Yearbook Illustrations in Watercolor for Novel

I'm seeking a talented artist to illustrate 8 characters for an upcoming prequel to my current novels—Blindsighted and Blindsighted, Part 2. The illustrations are currently planned to be used as yearbook photos of the characters as they would be in 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th grades. Looking to start with estimates for full figure illustrations and for just headshot profile illustrations.

Deliverables:
- 8 characters x 4 ages each = 32 character images
- Final assets as either editable vectors or 300 dpi (min) hi-res images

Requirements:
- No generative AI
- Ability to depict various emotions
- Ability to convey aging of the characters over 4 years (ages 14 to 17)
- For the illustrations to feel similar to those of the book covers for Blindsighted & Blindsighted, Part 2

Ideal Skills & Experience:
- Strong portfolio in character illustration
- Experience in watercolor and painting texturing (digital is fine; real paint would be awesome)
- Previous work with emotive character illustration
- Attention to detail and creativity

Please provide samples of similar work. Looking forward to your bids!

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DESIGN DIRECTION

I've included design direction based off of the existing Blindsighted book covers. The finished illustrations don't need to exactly match them but would like them to feel similar to the aesthetic.

Desired Aesthetic:
Contemporary YA romantic graphic-novel illustration with modern animation-inspired character design and a richly textured watercolor finish.

Aesthetic References:
Visual vocabulary of sophisticated 2D animated productions such as The Legend of Korra and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, combined with the romantic expressiveness of Heartstopper and the painterly texturing associated with Arcane. These are broad visual references, not styles to reproduce exactly. Please check out the book covers for the novels Blindsighted and Blindsighted 2 at [login to view URL] as a base to align to.

Character design:
Youthful, attractive, semi-realistic characters with believable anatomy, appealing facial proportions, expressive eyes, and natural, emotionally engaging facial expressions. Distinguish each character through individual features, body shape, hairstyle, and posture.

Hair:
Stylized, voluminous hairstyles with dramatic directional highlights and simplified interior shadows.

Skin and anatomy:
Render using broad planes of warm color, geometric highlights, and painterly shadows. Maintain natural anatomical proportions while simplifying fine detail. Avoid photorealistic skin or excessive muscular definition.

Linework:
Minimal to no lines. Confident, clean contours with selective heavier outlines for darkest shadow areas, primarily in deep purple, navy, or dark complementary tones. Interior details should be simple but expressive.

Color:
Base colors include saturated pinks, magentas, deep purples, turquoise, teal, coral, amber, and lavender. Use warm skin tones contrasted with cool-toned shadows and energetic background colors.

Texture:
If color shapes are not watercolor themselves, explore a blend of solid graphic shapes with layered watercolor washes, occasional splatters, and subtle painterly grain. The final work should have a handcrafted editorial-illustration quality.

Lighting:
Vibrant, cinematic, and emotionally warm. Favor reflected color and appealing rim highlights over harsh photographic realism.

Emotional tone:
Romantic, youthful, playful, affectionate, adventurous, optimistic, and sophisticated. Characters should communicate believable personalities through facial expressions and body language.

Consistency:
All characters must appear to inhabit the same illustrated world. Reference the Blindsighted covers' level of anatomical stylization, facial rendering, painterly texture, shadow treatment, saturation, and line quality.

Avoid:
Photorealism, plastic-looking 3D animation, generic anime faces, exaggerated Disney-style eyes, overly childish cartoon proportions, excessively smooth digital painting, hard cel-shading without texture, and overly detailed realistic anatomy.

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CHARACTER DETAILS

Characters attend a (fictional) private school in Nashville, TN, USA called Penderton. All characters wear a school uniform of a navy blazer with a crest on their jacket and wear a tie. The girls wear a plaid skirt while the boys have navy trousers. School uniform tie colors are the same blue & white plaid for 9th, 10th, and 11th grade. The 8th grade ties are solid light blue. For some additional context, the school's mascot is a gryphon with the primary school colors being navy and white.

Looking for 4 poses for each character, one for each age of 14, 15, 16, and 17 in the school uniform.

1. Neil Erickson:
Italian-American with dark wavy hair, light olive skin, and green eyes. He's smart, studious, and sweet in nature. He looks like a little adult in the 8th grade and only gets taller from there. Generally standard thin-to-fit body throughout the grades. (actor inspiration: Francesco Gheghi)

2. Cade Riley:
The star athlete type that starts out thin-fit & lanky and grows noticeably more muscular by 11th grade. Tall with brown/blonde hair and blue eyes. Confident, playful, cocky, boisterous, but kind-hearted. (actor inspiration: Jace Norman)

3. Jenna Frist:
Medium brown wavy hair, beautiful, smart, and a best friend look. She tends to be a bit of the "mother" type in the friend group, everyone likes her, but she can get a little controlling. Grows from a young girl to a shapely female figure (actor inspiration: Britney Murphy or Ariel Winter in Modern Family).

4. Mads Chandler:
Light brown hair with blueish-violet eyes and a sharp wit. She dresses with an edge outside of her school uniform. Her dad is Australian with some Aboriginal heritage. (Kat Dennings/Anna Farris)

5. Sophie McCallister:
A blonde trans-girl with green eyes and a beautiful smile, yet a little bit of a mystery to her look. Very quiet when young, but grows in beauty & confidence. She's less put together when younger but always very feminine. (actor inspiration: Hunter Schaffer from Euphoria)

6. Kip Wendell:
An African-American with short, blonde dreads. He has a high sense of style and pushes the boundaries of his uniform, sometimes adding an orange fur collar to his navy school blazer. Lots of dramatic looks from Kip. (actor inspiration: Billy Porter's personality, looks similar to actor Miles Gutierrez-Riley)

7. AJ Collins:
A tall with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He's a longtime soccer player, aggressive on the field, but a chill & relaxed guy with everyone. (actor inspiration: A young Channing Tatum)

8. Savannah Holt:
She has long blond hair and blue eyes. A pageant girl who actually was never in pageants. She's a cheerleader but with a stoic personality. Always poised and statuesque. She's well-liked and popular, but she doesn't know why because she doesn't really know herself. (actor inspiration: Madison Iseman)

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