Book Cover & Publishing Illustration

Create a book readers want to pick up before they have even read the first page.

There is a reason we all know the saying “Never judge a book by its cover.” We know we shouldn’t - and yet a cover is often one of the very first things that makes us stop, look closer, and become curious about the story inside.

For authors and publishers, great book artwork is therefore more than decoration. It can communicate genre and atmosphere at a glance, introduce readers to the characters and world, and turn a book into something that feels special, collectible, and worth discovering.

That is what I want to create for your story.

I create traditionally painted book covers, endpapers, deluxe-edition artwork, and publishing illustrations developed around the specific characters, scenes, atmosphere, and visual identity of each book.

The Curse Carved in Ink - Book Cover Illustration

Today, the finished illustration is only one part of the experience.

Readers increasingly love seeing how creative work comes together. For all publishing projects, I document the traditional painting process through short- and long-form video content - allowing readers to follow an illustration from its first layers to the finished artwork and creating another opportunity for them to discover and connect with the book.

My process content is shared with an established audience of more than 570,000 followers and subscribers across Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, with individual videos frequently reaching hundreds of thousands of views.

The goal is not simply to create a beautiful image for your book, but an artwork that becomes part of the world around it - something readers can discover, follow being created, and ultimately hold in their hands.

For The Curse Carved in Ink by Tzeyi Koay, I created the cover in close alignment with Tzeyi’s vision for the characters and their world. She provided detailed descriptions of everything from facial features to collars, sleeves, and the blend of traditional and modern Hanfu influences.

I loved translating those details into the final painting. For me, great book illustration means creating artwork in which the author can genuinely recognize their own characters, story, and world.

Once Upon a Broken Heart Series - Deluxe Edition Endpaper Illustrations

For an established series, one of the biggest challenges is creating new artwork that feels special without losing what readers already love about the characters and their world.

For the deluxe editions of Stephanie Garber’s Once Upon a Broken Heart series, I created four original endpaper illustrations based on specific scenes from the books.

When readers already have a strong emotional connection to characters such as Evangeline Fox and Jacks, visual details matter. Their appearance, expressions, clothing, relationships, and the atmosphere surrounding them all contribute to whether an illustration feels truly connected to the story - or simply like a beautiful fantasy image.

The four illustrations were developed as a cohesive set rather than individual standalone pieces, so that together they would feel like part of one visual world and add something genuinely special to the deluxe editions.

For authors and publishers, this is always the balance I aim for: preserving the identity readers already associate with a story while creating artwork that gives them something new to discover.

Shared With My Audience of over 540,000 Across Social Media

258K Instagram · 285K YouTube · 30K TikTok

For authors and publishers, the artwork does not have to stop working once the final illustration is delivered.

Readers today are often just as interested in seeing how an artwork comes to life as they are in the finished piece itself. That is why I create both short- and long-form process content around selected publishing projects, documenting the traditional painting process from the first stages to the final artwork.

These videos are shared across my established audiences on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, where my process content frequently reaches hundreds of thousands of views and can perform virally across platforms.

For a book launch or special edition, this creates an additional layer of organic visibility. Readers can discover the book through the artwork, follow the creation of a character or scene they may already love, and become emotionally invested in the project before they even hold the finished edition in their hands.

Instead of the illustration existing only on the cover or inside the book, the creative process itself becomes part of the story surrounding the release.

Illustration for Publishers, Authors & Special Editions

I am available for selected publishing commissions, including:

• Book cover illustration

• Special-edition artwork

• Endpaper illustrations

• Interior illustrations

• Character-focused fantasy artwork

• Collector and deluxe-edition projects

My work is traditionally painted and combines oils, watercolor, colored pencil, acrylic, and mixed media and the artwork is completely hand painted from the first layer to the final brushtroke.

See How My Artwork Translates Into Book Covers

Conceptual cover mock-ups using existing original artwork.

To help publishers and authors visualize how my artwork could work as a finished book cover, I created a selection of conceptual mock-ups using existing paintings from my portfolio

Does that sound interesting to you?

If so, I would love to hear about your project! Whether you already have a detailed brief or are only starting to explore ideas, feel free to get in touch and tell me a little about your book. 😊