Mara Okonkwo

Profile

Senior Illustrator with 9 years of experience producing editorial, publishing, and brand illustration for national clients. Specializes in character design and narrative visual storytelling across print and digital media. Delivered artwork for 3 New York Times bestselling book covers and reduced client revision cycles by 40% through structured concept-presentation workflows.

Work Experience

Senior IllustratorMar 2019 - Present

Inkwell Creative Studio, Portland, OR

Concepted and executed 60+ editorial illustrations annually for magazine clients including a 1.2M-circulation lifestyle publication, maintaining a 98% on-time delivery rate across 4 years.
Designed a 12-character cast and 200+ asset library for a children's book series that sold 85,000 copies in its first year, earning a starred review in Publishers Weekly.
Mentored 2 junior illustrators, introducing a shared asset-management system in Adobe Bridge that cut file retrieval time by 35% and standardized studio handoff protocols.

IllustratorJun 2016 - Feb 2019

Brightfield Publishing, Seattle, WA

Produced cover and interior illustrations for 18 middle-grade novels over 3 years, contributing to a line that generated $4.2M in annual retail sales.
Collaborated with art directors to develop a new visual identity for a rebranded imprint, creating 30 style-guide assets adopted across 11 titles in the first season.
Reduced turnaround time on sketch-to-final deliverables from 14 days to 9 days by building reusable Procreate brush sets and templated comp layouts.

Freelance IllustratorAug 2014 - May 2016

Self-Employed, Remote

Served 22 clients across editorial, packaging, and apparel sectors, generating $78,000 in revenue over 22 months with a 94% client-return rate.
Created a 40-piece pattern collection licensed to a national stationery brand, appearing in 600+ Target and Barnes & Noble locations nationwide.
Built and launched a portfolio site that averaged 3,200 monthly unique visitors within 6 months, driving 70% of new inbound client inquiries organically.

Skills

Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop · Procreate (iPad Pro) · Character & figure design · Editorial & book cover illustration · Typography & lettering · Color theory & palette development · Adobe InDesign (layout collaboration) · Clip Studio Paint · Licensing & rights negotiation

Profile

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