The best book illustrators for hire in the United States

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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.

Talitha 5 star rating

Fort Wayne, United States

Experienced award-winning illustrator and designer. I can help with your next book concept!

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

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

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

Jake 5 star rating

Blacksburg, SC, United States

With 2k covers and counting, I design genre specific covers that help authors look professional and convert browsers into buyers.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Print Depot
  • Self-employed

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

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

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

Lauren 5 star rating

Baltimore, MD, USA

A book illustrator and cover designer balancing graphic edges with a painterly touch.

Genres: Comics & Graphic Novels, Fiction, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Middle Grade Fantasy, Children's, and Middle Grade.

Work experience:

  • Freelance: Jenny Carson and Beth Burke
  • Freelance: Frances Schoonmaker
  • Freelance: Gabriel Carter
  • Self-employed

Mike 5 star rating

Walnut, CA, USA

Narrative illustrator creating expressive characters, adventurous worlds, and story-driven artwork for children’s and middle-grade books.

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Walter Foster

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

Anthony 5 star rating

Centerton, AR, USA

Self-taught comic illustrator with a sharp sense of humor and a bold manga-inspired style, dynamic action and brutal details.

Genres: Comics & Graphic Novels, Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Young Adult, Fantasy, Comics Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Art, and Humanities & Social Sciences.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Bentkey Ventures LLC
  • Spinrack

Carl 5 star rating

Portland, OR, USA

I'm a writer and illustrator with over a decade of experience with publishers like Simon and Schuster, Archie and IDW. Let's talk!

Genres: Comics & Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comics Non-Fiction, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Catherine 5 star rating

Philadelphia, PA, USA

Versatile cartoonist and award-winning Illustrator, specializing in colorful and bold digital Illustrations!

Genres: Comics & Graphic Novels, Fiction, Humor & Comedy, Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Middle Grade Fantasy, Children's, and Picture Books.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Future House Publishing
  • Previously Pluto Games

Charlie 5 star rating

Minneapolis, MN, USA

With over 25 years of illustration experience, I love turning my clients' visions into captivating visuals with passion and precision.

Genres: Psychological Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, Fiction, Horror, Mystery & Crime, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, True Crime, Non-Fiction, Espionage, and Comics & Graphic Novels.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Storybook book illustrator creating charming, detail-rich art that brings stories to life.

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

Work experience:

  • 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.

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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.

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