The 10 best freelance book illustrators for hire in 2021

Dr. Seuss had his colorful characters. Shel Silverstein had his emblematic style. Even J.R.R. Tolkien had his immersive, world-building maps. While the illustrations in books may not be the main focus, sometimes they’re the thing that leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

The best book illustrators can add that much-needed “something extra” to take a book from good to great, or great to legendary. Here, we list our top book illustrators for hire now, to take your book beyond where the text alone can go.

The 10 best freelance book illustrators to hire in 2021
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How did we choose these as the top book illustrators?
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More than just garnish, book illustrations help create the mood and draw the reader into the stories they depict. Often, they influence the way the reader imagines the characters and the world. To properly enhance the reading experience of your book, you can’t just hire any book illustrator, you have to go with the best. That’s why we set high criteria for our list above.

1. Design quality

At 99designs, we have a regular procedure for categorizing designers based on how well their works displays conceptual thought, technical execution and knowledge of design principles. For every artist, an expert from our team reviews their portfolio to determine which of our three levels they fit into:

• Top Level
• Mid Level
• Entry Level

We then display these levels on all our designers’ portfolios so you can see exactly what kind of designer you’re working with, from design master to master-in-training.

2. Book illustration experience

Book illustrations should mirror the content of the book itself. That’s not something every designer can accomplish—it requires both an openness to the author’s style and a working knowledge publishing. For our list above, we didn’t just consider design skill, we also factored in the designer’s history in book illustrations, such as how often they do them and how well their work is received with these clients.

3. Professionalism

A high level of design skill is no excuse for amateur behavior. In our evaluation of designers, we also consider their professionalism by checking their previous clients’ feedback. You can be sure the designers in our list above act professional by communicating throughout the process, delivering on time, and acting courteously with their clients.

Are you ready to hire a fantastic freelance book illustrator?
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Regardless of how good your words are, the right book illustrations can always make them better. Take a look at our list of the top book illustrators for hire and choose the one that’s best for you.