Sara Kuba

Sara Kuba – Designer

Children's book illustrator and character designer. Digital artist. Loves anything whimsical, cute, and round.

Overview

I am a children's illustrator and character designer who graduated from Ringling College of Art and Design with a B.F.A. in Illustration and have worked with clients for either concept pieces or for finished books.
While I am skilled in most aspects of illustration, I specialize in children's books/children's style illustration and in character design. These are my passions, and these are where my skills as an illustrator truly shine. I also enjoy environment and prop design, especially for whimsical settings and stories. I like to work in bright and pastel colors, but I also greatly enjoy creating pieces with dynamic lighting and color.

My preferred subjects are people, animals, plants, and foods. These are extremely fun to play around with shapes and create interesting and appealing designs. I do not specialize in technical or designs. I can create architectural and mechanical/robotic designs if kept in a simplified or whimsical cartoon style.
If you are looking for a children's book illustrator, character designer, or visual development artist who has a fun and bright style, then you have found the right artist! I look forward to working with you!
Services
Non-Fiction
Children’s Non-Fiction
Fiction
Picture Books
Languages
English
Awards
  • New Apple Literary Award: Official Selection for Children's Inspirational - Sophie and the Airplane, 2017
Certifications
  • Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators
  • BFA in Illustration

Work experience

Joyin, Inc.

Feb, 2021 — Present

At Joyin, I work with a team of skilled designers and product managers to brainstorm and create wonderful toys and seasonal products for kids and adults everywhere to enjoy! While I do a little bit of everything here, I specialize in pattern design, surface illustration, and costume design.

Paint With Diamonds

Mar, 2020 — Present

I began this position in mid-March. I currently design characters and mascots for Paint With Diamonds, as well as assist in product packaging and illustrating for product materials and advertisement. I give the characters and assets a childlike feel to bring a sense of nostalgia and joy in customers.

Leo the Lion

Jan, 2020 — Feb, 2020 (about 1 month)

I worked with a client to provide character designs and scene explorations according to her descriptions. While she has decided on another illustrator, she was grateful for my work and my enthusiasm.

Kristi Grigsby LLC

Feb, 2017 — Aug, 2017 (6 months)

I was the lead children's book illustrator for a short series of picture books Kristi Grigsby wrote, my assigned book being Sophie and the Airplane. I not only communicated efficiently with Kristi about her expectations for my illustrations, but I regularly engaged in conference calls with her and the other two illustrators working on other books, and helped guide them and make decisions for the illustration process. I also formatted the books and created a template for the other two illustrators to use.

Ringling College of Art and Design

Mar, 2016 — Sep, 2016 (6 months)

At the time, Ringling offered an extracurricular project for students to participate in a collaborative children's book. For this, I frequently met with the staff in charge of the project to review my progress and make any necessary changes. I met deadlines and worked with other students, bouncing ideas off each other and working together to create a cohesive and exciting picture book.

Portfolio

Addie's Me-Cave

Palladino, C.

Kookumbah

Isaac, A.

Welcome to STEM Girls Books, the award-winning picture book series inspired by women in STEM that introduces little girls to the big possibilities of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). ABOUT SOPHIE AND THE AIRPLANE - Winner of the 2018 Book Exce... read more

Sara has 4 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Chaitanya P.

Chaitanya P.

May, 2023

It was a pleasure working with Sara Kuba. If you are hiring Sara, you are not just getting the services prescribed but someone who goes above and beyond and becomes second set of eyes for the project. Her illustration skills are top notch. The way she brought my story and concepts to life is phenomenal. She helped me with formatting and designing the book as well. Overall, I am so happy with ...
Read more
Sara K.
Siva, Thank you so much for your kind review! It was awesome working with you, and I can't wait to work with you again in the future!
Alison I.

Alison I.

Dec, 2020

I really enjoyed working with Sara, she seemed really excited about the project from beginning to end. She was extremely helpful and filled in the knowledge gaps where I was lacking. I loved how communicative and pleasant she was. I'd work with her again!
Sara K.
Thanks for the kind words, Alison! It's been awesome working with you!
Rachael O.

Rachael O.

Nov, 2020

Sara is a very talented illustrator! I just love how she was able to take our story and make it come to life in pictures. She was great at hearing what we were looking for and open to making any edits. She is great at collaborating and we are so happy we asked her to help us tell our story.
Debra S.

Debra S.

Jul, 2020

Working with Sara has been a joy! She is a great communicator and her work is wonderful.