The best book illustrators for hire near Chicago

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Ashley 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, USA

I'm an agency Sr. Art Director with a MFA in creative writing. Background in illustration and branding. Designed 40+ books for Reedsy.

Genres: Humor & Comedy, Fiction, Poetry, LGBTQ Fiction, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Comics & Graphic Novels, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, and Mystery & Crime.

Work experience:

  • Write Bloody Publishing
  • NPR - Austin, TX
  • Gap Online
  • Ladders
  • Democratic National Committee
  • Bully Pulpit Interactive

Sarah 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, USA

Professional artist and designer specializing in portraiture. Let me bring your stories to life!

Genres: Holiday, Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Romance, LGBTQ Fiction, Young Adult, Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-Employed

WJ 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, USA

Do you want stress-free outsourcing? A communicative picturebook Illustrator / character designer / general illustrator. Feel free to reach

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

sarah 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, USA

Illustrator with a passion for drawing delicious food and drink! Also a comics nerd, and the artist behind the Let's Make! cookbook series.

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

Work experience:

  • Self-Employed
  • fathead design

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

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

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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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

Andrea 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, USA

I’m an artist with a knack for illustration, hand lettering and painting. I love creating bold and colorful pieces!

Genres: Picture Books, Children's, Fiction, Cozy Mysteries, Mystery & Crime, Psychological Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, Romantic Suspense, Romance, True Crime, Non-Fiction, and Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Candice 5 star rating

Iowa City, IA, United States

Award-winning fantasy illustrator. 100% hand-made with no generative AI. Providing cover design, typography, marketing assets, and more!

Genres: Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Children's, and Middle Grade Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Bovard Studio, Inc.

Ashley 5 star rating

Portland, ME, United States

I'm an art director, graphic designer and illustrator that loves book design, typography and the interplay of graphics and text.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Picture Books, Children's, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Nature, Home & Garden, Middle Grade, Education & Reference, and Middle Grade Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • HarperCollins Publishers
  • Macmillan Children's Books
  • Sellers Publishing, Inc.

Daimon 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, USA

Daimon is an comic book illustrator and Designer from Chicago who believes in honesty in art and in life.

Genres: Comics & Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comics Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, African American Fiction, and Action & Adventure.

Work experience:

  • Dc comics
  • Chirp RADIO Chicago
  • The Microphone Misfitz
  • Eddie Klinker
  • Shein
  • Round table Companies

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

Judith 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, United States

Lettering artist and illustrator for 25 years. Bold, clean, graphic style—bright color palettes—contemporary look.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Design, Non-Fiction, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Art, Humanities & Social Sciences, Themes & Motifs, and Plays & Screenplays.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

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

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

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Hire the best book illustrators in Chicago

Have the perfect book but not the perfect illustrations? Did you finish a children’s book, but realize that it’s incomplete without the right children’s book illustrator? Infusing your words with the visuals they deserve, a book illustrator can mean the difference between a mediocre book and a beloved tale for all generations. As the saying goes, a picture says a thousand words. But where can you go to find the illustrator to come up with the right pictures for your book? That’s where Reedsy comes into the picture. We’ve sourced the best book illustrators in Chicago for you on our marketplace, which only accepts the top 3% of publishing talent in the industry.

You can browse through all of their galleries and sample works simply by signing up to Reedsy. To start collaborating with Chicago illustrators, create an account on Reedsy today to get a free quote.

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.