Laura Wood

Laura Wood – Designer

I create digital and colourful illustrations for picture books and kids literature within a warm and collaborative workflow.

Overview

Are you a first-time author looking to bring your story to life?

With over 13 years of experience and more than 30 published children's books, I offer clear, affordable 🌟illustration packages🌟 designed especially for self-publishing authors.

Each package includes a mix of full-page, half-page and spot illustrations, carefully planned to suit your story, with a simple, guided creative process from start to finish.

🌟What's Included?🌟

All packages include:

📍Initial consultation and manuscript review

📍Character development (up to 2 main characters)

📍Illustration planning and preliminary sketches

📍Final illustrations in my signature style

📍Cover illustration

📍Two rounds of revisions

📍High-resolution, print-quality illustration files

📍Commercial publishing licence under agreed terms

🌟How Does It Work?🌟

1. Let's talk! We discuss your story, characters and creative vision.

2. Sketching & planning. I develop the characters and plan the illustrations for your book.

3. Bringing it to life. Once the sketches are approved, I create the final artwork.

4. Ready for the next step! You'll receive your finished illustrations, ready for book layout and production.

Feel free to get in touch to discuss your manuscript and find the right package for your story. I'd love to help bring your book to life!

Laura

PS: I don't use any kind of AI to create my digital illustrations or to create the book 🌟All my art is done by me🌟

Services
Non-Fiction
Children’s Non-Fiction
Fiction
Middle Grade Picture Books
Languages
English
Certifications
  • Diploma of Illustration at TAFE Melbourne

Work experience

Self-employed

Jan, 2012 — Present
I’m a digital illustrator drawing everything by hand and working with self-publishing authors, editorial and publishing clients from around the globe.

Portfolio

Illustration
Dee and Flee at the Theme Park

Hubery, Julia

Graffeg

Illustration
Eesha and the Mud Monster Mystery

Goucher, Wendy

Little Steps Publishing

Illustration
Illustration
Taronga presents: Poo at the Zoo

Darell, Kristin

Penguin eBooks

Illustration

Laura has 1 review

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Donna G.

Donna G.

Jul, 2026

I highly recommend illustrator Laura for your next illustration project. She was professional, responsive, and a pleasure to work with throughout the process. Laura beautifully captured the personality of my main character and created a wonderful two-page spread that brought my manuscript to life...
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Most recent contributions

What, in your opinion, is most important to remember when illustrating for children's books?

For me, the most important thing is to remember that children are perceptive readers. They notice small details, emotional contradictions and visual jokes that adults may overlook, so illustrations should never talk down to them or simply decorate the text. A strong illustration should contribut...
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What's your process for creating a storyboard and refining character designs in children’s books?

I usually begin by reading the manuscript several times: first to understand the story and its emotional arc, then to identify the key visual moments, page turns and opportunities for the illustrations to add something beyond the text. I create small thumbnail sketches for the entire book, focusi...
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What steps do you take to ensure a character design is consistent across various scenes or projects?

For me, consistency starts with understanding the character from the inside out. Before illustrating the final scenes, I explore not only their proportions, features, clothing and colour palette, but also the way they move, react and express emotion. I then create a character sheet with multiple ...
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