I'm working on my picture book portfolio this year.
Even though I've been an illustrator for years, I'm pushing myself into new territory—more people, more animals, more narrative work. The kind of illustrations that tell stories across spreads and make you want to turn the page.
As part of this journey, I've been doing what any artist does when they want to grow: looking at a lot of work. Not to copy, but to understand. To see how other illustrators approach character, mood, pacing, and that magical thing where images and words dance together.
This post is my research, shared with you.
Below you'll find portfolios from picture book illustrators whose work genuinely moves me. Some are award-winning names you might recognize. Others are emerging talents I stumbled upon and couldn't stop thinking about. What they all have in common is a unique creative perspective—a visual language and storytelling approach that feels entirely their own.
A few things to know about this list:
These are not ranked. I listed them as I discovered them, and that felt right. Art isn't a competition.
This list is growing. I add new portfolios as I find them, so you might want to bookmark this page and check back.
These choices are completely subjective. This isn't a "best of" or a comprehensive industry guide. It's simply work that resonates with me personally as I figure out my own picture book voice.
The Portfolios
André Letria
Catarina Sobral
Laura Simonati
Kate Voronina
Sara Lundberg
Clara Dackenberg
Jindřich Janíček
Mercè Galí
Elsa Klever
Julie Flett
Marcos Farina
Kenard Pak
Catia Chien
Magali Franov
Oliver Jeffers
Naomi Wilkinson
Penelope Dullaghan
Scatterbee (Kristen Donegan)
Simone Rea
Marika Maijala
Qu Lan
Melissa Castrillón
Minta Lozovskis (Banda Minta)
Jacques & Lise
Lucy Fleming
Lucas Wakamatsu
Tisha Lee
Elena Comte
Jacob Grant
Teo Georgiev
Martin Stanev
Benson Shum
Flavio Remontti
Zoe Ellison
My Blank Paper
X Fang
Katie Harnett
Studio Hoffmann
Kate Fedos
Isabelle Arsenault
Lorena Alvarez
Deborah J. Stein
Hannah Bess Ross
Yasmeen Ismail
Fatima Ordinola
Hannah Peck
Ruth Hammond
Seobhan Hope
Ulrike Mieke
Yasu Imamura
Nicholas Stevenson
Marc Boutavant
Olivia Holden
Abi Bi
Beatrice Alemagna
Marc Martin
Felicita Sala
Júlia Sardà
Sophie Blackall
Sydney Hanson
Violeta Lópiz
Rafael López
Birgitta Sif
Carson Ellis
Kitty Crowther
Oge Mora
Benji Davies
Simona Ciraolo
Julie Morstad
Sanna Mander
Laura K. Sayers
Chris Haughton
JooHee Yoon
Isol
Ben Newman
Emma Yarlett
Owen Davey
Rhian Stone
Alice Piaggio
Truc Nhi Hoang
Margaux Kent
Laura Carlin
Katie Cottle
Cara Wang
Emma Farrarons
Estee Zales
Suvi Suitiala
Joaquin Camp
Stina Semrau
Kati Närhi
Andrea Gago
Sasha Bakinovskaja
Claire Sweeney
Yulia Drobova
Marlene Droop
Irin Isriyanate
Juliette Farges
Seong Eun Kim
Noe Garin
Pei-En Chen
Megan Knight
Dorothy Luo
Heidi Griffiths
Manling Yeh
Mirdinara
Emily Bornoff
Eka Tabliashvili
Geen Jones
Emilia Schettino
Leya Luna
Polya Plavinskaia
Yulia Drobova
Mîrzac
Vera Gereke
Ellan Rankin
Olga Ptashnik
Yoko Heiligers
Chris Knight
Mauri Mendes
Roser Cussó
Valerya Milovanova
Yujun Qin
Daria Solak
Carly Gledhill
Matilde Horta
Charlotte Ager
Jenny Boehler
Abner Graboff
Gianluca Maruotti
Isabel Roxas
An Chen
Keep Growing Together
If you're also working on your portfolio—picture books or otherwise—I know how solitary this work can feel. That's actually why I started hosting free virtual co-working sessions for artists.
It's called Drawing Room—a quiet space on Zoom where illustrators and artists show up to work on their own projects, cameras on, microphones off. No instruction, no critique, just gentle accountability and the energy of creating alongside others. It's free to join, and you can drop in whenever it works for your schedule.