Anastasia Yustus is a children’s book illustrator based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Working traditionally with watercolour, she creates beautiful, atmospheric illustrations filled with warmth and a touch of magic. Through the Creative Launch Programme and Helen Biles Studio outreach, Anastasia Yustus secured a publishing commission to illustrate Cloud Lovers by Alena Letscher, published by Weltentdecker Verlag. Cloud Lovers is a sensitive and beautifully told picture book about sa

Stefanija is an author-illustrator based in Barcelona. She began her career as a costume and production designer for theatre and film before moving into illustration full-time. She has now illustrated eight published books and works across mixed media, combining acrylic paint, collage and digital techniques. Stefanija completed both the HBS Mentorship Programme and the Creative Launch Programme, where she continued to develop her portfolio, strengthen her visual voice and pos

“I’m very happy that I decided to start the mentorship with you, Helen. It has been about three months now, and I feel that our meetings, emails and the tasks you give me have helped to reorganise the way I think. This change is happening not only in my head, but also in my working environment — even in my flat. I’m using the space I have for work in a different way. Today, I realised that many of the problems I used to have when composing scenes with multiple figures or land

Katmar originally came to the mentorship creating work rooted in her own culture and it didn’t translate strongly to the UK or US commercial markets. She needed support in understanding what publishers and editorial clients in these regions were looking for, and how to adapt her visual language. During the mentorship, I shared ideas and direction on subjects and styles that would be more aligned with the UK market. Together, we began building a new portfolio that focused on e

Marieme Ba is an illustrator based in London. The main focus of her mentorship was to develop work specifically aimed at editorial clients, and she now has a strong portfolio featuring a broad range of highly conceptual pieces that demonstrate strong storytelling and clear editorial thinking. She has since worked with clients including Foreign Policy, and feedback from her commissioning editor highlighted how smooth and successful the collaboration was. “Brilliant, thank you!

Kate and I first met online—I was based in the UK, and Kate from Belarus. Despite Kate’s talent, she found herself stuck in a cycle of low-paid commissions, often without contracts or proper agreements in place. This left her feeling undervalued, unprotected, and lacking confidence when navigating client relationships. She knew she wasn’t getting the most out of the opportunities coming her way, and more importantly, she felt out of her depth when trying to move forward. Crea

Kyria joined the mentorship at a point where she already had solid experience and an established client base. What she was really looking for was access—connection to larger, more widely recognised publishers—and a way to enhance her work so it could confidently sit within that space and attract well known publishers. A key area we focused on was her use of line. Her illustrations were heavily outlined, which gave them a distinct character, but I felt that reducing the relian