Stephen Stone – Designer

AVAILABILITY

April 2025

BACKGROUND

Hello my name is Steve. I was born in the North East of England where we are known affectionately as San-dancers. I now live and work in Derbyshire with my soulmate Claire.

My creative career began after I completed a degree in Fashion Design, working as a designer for children’s and corporate wear companies. After a short while I took another direction and became a university lecturer for 12 years, teaching fashion design and visual communication to post and undergraduate students. During this time I completed a Masters in Visual Communication, specialising in Narrative Illustration.

ETHOS

Having worked with many mainstream publishers, editors, art buyers and book designers. I've now branched out into the independent publishing market. This has been an important additional step to take as an Illustrator; seeing it as a progression, a journey into a changing world that sees individuals working more closely together. There is a strong desire to connect on a personal level, to offer and share my professional and honed skills in art direction.

APPROACH/TECHNIQUE

Creating memorable character design is at the heart of my work with a particular interest and flair for animals.

I make use of hand drawn line-work in both ink and pencil, along with hand-painted textures and washes that are combined then coloured digitally. Every collaboration is unique and I adapt my skills to suit what's best for the story.

Colour is a passion and my design experience allows me to balance many different palettes in my work. I also illustrate in black and white which is suitable for YA Fiction.

PROCESS

I illustrate and design the complete book ready for publishing.

For standard 24/32 page picture-books I send out a PDF pack outlining a visual of my full working process along with price structures and scheduling. I also provide bespoke quotes for individual illustration, cover design and character design.

I do not accept requests that have religious or moralistic themes.

Any images proposed for inspirations by authors who use AI Images will warrant an instant decline of request.

FORMATS PROVIDED:

- PDF Press Ready CMYK

- HR JPEG/ RGB (Suitable for website/marketing and ebook conversion)

Please note: I DO NOT provide EPUB Formats. The files however can be converted by a professional.