Zoe Ellison
Children's Illustrator
How and why did you decide to pursue illustration as your career?
I knew when I was 17 that I wanted to do art, but I assumed it would be fine art painting as I didn’t really know anything else. When I started my foundation degree in Leeds my tutor showed me her illustration Pinterest board and it completely changed my life. I knew from then on that this was exactly what I wanted to do. I spent my foundation year finding out what type of illustration I liked and did lots of very bad political cartoons, zines and editorial pieces. Once I started my degree I realised that children’s books and food illustration were what I loved.
Where do you currently live and where did you grow up?
I live in South West London, which is the perfect mix between urban and green space. I love having a major capital city on my doorstep, full of culture, art, and diversity. I grew up in a small town in the UK which I found way too quiet, so I imagine I’ll always want to be in a city.
Who or what have been some of your major artistic influences?
I’ve always loved David Hockney and made it my mission to see as many of his exhibitions as possible. Bruegel the Elder is a major influence of mine for drawing crowds, winter scenes, and portraying atmosphere. In terms of children’s books, I love Jane Ray, Shirley Hughes, Laura Carlin and many more.
Describe your working technique and how you came to perfect it.
I start by sketching out a very rough composition on my iPad. I love the freedom to change canvas size and redo things. Once I’m happy with the sketch, I paint the first layer of the illustration using gouache, watercolour and ink. I then add details using pencils, markers, and more paint. I usually draw my characters separately and digitally collage the two together as I’m often very indecisive with characters poses and facial expressions. I then add any final details on my iPad but I make sure not to fixate on editing out any mistakes as I love the happy accidents that traditional materials can make.
What is your favourite medium to work with and why?
I love coloured pencils, specifically Faber Castel Polychromos and Caran Dache Luminance. They have such great pigmentation and are perfect for when I’m out drawing in my sketchbook.
What would you say is a distinguishing feature of your artwork?
I think my colour palettes are quite instantly recognisable, and I also like my work to be slightly wonky and imperfect. I think I’d describe it as grounded in reality, but with bright colours and wobbly lines that make it a little bit more magical than the real world.
Outline your dream project.
I’d love a book project where I can draw lots of busy, atmospheric scenes, full of hidden detail and a sense of wonder, ideally set somewhere cold and wintery as I also adore drawing snow.
What advice would you offer someone just starting out as a children’s illustrator?
Read picture books and draw something every day and challenge yourself to illustrate images you find hard. You’ll never improve if you stay in your comfort zone.
Do you have a favourite soundtrack you listen to when you’re working?
I have a 12-hour long ‘work’ playlist that keeps growing—currently on it is Bruce Springsteen, Marvin Gaye, Air, Sigúr Ros, De La Soul, The Strokes, The Cinematic Orchestra, Nina Simone and more.
What’s the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you?
You’ll always be able to tell your work was made by you so you’ll never fully be awed by it. That totally changed my way of thinking.
Animals feature heavily in children’s books – do you have a pet?
I have a cat called Rocky, who we adopted in February 2025. He’s hilarious and I love drawing his very strange poses. I’m currently writing a children’s book about my first cat, Bubble, who made me an animal lover.
