The best book illustrators for hire near Oakland

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Michael 5 star rating

Oakland, CA, USA

Illustrator and cover designer specializing in fun, colorful, character-driven imagery for middle grade and genre fiction.

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Middle Grade Fantasy, Picture Books, Humor & Comedy, Steampunk, and Science Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Gillian 5 star rating

Oakland, CA, USA

I'm an illustrator from California specializing in vibrant pictures with a hand-drawn feel for YA, children's, self-help, and biographies.

Genres: Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Non-Fiction, Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Picture Books, Comics & Graphic Novels, Coming of Age, Young Adult, Calendars, and Biographies & Memoirs.

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

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

Elia 5 star rating

Oakland, CA, USA

Illustrator with robust experience who loves crafting vibrant picture books with engaging and dynamic characters. Based in California!

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Local Language
  • Local Language Art

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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.

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

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.

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

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

Vita 5 star rating

Dover, NH, USA

Book designer (covers, interiors) • Typesetter • Illustrator • Art Director • Graphic Designer • obsessed with food, dogs, and yoga.

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Heinemann Publishing, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  • Kleinfeld Paper
  • Momenta
  • Curriculum Associates

Charles 5 star rating

Seattle, WA, USA

Illustrator - Charlie believes in a future where somehow, against all odds, we make it. Tell me a story, let’s bring it to life. 🚫No AI🚫

Genres: Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Gaming & LitRPG, LGBTQ Fiction, Space Opera, Science Fiction, Steampunk, Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult Fantasy, and Young Adult.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Coyote & Crow

Bailey 5 star rating

Phoenix, AZ, USA

Children's book illustrator specializing in wildly imaginative stories, touched by whimsy and adventure, set in richly crafted worlds.

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

Work experience:

  • Arizona State University Print & Imaging Lab
  • Children's Learning Adventure
  • Lehi Valley Trading Company
  • Self-employed
  • Mesa Youth Creative Agency

Tadgh 5 star rating

Athens, OH, USA

Author/illustrator of ten books for children published with Harper, Penguin and Scholastic.

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Kate 5 star rating

Vancouver, WA, USA

I specialize in narrative artwork with a focus on lifestyle, travel and food illustration with bold colors and clever attention to detail

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Travel, Non-Fiction, Short Story, Architecture, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Home & Garden, Nature, and Biographies & Memoirs.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

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Hire the best book illustrators in Oakland, California

For authors working on picture books, finding the right illustrations to captivate little readers is of utmost importance. A good book illustrator will be able to breathe life into your characters and make your story vivid and immersive.

Finding an illustrator is a challenge for many self-published authors, especially those who aren’t quite sure what they need. For instance, it is important to understand the various styles used by illustrators, so you can know exactly which one you want — don’t hire a line artist if what you want is lush, colorful illustrations. Likewise, illustrators who work on fairy tales will not have the same style as those who work on novels. This is why you need a collaborative partner with experience in your specific genre, so you can clearly imagine what your book will look like if you hire them on the basis of their portfolio.

At Reedsy, we have some of the best book illustrators in Oakland, who can provide all sorts of illustration styles for your book. Sign up to meet them and start requesting quotes.

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Step 1

Apply filters

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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.