Children’s Illustration Specialization: From Sketchbook to Digital Art

Juanita is a children’s book, editorial and commercial illustrator from Medellín, Colombia. She began her academic career studying fashion design at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, but after realizing her passion was in illustration, she went on to study animation concept art at the Vancouver Film School. The heart of her work is centered on children’s books, which have inspired her creativity since she was a young girl.

Her work has been recognized internationally, and she has worked with clients such as Target, American Greetings, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, Quarto, and Maaji. She is currently represented by Advocate Art Agency, which has allowed her to take part in a variety of unique projects like illustrating the children’s books Health Heroes and The King and the Pearl.

Jimena S. Sarquiz is a freelance illustrator specializing in the illustration of books for children and young people. During her career, she has had the opportunity to illustrate books for different publishers in Mexico, the United States, and Europe, as well as different magazines from Editorial Televisa (Mexico). In 2010, she illustrated her first children's book. Since then, she has illustrated ten more, mostly for publishers in Mexico.

Jimena is an active participant in comic events and design fairs, where she sells her illustrations. Her work can be found on social media under the name Monitos Bonitos.

Kayla Stark is an illustrator from Tennessee, USA, who has been in love with drawing for as long as she can remember. She believes in using your own individual perspective on the world and using it to create illustrations with a unique perspective. She studied Graphic Design at university and worked in a number of graphic design roles after graduating before pursuing her first love: illustration.

Since becoming a full-time freelance illustrator, working both digitally and traditionally across projects. Kayla has illustrated several books, including an interactive board book she wrote, Friends at the Firehouse, and her work has appeared in magazines and on posters. As well as this, Kayla sells her art prints online. Inspired by fellow illustrators, graphic designers and other creatives in her area, Kayla co-founded a working studio The Warren in Nashville, home to workshops, gallery shows, and other community events.

Marissa is a children’s book author and illustrator based in Houston, Texas. Drawing and illustration have always been present in Marissa’s life, which led her to study animation at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. After her studies, she went on to work as a preschool teacher, an art teacher, and a graphic designer. She later discovered children's illustration and decided to pursue her newfound passion as a career

She has since worked with publishers such as Hachette, Penguin Random House, and Macmillan. Marissa illustrated books like Ambitious Girl, which was on The New York Times bestseller list, as well as the books Hedgehogs Don’t Wear Underwear and Esme’s Birthday Conga Line.

Ema Malyauka is an illustrator from Belarus, currently based in The Netherlands. She fell in love with books from a young age, spending hours in book stores with her mother, and later turned her passion into a career. She studied at an art school as a child and went on to specialize in teaching and critiquing art. After graduating, she felt something was missing though, and decided to realize her dream of becoming an illustrator and start sharing her creations on Instagram.

Ema has since worked on illustrations for encyclopedias, postcards, book covers, and more. She has collaborated with Adobe, as well as smaller companies and charities, and has had her work published in China and South Korea. She also came third in an Adobe drawing contest. Ema has built a creative community called Sketch & Breakfast that brings artists together to sketch on a weekly basis, and she also sells her prints on Etsy.

Lucy Fleming is an illustrator and author based in northern England.
After completing a degree in illustration at the University of Lincoln, she launched her freelance career, specializing in children's books. Her work is influenced by her love of storytelling and nature, often featuring quirky characters and whimsical worlds sprinkled with magic.

Lucy has illustrated children's books for major publishers including Penguin Random House, Bloomsbury, Simon & Schuster, Walker Books, Macmillan, and HarperCollins. She has also created artwork for brands like Unilever, as well as greetings cards, toys, puzzles, and packaging. She published his first author/illustrator picturebook Ella's Night Lights in 2020, which has been translated into multiple languages worldwide.