Illustrator Laura Bee

Laura Bee started drawing at a super young age, and it was always a hobby. “I tried a tonne of different creative things but I always came back to drawing and I also have always loved design too. I went to uni for design, learnt it wasn’t my thing so I dropped out and made a stubborn decision to become a freelance illustrator no matter what.”

7 years on Laura is known for her incredible people-focussed illustration style, adding details that are a bit irreverent - or even cute, bright or funny. You’ll recognise her work from her hand drawn style, showcased to its absolute best in “It would really help me if you…”

We asked Laura to share insight into how her creative process works…

“If I’m doing a children’s book I always start with a big visual brainstorm to try and capture the characters, the environment and other important info. This is generally quite messy but I have a lot of fun here. After I move on to refining, refining, refining until everyone’s happy and then we have our final!” 

And on the specific illustrations that Laura created for “It would really help me if you…”

“I honestly just had a lot of fun drawing different people doing different things and interacting. Since it’s such an emotionally vulnerable book, I found myself reflecting as I was illustrating too which I’m sure has influenced the illustrations!  I’ve also loved drawing all the funky clothes on the people throughout the book.”

The illustration style has made the flipbook incredibly unique, and showcases the day-to-day stresses of parents in an innately accessible way. Even difficult moments are treated not only honestly, but also delicately.

What’s next for Laura…

“I’ve got some books and things coming up! I’m currently working on a book where the layout and structure of the book is quite different to what I’ve done before, so I’m looking forward to developing my visual ideas further for that!”

If you’d like to work with Laura, get in touch here.