The best book illustrators for hire in the United States

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Annemieke 5 star rating

Seattle, WA, United States

Hi! I'm a cover designer with 10 years of experience, specializing in YA fiction. Clients include HarperCollins and Galison/Mudpuppy.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Architecture, Non-Fiction, Art, Humanities & Social Sciences, Design, Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction, and Self-Help & Self-Improvement.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Hokyoung 5 star rating

New York, United States

I am an illustrator interested in making images with strong moods and narratives.

Genres: Action & Adventure, Fiction, Classics, Mystery & Crime, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ Fiction, Literary Fiction, and Short Story.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Samantha 5 star rating

California, United States

Children's Illustrator and designer specialized in colorful, whimsical illustrations with experience from Disney.

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Jam City
  • RockYou Inc.
  • Walt Disney Interactive
  • Book Buddy Media

Mary Ann 5 star rating

New York, United States

With 20+ yrs experience in fiction, rom-com, wellness and career guides, my clients include Simon and Schuster and PenguinRandomHouse.

Genres: Career Guides, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, Contemporary Romance, Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Women's Fiction, and Self-Help & Self-Improvement.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Penguin Random House

Dana 5 star rating

Kansas City, Missouri, United States

I have illustrated children's books for Scholastic, Random House, Penguin, Grosset & Dunlap, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster.

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Hallmark Cards

Ricardo 5 star rating

Philadelphia, United States

I'm illustrator and Graphic Designer. I love the freedom children's book illustration brings. I love small details just kids can understand.

Genres: Picture Books, Children's, Fiction, Nature, Non-Fiction, Middle Grade, Life Sciences, Math & Science, Fantasy, and Action & Adventure.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Penny 5 star rating

Holbrook, United States

I have been lucky enough to work as a Children's Book Illustrator since 2007.

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

Work experience:

  • self employed

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Caroline Teagle 5 star rating

Brooklyn, NY, United States

I am not accepting any new requests to collaborate at this time.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Women's Fiction, Entertainment, Mystery & Crime, True Crime, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Penguin Random House
  • Random House
  • Penguin Publishing Group
  • HarperCollins

Kel 5 star rating

Atlanta, GA, USA

I’m an Illustrator and Concept Designer ready to collaborate, I've done work with comics and various freelance projects for roughly 5 years.

Genres: Comics & Graphic Novels, Fiction, LGBTQ Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Romance, Comics Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Coming of Age, and Young Adult.

Work experience:

  • T. Y Nereim Comics
  • Self-employed
  • Celebritees

Anthony 5 star rating

Washingtonville, NY, USA

15+ yrs in cover design—corporate & freelance. Specializing in mass-market, indie, adult & YA covers. I'd love to help create yours.

Genres: Mystery & Crime, Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Action & Adventure, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Young Adult, True Crime, Non-Fiction, and Humanities & Social Sciences.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Little Brown / Hachette - New York, NY
  • Overlook Press
  • Harper Collins Publishing

Stewart 5 star rating

Morgantown, WV, USA

Over 30 years in publishing. Art Direction, Graphic Design, Typography, Illustration, Project Management. Two cats are also here to help.

Genres: History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Political Science & Current Affairs, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Contemporary Fiction, True Crime, Life Sciences, and Math & Science.

Work experience:

  • Seattle Metropolitan Magazine
  • Sasquatch Books
  • Seattle Weekly
  • The Rocket
  • Self-employed

Nikki 5 star rating

Muncie, IN, USA

I am a digital children's book illustrator with 15 years experience in children's books ranging from novelty board books to chapter books.

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

Work experience:

  • Rainstorm Publishing
  • Kidsbooks Publishing
  • Self-employed

Aya 5 star rating

Portland, OR, USA

Aya Morton is an author/illustrator with over 14 years experience in graphic novel and book illustration.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Comics & Graphic Novels, Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Comics Non-Fiction, New Age, Middle Grade, and Children's.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

WJ 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, USA

One-stop solution, Do you want stress-free outsourcing? A communicative picturebook Illustrator / character designer / general illustrator

Genres: Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Picture Books, Children's, Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction, Cultural & Ethnic, Contemporary Fiction, and Design.

Work experience:

  • co.Aniframe
  • Self-employed

Luciana 5 star rating

Bellingham, WA, USA

I have been illustrating for over 20 years. I have been published by Random House, Chronicle Books, Lerner, Capstone, Kane Miller, Amicus.

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

Yumiko 5 star rating

Melbourne, FL, USA

Japanese picture book illustrator and author based in Florida, creating lively, endearing characters that young readers can relate to.

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Kids designer/illustrator who loves storytelling, fun facts, cute macabre, fantasy, + nature. Let's create rad books—for the kid in us all♥️

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

Work experience:

  • Sourcebooks
  • Self-employed

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Hire the best book illustrators in the United States

Whether you’ve written a picture book, chapter book, or technical book, you’ll need a stellar illustrator to bring your project to life. Of course, one of the great things about illustration is that there are so many different styles to choose from — but that can also make the process of selecting an illustrator rather difficult. From cartoon-like illustrations to more realistic drawings to simple line art, how can you decide which illustrator’s style is right for your book?

You may already know how you want your illustrations to look, especially if you’ve flipped through other books in your genre and can envision similar art alongside your story. However, if you have no idea what kind of illustrations you want, looking through professional illustrators’ sample galleries is the perfect place to start. You’ll be amazed how your ideas begin to take shape once you’ve glanced over just a few artists’ work.

That’s why, if you’re seeking a book illustrator for hire in the United States, you can’t go wrong signing up for Reedsy. Not only do we have tons of experienced professionals all over the USA, but you can start looking through their portfolios today — for free. You can even request quotes from the illustrators you love, so the two of you can begin creating a beautiful book together as soon as possible.

How it works

Browse profiles, request quotes, then collaborate.

Step 1

Apply filters

Reedsy is home to thousands of professionals. Select the specific services you need and narrow your search based on your book’s genre and requirements.

Step 2

Browse

Then, browse professional profiles to find out more about their personalities and past projects.

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

Collaborate

Once you agree on terms and a timeline, you’ll start collaborating using the many communication and editing tools available on Reedsy.