You have a manuscript. We draw the characters, the pages, the cover and the print-ready files, and hand you a book that is ready to upload to Amazon KDP, IngramSpark or Barnes & Noble, or to publish as an EPUB.
If you are looking for a children’s book illustrator for hire, this page covers how the work runs, who draws it, and how a quote is put together.
If you want the longer version of how the work runs before you commission anything, every stage of illustrating a picture book is written out in full.
Working with authors in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and Europe.
children’s books illustrated
illustrating picture books
Job Success Score on Upwork
status on Upwork
AI-generated artwork
Most of the people who write to us are publishing their first book. Some have illustrated one before and want a steadier hand on the second. A few are publishers or educators with a list to get through.
If you are self-publishing, you need more than pretty pictures: you need a character who stays the same child on page 3 and page 27, spreads that leave room for the text, and files that upload to KDP without a rejection email. That is the job we do. For what that looks like over a whole series, see the case studies, where the same girl and the same dog are carried from one book into the next.
No two manuscripts need the same amount of work, so every book is priced on its own. Five things move the figure:
As a rough guide to where your own book sits: a 32-page picture book with one recurring character and simple backgrounds is at the lower end of our range. The same page count with four characters who appear throughout, detailed scenes and a full wraparound cover is well above it. Those are very different amounts of drawing, which is why a single advertised figure would be no use to you.
Send the manuscript and you will have a firm quote, in writing, with the stages and what each one includes. The quote does not change once you accept it.
If you want the market context before you ask us, our guide to what children’s book illustrators cost sets out the going rates, what moves them, and where a hand-drawn picture book usually lands.
Commission the whole book, or any single piece of it.
Turnarounds, expressions and poses, so your characters are recognisably themselves on every page.
The whole book sketched out at a glance, so pacing problems get fixed before anything is painted.
Full spreads, half pages and spot art, laid out around your text instead of fighting it.
Front, spine and back, sized to your page count and designed to read clearly as a thumbnail.
CMYK, correct bleed and trim, sized for Amazon KDP or IngramSpark and checked before delivery. Formatting on its own is a service too.
Your book is assigned to a single illustrator from first sketch to final file. Nothing changes hands mid-story.
Five stages, with your approval at the end of each one.
Tell us the story, the age group and the page count. We read it and come back with a firm quote and a timeline.
We draw character options first. You pick, we refine, and nothing else starts until the cast looks right to you.
Every page roughed out, so you can move a scene or change a composition while it is still cheap to change.
Colour, light and detail, page by page, with a round of revisions built in.
Interiors and cover exported to your printer’s specification, plus the files you need for the ebook edition.
A picture book usually takes 10 to 14 weeks, from the day you accept the quote to the day the print files land. That range includes your feedback and the revisions at every stage, because rushing those is how books end up with characters nobody is happy with.
Authors let us publish the whole process. Each case study puts the pencil rough beside the printed spread, and sets out the page count, the schedule we kept and what the author said when the finished book arrived.
40 pages, baby to 7, drawn in 12 weeks. Pencil roughs beside the printed spreads, with one cast of characters kept recognisable from page to page.
44 pages, hardcover, 14 weeks. Book two for the same author, with Sage and Benji carried into a new setting without being redesigned.
Every case study follows one book the whole way through. See all case studies, or send your manuscript and we will tell you which stages your own book needs.
Self-portrait, drawn in the style she illustrates books in
Amna Zaki founded The Rainbow Stories and leads every project. She has illustrated more than 50 children’s books over seven years and holds Top Rated Plus status on Upwork with a 100% Job Success Score.
The other two illustrators are Noor and Ayesha, each with five or more years of children’s book work behind them. Each book is assigned to one illustrator from first sketch to final file, so your characters never change hands part way through a story, and you can see all three portfolios before you decide.
Every illustration is drawn by hand. None of it is generated by AI, and we will say so in writing on your quote.
Reviews left by clients on Upwork, where Amna holds Top Rated Plus status and a 100% Job Success Score.
As a first-time author, I had a lot of questions and needed extra guidance along the way, and she never once made me feel silly for asking. She offered as many revisions as I needed, at any point in the process. The final artwork exceeded my expectations. My book came out beautifully.
Upwork client · picture book, 2026
This is my second project with Amna, and once again, her patience and dedication have exceeded my expectations. She communicates clearly, works reliably, and consistently delivers high-quality results.
Upwork client · returning client
Thank you Amna once again for the beautiful illustrations on this book. I know this book’s illustrations were challenging but you exceeded my expectations!
Upwork client · children’s book, 2026
Every book is quoted on its own, because the amount of drawing changes with the page count, how many characters recur and how detailed the scenes are. A 32-page book with one character and simple backgrounds sits at the lower end of our range; the same page count with four recurring characters, detailed spreads and a wraparound cover sits well above it. Send the manuscript and a firm written quote comes back within one business day, broken into stages with what each one includes, and it does not change once you accept it.
Work is split into stages, with a deposit to start and the rest paid as each stage is approved — characters, then sketches, then final artwork. Nothing is due for a stage until you have signed off the one before it, so you are never paying ahead of what you have seen. Most clients pay by bank transfer, PayPal or Wise, and we also work through Upwork contracts if you would rather have the escrow.
You do. Full commercial rights to the artwork transfer to you on final payment, so you can print, sell and license the book without coming back to us.
Ten to fourteen weeks for a picture book, from accepted quote to print-ready files. That includes the time you need to review each stage and the revisions that follow, so the schedule moves with you rather than against you. If you are working to a launch date, tell us at the quote stage.
Most of our clients are publishing their first book. We will tell you what we need from you at each stage, and you do not need to know anything about trim sizes or bleed before you start.
Yes, and the cast is kept consistent rather than redrawn. Sage Sails The World and its sequel, The Great Barrier Reef, were both illustrated here for the same author, with the same characters carried into a new setting. For a series we keep the character turnarounds, palettes and line weights on file, so book two starts from the designs your readers already know instead of from scratch.
No. Every illustration is drawn by hand by a named illustrator. If AI artwork matters to your publisher or your readers, we will confirm it in writing.
That is what the character stage and the sketch stage are for. Revisions are built into both, and nothing is painted until you have approved the sketches.
Yes. We take over half-finished books, match an existing style where you need continuity, or redraw what is not working. Send what you have and we will tell you honestly which of those we would recommend.
The manuscript, the age group you are writing for, the page count you have in mind, and where you plan to print. If you do not have all four yet, send what you have.
Print-ready PDFs at 300 dpi with the correct bleed and trim, set up for Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Barnes & Noble or EPUB, whichever you are printing with. Tell us at the quote stage which one you need. If a printer ever rejects a file on specification, we fix it at no charge. If the book is already illustrated and you only need the files built, that is our book formatting service.
Lahore, Pakistan, working with authors across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Our hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm Pakistan time, and we reply to every enquiry within one business day, so an answer is usually waiting when you wake up.
Send it over and you will have a firm quote and a timeline back within one business day. No obligation, and no AI anywhere near your book.
The form takes a minute. Attach the manuscript if you have it.
Tell us the page count, the characters and your deadline. We will send back a quote and a timeline within 24 hours.
Start your briefTakes about three minutes. No obligation.