romance, Dark Romance, Young Adult Fantasy, and Young Adult.

Work experience:

  • Lady Longhorn
  • Self-employed

a.k.a. Inkymole! Over 30yrs experience creating for the world's best-known publishers and authors: illustration, art direction and lettering

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Middle Grade, Children's, Science Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, Philosophy, Humanities & Social Sciences, Earth, Space, & Environmental Sciences, Math & Science, Horror, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Illustrator of picture books and Middle grade books. Breathing life into the static image. I don’t use AI

Genres: Picture Books, Children's, Fiction, and Middle Grade.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Designing books since 2018, working across commercial fiction, literary fiction and non-fiction.

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Romance, Thriller & Suspense, Women's Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Philosophy, Humanities & Social Sciences, and True Crime.

Work experience:

  • Bloomsbury Publishing
  • Penguin Random House

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

Book cover designer and illustrator working primarily in adult non fiction and fiction.

Genres: Education & Reference, Non-Fiction, Music, Humanities & Social Sciences, Philosophy, Short Story, Fiction, Religion & Spirituality, and Writing & Publishing.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

I am an experienced illustrator of children's and fantasy books. I am friendly, efficient and offer design and professional quality art.

Genres: Picture Books, Children's, Fiction, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy, and Young Adult.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

I specialise in narrative cover illustration and artwork for books, film, and music.

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance, Fiction, New Adult, Young Adult, Classics, Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, Poetry, Themes & Motifs, Art, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, and Music.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

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

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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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