How To Find A Children's Book Illustrator In Australia

By Tasman Publishers 23 October 2026 12 min read

Start with portfolios, not prices. Shortlist a children's book illustrator in Australia whose existing style already suits your story, through Illustrators Australia's member directory, SCBWI galleries, freelance marketplaces or an author-services studio. Then send a written brief, ask for a quote itemised per illustration, and don't sign anything until the contract says, in writing, who owns the artwork.

Your words are finished. Now you need someone to draw the wombat, the backyard and the grandma with the big hat, and draw them the same way on every page. A mismatched illustrator, a vague brief or a missing rights clause can cost you months. Here's how to find the right person and protect the artwork you're paying for.

Where To Find A Children's Book Illustrator In Australia

The question "where do I hire an illustrator for my book?" usually comes right after the last edit. There's no single register, but these are the usual places to look.

Where to look	Good for	Watch out for
Illustrators Australia member directory	Searching professional portfolios by category, with illustrators who know local commissioning norms	Many members prefer to license their work rather than sell the copyright, so raise rights early
SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) member galleries	Illustrators who specialise in children's books, with Australian and New Zealand regions	A gallery shows past work, not availability or how they handle a brief
Freelance marketplaces such as Reedsy	Requesting several quotes at once and filtering by genre	Terms and rights vary by freelancer, so read the contract, not just the profile
Instagram and personal portfolio sites	Seeing an artist's current style and work in progress	No vetting and no standard contract; check that the work is really theirs
Picture books you already love	Finding a style you know works on the page (the illustrator is credited on the cover and imprint page)	Established illustrators are often booked well ahead
An author-services studio like Tasman	One fixed quote covering illustration, layout and print-ready files, with the illustrator matched for you	Make sure copyright is assigned to you in writing, not just "included"

Whichever route you take, judge each children's book illustrator in Australia by the same test: have they drawn a whole book, with the same characters across many pages? Aim for a shortlist of three.

Choose The Style Before You Choose The Person

A common mistake: an author falls for an illustrator's personality, then asks them to draw "a bit more like" someone else. It rarely works, and Illustrators Australia's commissioning guidelines say the same: pick an illustrator whose existing style already suits the book, rather than asking anyone to imitate another artist.

So start with the look. The main illustration styles for children's books each suit a different reader:

Watercolour and pencil: soft and gentle, made for bedtime stories.
Gouache: rich colour and cosy interiors.
Cut-paper collage: texture and energy for younger readers.
Flat vector shapes: bold and clear, which suits board books.
Loose ink and wash: movement and comedy, ideal for a kelpie chasing chooks near Mount Gambier.

Think about your reader's age. A board book for a one-year-old needs simple, high-contrast shapes. A six-year-old can handle detail and background jokes. Collect ten or so images you love and look for the common thread. That folder becomes the heart of your brief.

How To Brief An Illustrator

A good brief gets you better quotes and fewer surprises. Two pages is plenty. Include:

Your edited manuscript, with notes on what the pictures should show that the words don't.
The reader's age and the type of book, from board book to chapter book.
Page count and trim size, if you know them. Portrait, square or wide changes every composition.
What you need drawn: the number of spreads, single pages, spot illustrations, the cover wrap and any endpapers.
Your main characters: age, look, personality and anything that must stay consistent, like a red gumboot or a missing tooth.
Setting and cultural detail. If the book is set in Adelaide's parklands or a Top End community, say so, and flag anything needing research or cultural consultation.
Your style references, and a note if you need ebook files as well as print.
Your deadline, and whether it's fixed or flexible.

Say what rights you need in the brief, too. If you want the characters on tote bags or in a sequel, the illustrator should know before they quote.

How Many Illustrations In A Picture Book?

Most picture books are printed in 32 pages, because that's how the sheets fold at the printer. Once you take out the title page, imprint page and dedication, a 32-page book usually carries about twelve to fourteen illustrated spreads. A 24-page book runs to about ten.

Before anyone draws a line, map your text to those spreads. Fold paper into a rough dummy book and write each spread's words in place. In a picture book the page turn is your punchline and your pause, so where it falls changes how the story reads aloud. It's far cheaper to move a page turn on a plan than after the art is painted.

Tip: Tell the illustrator where text sits on each spread, so faces stay clear of it and of the gutter where the pages are bound.

Character Design For Children's Books

Before the pages come the characters. A professional illustrator draws a design sheet for each recurring character, with front, side and back views and a range of expressions. It's never printed, but it keeps your hero looking like the same child on page 4 and page 28, and keeps book two looking like book one. Spend time here. Changing a face after twelve spreads are drawn means redrawing twelve spreads.

The Sketch-To-Final Process

Good illustration moves in stages, and you approve each one before the next begins. The earlier you ask for changes, the cheaper they are.

Stage	What you see	What to check	Cost of changes
1. Style samples	Portfolio pieces or a test image	Does it feel like your book?	Nothing
2. Character sheets	Each character from several angles, with expressions	Age, proportions, clothing, diversity, personality	Low
3. Thumbnails or storyboard	Tiny layouts of every spread	Page turns, pacing, room for text	Low
4. Roughs	Pencil sketches of every spread at size	Composition, expressions, story details the text relies on	Still modest; usually the last cheap point
5. Line art and colour	Finished drawing, then colour	Consistency, colour mood, small errors	High; you're asking for repainting
6. Print-ready files	Final files at print resolution	300 dpi, CMYK, bleed, plus RGB versions for ebook and web	Technical fixes only

Read the roughs against the text, aloud, page by page. If the dog is meant to be hiding and you can see the whole dog, say so now.

Need An Illustrator For Your Picture Book? We match your story to an illustrator who already works in the style you want, show you roughs before any colour, and assign the copyright to you in writing. Send us your manuscript for a fixed quote. Get a fixed quote or call +61 8 7111 2944.

Who Owns The Illustrations? Copyright In Australia

This is the part of children's book illustration copyright in Australia that most authors look at too late. Under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), the person who creates an illustration is generally the first owner of its copyright. Commissioning the work and paying for it doesn't change that. The exceptions for commissioned work cover things like private photographs and portraits, not picture book art.

To own the copyright, you need an assignment. Section 196(3) of the Act says an assignment of copyright has no effect unless it's in writing and signed by or on behalf of the person assigning it, which here is the illustrator. A friendly chat, a paid invoice or "sure, it's yours" in a text message isn't something you want to rely on.

The alternative is a licence. The illustrator keeps copyright and gives you permission to use the art for set purposes, for a set time. Illustrators Australia's guidelines note that most illustrators keep their copyright and offer a licence instead, and recommend a limited exclusive licence over a full buyout. That's fair, as long as the licence covers everything you'll actually do: every print and ebook edition, reprints, your website and social media, a book trailer, merchandise, sequels and translations. A licence for "one print edition" leaves you stuck when you want an ebook. So get the licence wide enough, or ask for an assignment.

Moral rights are separate. Even after assigning copyright, an Australian illustrator keeps moral rights, which can't be transferred. These include the right to be credited and the right not to have the work treated in a way that harms their reputation. So credit your illustrator on the cover and title page, and agree in writing before anyone alters the art. The Arts Law Centre of Australia has plain-English information sheets on both. This is general information, not legal advice.

What Goes In A Picture Book Illustration Contract

Whoever you hire, get a written contract before work starts. It should cover:

Scope: the exact count of spreads, single pages, spots, cover wrap and endpapers.
Specs: trim size, bleed, resolution, colour profile and file formats.
Revisions: how many rounds are included at each stage, and what extra changes cost.
Schedule: dates for character sheets, roughs and finals, and how long you have to give feedback.
Payments: tied to stages, not all up front.
Rights: assignment or licence, with the uses, territory and term spelled out.
Credit and portfolio use: how the illustrator is named, and whether they can show the work.
Cancellation: what's paid if either of you pulls out partway.
AI use: a clear statement that the art is drawn by the illustrator.

How Long Does It Take To Illustrate A Picture Book?

Longer than most authors plan for. For a full picture book, allow about twelve to sixteen weeks from approved character designs to final files. Black-and-white spot illustrations for a chapter book are quicker, usually four to six weeks.

Then add time either side. Finding and briefing the illustrator takes a few weeks. After the art arrives, the book still needs layout and typesetting, a finished cover with the spine and barcode, proofs and printing. Aiming for a school holiday launch? Count backwards and add a buffer, because feedback that takes you two weeks instead of two days pushes everything back.

What Moves The Cost Of Picture Book Illustration Services

There's no honest single price, because two quotes for "a picture book" can describe completely different jobs. This is what moves it:

Factor	Why it matters
Number of illustrations	Twelve full spreads or forty spot drawings: this sets most of the cost.
Coverage on the page	A full-bleed spread takes far longer than a small vignette in the same style.
Style and medium	Textured painting and detailed linework take longer than flat shapes.
Recurring characters	Each one needs a design sheet and has to stay consistent.
Colour or black and white	Line art is quicker to draw and cheaper to print.
Research	Real places, period detail and accurate native animals need reference work.
Rights	A full assignment or a broad licence is often priced differently from a narrow one.
Turnaround	A tight deadline limits who can take the job and adds coordination.

Ask every illustrator to quote per illustration. A lump sum for "the book" is impossible to compare or check. For a picture of the whole budget, including editing, layout and printing, see our publishing costs guide.

Red Flags When You Hire An Illustrator For Your Book

The picture book illustrator portfolio is all single images. Ask for several pages with the same character. Consistency is the skill you're paying for.
The styles in the portfolio don't match each other. It may be stock, traced or AI-generated work, which raises awkward questions about originality and ownership.
No roughs stage. Going straight to colour means expensive changes, or none at all.
"You get the rights" with nothing in writing. As above, an assignment needs a signed document.
Vague answers about print files. Art made at screen resolution in RGB looks fine on a laptop and muddy on paper.
A full picture book promised in a fortnight. Something has to give, and it's usually quality.

How Tasman Handles Children's Book Illustration

Rather not manage all this yourself? Our children's book illustration service covers it from brief to print files. We agree a style from samples, show you portfolios from illustrators who work in it, and keep looking if none feel right. You approve character sheets, then pencil roughs for every page, before any colour. Final art arrives at print resolution in CMYK with bleed, plus RGB versions for ebook and web. Copyright is assigned to you in writing on final payment, the illustrator keeps the moral right to be named, and the art is drawn by a person, not generated by AI.

Illustration is one part of self-publishing a children's book with illustrations. For the steps around it, from editing to ISBNs and printing, read our guide on how to publish a children's book in Australia, see our book publishing service, or contact us with your manuscript for a fixed, itemised quote. We reply within eight business hours.

Children's Book Illustrator Questions

How much does it cost to hire a children's book illustrator in Australia?

It depends on the job, not the book. The number of illustrations sets most of the cost, followed by how much of each page the art covers, the style and medium, how many characters recur, colour or black and white, and how fast you need it. Ask for a quote itemised per illustration so you can compare illustrators fairly. We give a fixed quote before any drawing starts.

Do I own the illustrations if I pay for them?

Not automatically. Under Australian copyright law the illustrator owns the artwork they create, even when you commissioned and paid for it. You only own it if the illustrator assigns copyright to you in a signed, written document. Otherwise you have a licence to use it, and the contract sets out what that licence covers and for how long.

How many illustrations does a picture book need?

A standard 32-page picture book usually carries about twelve to fourteen illustrated spreads once the title page, imprint page and dedication are accounted for. A 24-page book runs to about ten. Board books and early readers vary, so map your text to page turns before you ask for quotes.

How long does it take to illustrate a picture book?

Plan on months, not weeks. A full picture book typically takes twelve to sixteen weeks from approved character designs to final files, with your approval needed between roughs, line art and colour. Spot illustrations for a chapter book are quicker, usually four to six weeks. Layout and printing come after that.

Should I get my manuscript edited before I hire an illustrator?

Yes. Lock the text first. Every change to the words after the art is drawn can mean redrawing a spread, which costs time and money. An edit also tightens the rhythm and page turns, so the illustrator plans the book around the final version of your story rather than a draft.