I’m Emma L Kurran.

Emma L Kurran, digital children's fantasy illustrator. A woman with shoulder-length dark hair, wearing round glasses, hoop earrings, and a green shirt, smiling against a light-coloured background.

You can contact me directly at emmalkurran@gmail.com or use the contact form below

I’m a nature inspired illustrator with a passion for bringing stories to life. I specialise in children’s book illustration, character design, and digital storytelling, turning ideas into engaging visual worlds that resonate with readers. I love designing expressive characters, crafting captivating book covers, and translating narratives into images that spark imagination.

My toolkit includes Adobe Photoshop, Affinity, Rebelle, and 2D animation techniques, and I bring additional experience from my time in technical animation in VFX. I thrive at the intersection of artistic vision and technical precision, and I enjoy sharing my perspective as a public speaker and panellist, particularly on the topics of female autism awareness and creative expression.

2016

Working as a Technical Animator in film.

Had spent 6 months animating windy grass.

Commuting in London every day.

Constantly overloaded from masking at work.

Not functioning.

Not drawing any more.

Now

Illustrated several books.

Selling illustrations online.

Working from home, flexibility!

Baking again.

Functioning, thriving.

Enjoying using my sketchbooks again.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • I am a digital illustrator. All of my ideas start as a pencil sketch on paper. I then photograph my sketches and move over to my computer. I work in Rebelle, Photoshop and Affinity.

  • I studied Fine Art, English Literature and Theatre Studies at Reigate College.

    I then went to Staffordshire University in Stoke-on-Trent to study 3D Character Animation and Special Effects.

    I’m also a student of The Good Ship Illustration having taken their Illustration Business and Find Your Creative Voice (Freak Flag) Courses.

  • I grew up obsessively reading every book I could get my hands on, with mythology and traditional fairy tales being two of the genres that truly feed and inspire my creative soul. This deep love of storytelling guided my educational path, leading me to study Fine Art and Theatre Studies.

    Following that, I pursued a specialised degree at Staffordshire University in 3D Character Animation and Special Effects to enhance my technical skills and artistic vision.

    After animating for 10 years, I began drawing again, then started selling my illustrations online. Eventually this led me to illustrate children’s books.

  • Now I am a 2D animator, previously I animated in 3D using Maya.

    I was a Generalist for several years before I focused on Technical Animation within the VFX industry, which gave me the opportunity to contribute to some truly incredible films.

    My work involved everything from fixing intricate intersections on living branches, such as those seen in Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), to creating lifelike wind-blown grasslands, animating the subtle jiggle of a bear’s bottom, and capturing the natural squish and stretch dynamics of snake skin in The Jungle Book (2016). 

    If you want to see what I did, check out my VFX reels on Vimeo.

  • As an autistic woman, I am proud to have actively participated in several panels, podcasts, and radio shows that discuss various aspects of autism. Most of the discussions I engage in focus specifically on the experiences and challenges faced by autistic women.

    Since 2018, I have spoken annually for MSc Clinical Neurodevelopmental Sciences at the IoPPN, King’s College London. I have been a guest on Listening Matters with Stephen Kearney and Maria Holynski on Waterwaves Radio discussing autistic women and autism and employment. In March 2021, I was a panellist on The Late Diagnosis of Autistic Women: An Open Panel Discussion held by Clinical Partners. And I was also a guest on OT & Chill: Autism series 5, episode 21: Autism and Women by Kwaku Agyemang with Hannah Haywood.

Let’s work together.

Interested in working together? Fill out some info and I will be in touch shortly! I can't wait to hear from you!