Illustration & Design
Kimberly Ratliff Artist & Children's Book Illustrator
Illustration & Design
Stories brought to life through expressive characters, everyday wonder, and the warmth of family.
Children's book illustration by Kimberly Ratliff.
Children's book illustration
Featured story scene
Seoul Finds Her Talent
Seoul is a little Korean-American girl who lives with her mom (Uma), dad, grandmother (Halmony), and her pug named Kim-Chi. She is invited to show off her talent in a neighborhood talent show. Seoul is not sure what a talent is or if she has a talent. She visits her friends to see what their talents are and becomes disappointment to learn she is not good at any of their talents. Will she find her talent in time for the show? Can her Halmony help her find somethings very special she has learned? Sprinkled throughout the book are some Korean words and culture shared with the readers with a glossary appended.
llustration by Kimberly Ratliff
A moment between characters
Seoul Finds Her Talent
Personality on the page
From the sketchbook Character studies & pencil explorations Getting to know a character:
How a story takes shape
Some GIF work:
Pencil:
AAPI:
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L.L.L:
A little about me
I'm Kimberly Ratliff, a Korean-American artist and children's book author-illustrator based on Oahu. My work draws on family, heritage, and the everyday moments that become meaningful stories.
I wrote and illustrated Seoul Finds Her Talent and am developing Brave Like Halmony.
Co-illustrated Aloha Almighty Alrighty with Akiko White, written by Dawn O'Brien
Have a story in mind?
For children's book illustration inquiries and creative collaborations, get in touch.