Book Illustrator
Melbourne studio, working with clients everywhere.
Custom illustration for covers, publishing, and editorial layouts.
Bringing stories to life through traditional and modern mediums. From classic hand-drawn pencil illustrations and detailed pen and ink work to bold linocuts and crisp digital illustration, I design compelling book covers and complete interior page layouts. I partner closely with authors, publishers, and independent presses to create distinctive, narrative-driven visuals that elevate the printed word and capture the imagination of readers.
Full-wrap dust jacket design & illustration – Sherlock Holmes
Narrative interior illustration, pen & ink style — Sherlock Holmes
Narrative interior illustration, pen & ink style — Sherlock Holmes
Bespoke literary map design — London, 1891, for Sherlock Holmes book
Full-wrap dust jacket design & illustration – Frankenstein
Narrative interior illustration — Frankenstein
Narrative interior illustration pen, pencil and ink wash style — Frankenstein
Narrative interior illustration — Frankenstein
Narrative interior illustration — Frankenstein
Narrative interior illustration in pen & ink — Frankenstein
Full-wrap book cover design & illustration
Narrative interior illustration in pen, pencil and ink wash style — Oz
Double page narrative interior illustration — Oz
Narrative interior illustration pen, pencil and ink wash style — Oz
Narrative interior illustration — Oz
Young Adult (YA) cover design & illustration
Map illustration
Young Adult (YA) cover design & digital painting — The Good Witch
Sci-Fi book cover design & illustration
Interior illustration in scraper-board & woodcut style — Willie Nelson, Penguin Random House NY
Editorial portraiture & caricature
Minimalist character illustration for poetry
Book Illustration: Your Off-Site Art Department
Art that reads between the lines. I combine traditional hand-drawn artisan craft with digital precision to turn commercial and independent books into works of art. As a freelance book illustrator and designer, I operate as a seamless extension of your publishing workflow or independent press. Managing the entire creative journey from initial manuscript concept to final press-ready files, my services include the following:
Custom Cover Illustration & Dust Jacket Design: High-impact, narrative-driven front covers, spines, and full-wrap dust jackets engineered to capture a book's core themes and instantly stand out on physical bookshelves and digital storefronts.
Bespoke Interior Illustration & Literary Maps: Richly detailed interior artwork—ranging from traditional pen-and-ink styles and linocut prints to striking modern digital illustrations—including custom map designs that bring fictional worlds and historical settings to life for readers.
Production-Ready Page Layouts & Typography: Complete interior book formatting and typesetting, delivering clean, properly structured files optimised for commercial offset printing or digital print-on-demand (POD) manufacturing workflows.
Why work with me?
Entrusting your manuscript, cover design, or independent publishing project to a visual artist is a deeply personal and high-stakes decision. Authors and publishers don't just need striking narrative artwork—they need a highly reliable, technically precise creative partner who respects formatting guidelines, printing realities, and immutable publication deadlines. Choosing to work with my studio means you get a senior-level visual storyteller with over 25 years of professional studio and print-production experience.
I operate as a dedicated, flexible off-site art department for independent authors, commercial publishing houses, and literary presses worldwide. Unlike standard illustrators who only hand over raw image files, my deep background across the commercial printing industry means I understand exactly how ink translates to paper. I build your cover files, full-wrap dust jackets, interior layouts, and typographic systems perfectly to your printer's technical specifications—preventing formatting errors, saving your production budget, and protecting your launch timeline.
A Structured, Narrative-Driven Workflow: My 3-Step Process
I believe great work comes from close collaboration. Bringing a book to life should be an exciting, predictable, and entirely collaborative journey. Whether designing a gripping dust jacket or a suite of narrative interior illustrations, I manage every publishing project through a transparent, three-step framework:
1. Manuscript Study & Concepts
We begin by discussing your book's core themes, target readership, and printing specifications (such as trim sizes and binding types). I dive deep into your manuscript or brief to map out a cohesive visual direction before any drawing begins.
2. Storyboarding & Editorial Review
I present clear, structured sketches, composition layouts, and font directions at critical milestones. I actively welcome your editorial feedback, refining the assets together to ensure the visual narrative enhances and honours the printed word.
3. Technical Setup & Delivery
Once approved, I deliver flawlessly built, production-ready master files. From CMYK print-ready PDF layouts with exact spine-width calculations to scalable digital assets for e-book platforms, your project arrives perfectly formatted to global publishing standards.
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