Wayne Oram

Wayne Oram – Designer

Picture books and middle grade illustration, covers & interiors. Creating illustrations that dance around your words. 100% human made.

Overview

With over 40 years of professional illustration experience spanning editorial, animation, games and comics, I've spent the last five years specialising in children's books. I will take your cherished manuscript and hand you a print ready illustrated book.

When you choose me as your illustrator, you're getting more than artwork. You're gaining a creative partner who can help develop memorable characters, build engaging worlds and bring your story to life with warmth, personality and imagination. Whether you have a polished manuscript or just the seed of an idea, I enjoy collaborating closely with authors to create books that children will want to return to again and again.

I work in both traditional and digital media, often beginning with loose, expressive ink sketches before developing them into vibrant, polished illustrations. Every illustration is created by me from scratch—I don't use AI-generated artwork or AI-assisted image creation. My focus is on craftsmanship, originality and creating illustrations with genuine character.

Clients describe me as approachable, responsive and reliable, and I pride myself on making the illustration process enjoyable as well as straightforward. Whether you're publishing your first book or adding to an established series, I'll work hard to create illustrations that don't simply accompany your words—they enrich them and help your story linger in young readers' imaginations.

Don't just take my word for it—have a look through the testimonials in my gallery to see what previous clients have said about working with me.

Services
Fiction
Middle Grade Picture Books
Languages
English

Work experience

Self-employed

Jul, 1985 — Present
Give me your manuscript I will give you a print ready, illustrated children’s book.

Portfolio

Made with Reedsy
Grumpy's Garage

Boyles, Doug

Dug & Bug Books

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Mo Wants Ice Cream

Karagiannaki, Stella

Stella's Idea

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Big, Hairy and Kind of Scary: A Monster-Sized Tale of Loss and Love

Cioffi, Michael Raymond

Drops of Joy Publishing

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Three Chilly Sheep

Shibley, Kathleen P

Grand Ideas LLC

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Searching for Ooh

Austen Hempstead

Final Chapter Publishing

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
A Walk with Grampy

Rubin, Beth

Little Book That Could Publishing, LLC

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
The Spot Club

Medvedeff, Mark

Green Sky Books, a Division of Green Sky Leadership

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Emilia in the Media

BellyMae, Aunt

Aunt BellyMae Productions

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Pumpkin's Fairytale

Tracy Curran

Final Chapter Publishing

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Ponder, the frog

Hackett, Martha

Miriam Laundry Publishing

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design

Wayne has 9 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Cat R.

Cat R.

Apr, 2026

Pinned
This is my first time writing a book and I am SO glad I chose Wayne to illustrate the picture book. He is AMAZING! #1 - I love his art. He really brings the story to life in ways I wouldn't have ever thought of. Also, I noticed that while a lot of the other illustrators had lovely drawings, b...
Read more
Wayne O.
Thank you so much Cat! You made my day. I’m so thrilled that you’re happy with your book and I wish you all the very best with it. And if Burry and Digla have a new chapter, you know where I am :)
Michael C.

Michael C.

Mar, 2026

Pinned
I couldn't have asked for a better creative partner than Wayne Oram. Realizing this was my first children's book, Wayne was exceptionally patient with me throughout this journey. What's more, he shared valuable insights along the way that brought out the best in my writing. When it comes to il...
Read more
Wayne O.
Thank you Michael. It was a pleasure to have been part of your journey.
Chester S.

Chester S.

Sep, 2026

Wayne exceeded my expectations with his sample! His fast delivery and attention to even the smallest details were really impressive. He's easy to communicate with and takes the time to hear you out and understand your needs. I'm thrilled to continue working with him!
Wayne O.
Thank you Chester and I too am looking forward to what comes next.
Doug B.

Doug B.

Sep, 2026

Working with Wayne on Grumpy’s Garage was an outstanding experience from start to finish. His communication was exceptionally fast and responsive throughout the entire project, and we finished weeks ahead of our deadline. The interior illustrations and cover design really brought the story to lif...
Read more
Wayne O.
Thank you so much Doug. You’re too kind. I had a blast working in the garage too.
Margo H.

Margo H.

Jul, 2026

He moved faster then expected. Was flexible to my kids wanting to write a book. I am definitely working with this one. The images were straight from my kids brain to paper. Amazing
Wayne O.
Very kind words Margo and I’m thrilled you and the kids were happy with what I produced.

Sign up to read more reviews

Create a free Reedsy account to connect with Wayne and thousands of other publishing professionals on Reedsy.

Most recent contributions

How many rounds of revisions do you include in your initial offer?

Creating a picture book is a very fluid process and develops naturally over time. I am very giving when it comes to revisions. As far as I’m concerned I’m not done until my client is happy. Obviously, at some point you have to give your book to the world which requires you to say “We’re done” :)
Read more

What considerations do you prioritize when choosing fonts for book covers versus interiors?

For me I normally keep internal fonts very simple, system fonts. Font licensing can be very confusing. You don’t want to fall foul of that should your book get traction. For the cover I tend to treat the title as part of the overall cover illustration. So more often than not I will hand letter ...
Read more

Professionals similar to Wayne

Get a range of offers by requesting quotes from multiple professionals.

Vanessa F.

From board books to digital readers, I’ve illustrated 20+ books that focus on emotional expression and playful detail for early readers.

Montreal, QC, Canada

100% reply rate

View profile

Amin S.

Children's book author and illustrator. Graphic designer.

Irvine, CA, USA

100% reply rate

View profile

Oksana D.

Children's book illustrator with 10+ years of experience creating expressive, story-driven picture books.

Barcelona, Spain

95% reply rate

View profile