Fantasy Art Illustrator/Graphic Designer

Illustrator Wanted: Hand-Drawn Fantasy Art for "The Fantasy Dictionary" (100% Human-Made Art Only) The Short Version Gehring Publishing is looking for a bold, folklore-inspired illustrator to bring 28–30 original pieces to life for The Fantasy Dictionary — a door-stopper of a reference book (seriously, you could conk a goblin over the head with this thing) built for writers, LARPers, RPG players, and D&D campaign builders who take their worldbuilding seriously. We need a cover, a jacket flap illustration, a contents page ornament, and 25 section header illustrations — one for each topic in the book. If you love scrolls, vines, hand-lettered energy, and art that feels like it was pulled from an old adventurer's grimoire, we want to see your portfolio. This project requires 100% human-drawn/hand-crafted original art. No AI-generated or AI-assisted artwork will be accepted at any stage from sketches, concepts, or finals. About the Book The Fantasy Dictionary is an epic, take-no-prisoners reference guide to the language of fantasy and worldbuilding. It's thick, it's serious, and it's a little bit funny about how serious it is. Our readers are the kind of people who name their swords and know their kingdom's tax policy before they know their character's favorite color; aka writers, tabletop gamers, LARPers, and campaign builders who want their fantasy worlds to feel real. What We Need 1 Cover illustration — the piece that has to stop someone mid-scroll on a bookstore shelf 1 Interior jacket flap illustration 1 Table of Contents ornament (a spot illustration that sets the tone for the whole book) 25 Section header illustrations — one per topic (things like Faith & Devotion, Weapons & Armor, etc.), roughly a third of a page each Total: ~28–30 pieces Style & Mood Think bold, hand-drawn fantasy/folklore — the kind of linework you'd find on an old scroll, a tavern sign, or the margins of a wizard's field notes. We're drawn to: Scrollwork and banner details Botanical and floral flourishes A recurring motif: an acorn wrapped in a climbing vine (pulled from the Gehring Publishing logo), woven into the section headers to tie the whole book together Art that feels warm, a little irreverent, and genuinely joyful to look at — not sterile, not corporate We're open to your creative interpretation of this style — we want art directed by an artist, not a paint-by-numbers job. Technical Specs Pages are 8.5" x 11", full bleed (art runs to the edge of the page, past the bleed line) CMYK color mode required — this is going to print Cover: full color, using Gehring's signature navy, green, and gold palette Interior illustrations (ToC ornament + section headers): grayscale Final files delivered print-ready, high resolution Timeline This is a quick turnaround project — we need final files in hand within a few weeks so the book can move into formatting. (Insert your firm formatting deadline here before posting.) If you know your schedule is tight, we'd rather hear that upfront than mid-project — just be honest about what's realistic for you. Process Concept/sketch approval before final art begins 2 rounds of revisions included per piece Final files delivered as high-res, CMYK, print-ready art Rights This is a work-for-hire arrangement. All final artwork becomes the sole and exclusive property of Gehring Publishing, dedicated only to this project — no reuse, resale, or portfolio-sharing of the final commissioned pieces without prior written permission (we're always happy to chat about crediting you in the book itself, though!). Who We're Looking For Emerging illustrators are absolutely welcome — we care much more about seeing solid, consistent production quality and a clear command of your style than a long list of published credits. Show us work that proves you can deliver a cohesive set of pieces on time and hit a consistent tone across many small illustrations. How to Apply Send us: A link to your portfolio (or a few samples that best match this hand-drawn folklore style) Your estimated timeline for a project of this scope A quick note on how you'd approach the acorn-and-vine motif, we love seeing how people think We're excited to find someone who gets genuinely excited about goblins, grimoires, and gold ink. If that's you, we'd love to hear from you.