Marina Saumell

Marina Saumell – Designer

Professional children's book illustrator and designer. Whimsical artwork with a focus on lighting and colors. 48 books published.

Overview

I graduated with a degree in architecture in 2003 and embarked on a career in commercial architecture.
The birth of my first child and growing love of children's books inspired me to venture into book illustration. Since 2006, I've joyously followed my passion for drawing and illustration.
I've been illustrating and designing children's books for the past 15 years.

I'm used to working with self publishing authors so I have experience in layout design and also the prepress process.

I offer the following services:

* Experienced book illustrator who illustrated over 30 published books.

* Fully dedicated to your project with a keen eye for detail.

* Fast turnaround time and daily communication.

* Consulting services for self-publishing authors.


My work involves:

Characters' Design

Storyboarding

Full color illustrations

Pages Layout Design

Print-ready files

Ebook editions


I usually receive the manuscript and oftentimes suggestions about the illustrations.

I create the artwork from a scratch and also the pages layouts and I can handle the whole process until the final step which is the print-ready files to submit to the printer/publisher.

I'm easy to work with and I'm proud to say that many of my clients became good friends.

I'm always excited to read new stories and meet new people.


TESTIMONIALS:

"I have had the pleasure of working with Marina as the illustrator for my last two children's books. Her creative talent is exceptional, and she has received numerous compliments from customers who have bought my books. I love working with Marina. She has the talent, the ability to bring my story to life in her drawings/color choices, and she's amazing to work with. I would highly recommend working with Marina, who is a great collaborator, pays attention to the finest details, and works diligently to meet your every need. Both of my children's books turned out even better than I could have imagined, and I have Marina to thank for that." Roxy Humphrey

"As a children's book author, nothing matters more to me than finding an artist who can create a magical world that children can't wait to enter. Marina creates magic. sailing WAY beyond my expectations with her illustrations for my first two books. She sees with her heart, knowing just how to attract and keep a child's attention. With what? With her expert use of color and atmosphere, her mastery of fantastic and "right on the money" facial expressions and the depiction of her unique characters. I have other books in the pipeline and I can hardly wait to see what Marina does to bring them to life Seeing how she translates my words into picture is akin to the thrill of waking up on Christmas morning. She gets six stars on a scale of five!" Marianne Stanley


"Marina went above and beyond with her STUNNING AND BRILLIANT illustrations! I actually felt bad adding text to the pages because what she created was just so gorgeous!!! Marina completely understood the magical world I wanted to create and I love how she used light and textures to really make each illustration come alive. My MC also goes through a lot of different emotions and Marina and I worked together well in order to captured her expressions perfectly. I was amazed at how fast Marina was able to to deliver. She always finished by our established deadlines, but often she would finish before the deadline. I am a first time author and had a lot of setbacks with multiple major text edits, so I held up the process more than a few times and made (many) more changes than normal. But Marina was very patient and accommodating and we were able to work through all the issues. Marina is also very knowledgeable when it comes to POD and designing the print ready files. This was really helpful. I am publishing with IngramSpark, Amazon KDP, as well as doing a print run in China. Marina took care of all of these files making this part of the process painless for me. I really can't say enough about Marina. I do plan on hiring her for future books. DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR AND HIRE HER TOO!!!" Alyssa Schermel



Services
Non-Fiction
Education & Reference
Fiction
Picture Books
Languages
English

Work experience

Self-employed

May, 2018 — Present

I'm working as a freelance illustrator providing the artwork and prepress services for publishers and self-publishing authors.

Tzivos Hashem

Mar, 2015 — May, 2018 (about 3 years)

I provided the illustrations for the Parshafier Squad Section on the Hachayol Magazine.

ISchool- Clare Stead

Jun, 2012 — Mar, 2013 (9 months)

I worked for Ischool program for 10 months producing illustrations and powerpoint presentations for elementary school contents for children in Africa.

Portfolio

Fluffy Cat

Calvert

Listen

Schmidt

Marina has 9 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Margaret D.

Margaret D.

Aug, 2023

Marina is wonderful! Her talent is extraordinary. She is so whimsical in her characters and gives life to the words propelling them even further into a child's imagination! It was like she was in my mind and could see what I wanted to bring to life. Marina is very attentive to the requirements of the project. She suggests ideas that weren't thought of and work wonderfully! She is extre...
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Marina S.
Hi Margaret, I can't thank you enough for such warm and kind review on my work. It filled my heart with joy. It's a pleasure working for you both. Warmly, Marina
Michele J.

Michele J.

Jul, 2023

I had the pleasure of working with Marina, a talented and professional illustrator. Her work is exceptional, and I am impressed with her level of expertise. Marina is always available to answer any questions and provide guidance, which makes the collaboration process smooth. I highly recommend her services to anyone in need of a skilled illustrator.
Marina S.
Hi Michele, Thank you so much for your kind words about me and my work. It was a joy working for you in your second book. You're a great writer. I'm sure kids will love your books. Hope we can wor...
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Sarah K.

Sarah K.

May, 2023

Marina was a joy to work with. She is so talented and her work turned out far beyond my initial expectation. I am a first time author so the whole process was all new and a bit daunting to me but Marina was there to answer any questions I had, and always responded in a professional and timely fashion.
Marina S.
Sarah, Thank you so much for your kind words about my work. I enjoyed working on your nook and hope we can work together again in the near future. Kind regards, Marina
Nagdeep K.

Nagdeep K.

May, 2023

Marina was incredible to work with. She helped me understand the illustration process and did a great job in bringing my story to life. She was creative and more importantly for me, patient in addressing my feedback. I wanted the illustrations to be absolutely perfect and she definitely exceeded my expectations. I look forward to work with her again.
Marina S.
Hi Nagdeep, Thank you for your kind words about my work and than you for your patience too. I really enjoyed working on your book and look forward to working for you again soon. Warm regards, Marina
Sherae M.

Sherae M.

Jan, 2023

Marina was a joy to work with. Not only can she did she bring our ideas to life, but she was an excellent collaborator who helped solve problems, supported me in my learning curve as a first-time published author, and contributed her own spark and creative ideas to the final project. Our book would not be what it is without her beautiful illustrations. She is worth every penny.
Marina S.
Sherae, Thank you for your kind words about my work. I truly enjoyed working for you and hope we can work together again soon.

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