Jess Gilliam is a California-based illustrator and artist creating whimsical, character-driven work for children's books, editorial, and licensing. Her style is rooted in handmade craft, childhood nostalgia, and a deep love of animals, vintage treasures, and the strange and playful.

She is currently illustrating her first children’s book written by one of her best friends, Romy Saplicki.

With a background in Visual Communications from FIDM and over a decade leading creative at GIPHY, she brings a design-forward sensibility to every project — whether that's a picture book, a greeting card, or a paper maché puppet.

Her work embraces diverse mediums including recycled paper, fabric, clay, and digital illustration. She is passionate about the spirit of play and the joy of making things by hand.

She loves drawing your dog, perusing party supply stores, finding vintage & possibly haunted anthropomorphic objects, puppets, and her favorite day of the year is Halloween.

Available for: children's book illustration · editorial · licensing · commissions · workshops

For inquiries, reach her at hellojessgilliam@gmail.com.