Zoe Balogun, illustrating emotion with heart and purpose

Zoe Balogun is a London-born illustrator raised in Kent, UK, whose playful and expressive work is created primarily in Procreate. She specialises in character-driven illustration, focusing on emotive faces, dynamic poses, and lively interactions. With a background in psychology and an MA in Children’s Book Illustration and Graphic Novels (2023), she brings a strong interest in emotion, mental health, and neurodiversity to her storytelling, often exploring themes of bravery, adventure, and friendship. Her process begins with character-led sketches and early colour exploration to shape mood and composition. Zoe is inspired by humorous, character-led stories across books, TV, and film, as well as travel, and her Christian faith remains central to her creative practice.

Let’s find out more about Zoe, where she finds her inspiration, how her process works, and more:

What would you say is your best piece of work or collaboration to date, and why?

I’d say my best recent piece is a middle grade mock book cover set in Ancient Egypt. It’s a time-travel story concept and I really enjoyed incorporating a portal into the cover (not a real one unfortunately — that would’ve been awesome). I love the vibrant colours, I think they capture the liveliness of the scene, and the movement of the characters is great too. Most of all, I’m pleased with how much storytelling I achieved in this cover. It’s a piece I’m very proud of.

Where do you like to go to be inspired, or how do you find your inspiration?

I get inspiration from changing my work environment. One thing I love about my job is how portable it is. I can work from pretty much anywhere and I try to use that to my advantage. Drawing in new places helps me get unstuck creatively. It’s very refreshing. The new surroundings open up my mind to explore new ideas, or old ideas with fresh eyes. I always create my most imaginative, unexpected sketches in these times, with the new perspective that a new place gives me.

Is there anything you'd be a good advocate for?

I’m a big advocate for educational illustration. I’d love to be part of projects where I can create illustrations that are visual aids for learning, especially in STEM. Drawings and diagrams always helped me understand things better in school, particularly science, and I’d love for my work to help kids engage with these topics inside and outside of school in a fun way that sparks their curiosity. I’m also an advocate for stories that promote messages of hope, healing, and triumph. I’m a Christian, and I have found so much of these things through my faith. It’s important to me to share that in my work with the hope that it will impact others positively too.

What would you say sets you apart from other illustrators? Something you feel is unique to you.

My background in psychology adds another dimension to my work as an illustrator. Generally, it directs my focus to character emotion and helps me hone in on the nuances of expressions and poses which can give a clue about a character’s inner world. More specifically, when it comes to psychological projects, such as books about mental health and neurodiversity, it helps having some knowledge on these topics on top of having a passion for them. It motivates me to strive for accuracy, and create the best work I can :)

If you have done paid commissions prior to joining the agency, what would you say is something that clients repeatedly come to you for (up to now)?

Clients enjoy my personable characters and use of bright vibrant colours to bring scenes and stories to life.

How would you describe your style?

My style is playful, expressive, and character driven. I put a lot of emphasis on characters’ movements and I exaggerate their poses and facial expressions a little because I think it makes them more engaging and helps to get across their personality and how they are feeling, which is quite appealing in kids books. I also try to include something funny in my illustrations, whether it’s an animal off to the side reacting to the main characters by pulling a funny face, or an unexpected prop that creates a funny twist in the scene. I like to laugh, and having humour in my illustrations keeps things lighthearted and is one of the ways I spread joy with my work.

Please give a scenario of a project that would mean the world to you, if you were offered it — something meaningful to you.

A series of middle grade adventure book covers would be a dream to work on. Even better if the story has themes of bravery and friendship. I love these themes in children’s books, they always appeared in my favourite books growing up. They say don’t judge a book by its cover but I have certainly loved books even more because of their wonderful covers. I think a book cover is a delightful challenge and I would love to create ones that intrigue people to turn the page and begin a new story.

Are you working on any personal projects you can share with us?

In my sketchbook I’ve been doing more drawings using soft pastel and acrylic marker pens. It’s fun and a little challenging drawing portraits and household objects in a medium that I’m not that familiar with. I’m enjoying it.

Finally, if you were to illustrate a book related to a real life person, who would that be?

I’d enjoy illustrating a book on the Williams sisters — Venus and Serena, and their incredible tennis careers. I am a huge tennis fan, and I’d have the best time ever drawing Venus’ iconic beaded braids.

If you’d like more info, please contact [email protected]

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