The best book illustrators for hire near Chicago

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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

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

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, Christian Non-Fiction, Religion & Spirituality, Non-Fiction, True Crime, and Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

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

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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

Heather 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, USA

Experienced cover designer of adult fiction and non-fiction genres. Let's make your book a best-seller!

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Non-Fiction, Business & Management, Coming of Age, Historical Mysteries, Mystery & Crime, Psychological Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, Magical Realism, and Literary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Sourcebooks

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

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

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

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

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

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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.

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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

Collaborate

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