One of the most commonly asked questions that I receive is this…. “Would you consider illustrating my children’s book?” and it’s always a great honour to be asked this. Whilst I can’t accept each and every request I am always happy to discuss your needs and requirements and if the project is something that fits in with my style of children’s book illustration as well as my busy schedule, then I will always welcome a challenge!

How to Find a Freelance Children’s Book Illustrator in the UK

If you’ve found my website, and more particularly this blog post, then you’ve probably found me on Google or via my Facebook page whilst searching for someone who will help bring your ideas to life. As you will have seen, I adopt a child-friendly style and focus on ‘whimsical’ type illustrations. I only work with physical paints and inks (i.e. I don’t use Photoshop) or other computer software to ‘draw’ or ‘paint’. Whilst I admire those who can achieve such great results using these sophisticated computer programs, they are not for me, and in my opinion take some of the soul away from a piece of art to be featured inside a children’s book or greetings card – particularly with AI (who can be proud of a computer generated, lifeless book?). The occasional uneven line or a blob of misplaced ink gives an illustration some character and old-worldly charm.

So, now that you’ve found my website what should you do next? Well, I’d advise having a look at some of the samples of work that can be found in my gallery first as I may not offer what you are looking for – there are many fantastic illustrators out there offering different and unique styles, but if it is mine that you like then there are a few things to consider:

1. Will you be self-publishing? If so, then you will be in charge of choosing the illustrator for your book. If you are using a publishing house then as a general rule it will be the publisher who appoints the illustrator – although I’m more than happy for my name to be put forward. When time permits I can offer a full-service, including the printing of your book too - let me know if this is of interest?

2. How many illustrations do you need? Many Children’s books are set out in a particular way, and hence often require a set amount of illustrations.

3. I will require a copy of your manuscript to obtain a feel for the characters - even more so if you'd like me to create the character(s) from scratch.

4. Your deadline – this is very important for both of us, so a clear deadline is essential. Please be realistic - anything less than 6 months probably won't work out.

5. Whilst I will always offer advice where and when possible, I don’t deal with the printing of the illustrations (unless I‘m asked to publish your book too) that I produce. I will create the pictures, so if there is anything in particular that you, your publishers or printers require then I need to be made aware of this before any work commences.

6. Please acknowledge that traditional illustrators offer a VERY different service to digital illustrators, and AI / Clip Art services. 

The above points are in no way an exhaustive list, there are of course other things to consider, such as costings (I’d love to be able to work for free, but sadly, like us all, I have lots of bills too!). Illustrators don't take on work with the promise of a share in royalties as payment.

Illustrating a book is usually a long process, often taking months, or possibly even a year, so please bear this in mind when asking for a quote. I don't charge the same rates as those who provide off-the-shelf Clip Art illustrations - I care about your book and reputation. I'm not here to take your money and provide a template service only to move on to the next within a few hours of starting. I'm here to bring your words to life.

The next step is to drop me an email if you have any questions at all – and I fully appreciate that you may have lots of them, and rightly so as it’s important to make the right choices when hiring the services of an illustrator. I want you to be happy with your choice, so there is no ‘hard sell’ – I love drawing and painting and whilst it’s fun to work on projects for others, there is never any pressure to make a quick decision on how you'd like to proceed with your project.