Illustrator Spotlight: Kathryn Kindig

© Kathryn Kindig

 May 1, 2026

It's the first of the month so we are excited to feature illustrator Kathryn Kindig and her banner design for May. Welcome, Kathryn!

Tell us about yourself and how you came to illustrate for children.

 

Hi there! My name is Kathryn (Kat) Kindig. I entered the corporate world right out of college and would constantly crave a creative outlet. I would find personal projects like customizing our own Christmas card or birthday cards for friends/family. It wasn’t until my son was born that I started to create a picture book for his birthday each year based on his interests at the time or something funny he said. I really enjoyed the illustrating and story writing process so I began to create stories that could be applicable to all children.

© Kathryn Kindig

 

Congrats on your banner design. How did you approach this project?

I was on maternity leave after my daughter was born and saw this banner contest. I entered entirely on a sleep deprived whim. I knew I wanted to pay homage to the original birds on a line and thought it might be fun if the birds were spelling out “KidLit” as they sat there. I played around with adding extra detail to the birds but I kept coming back to my initial design (the one submitted) because I enjoyed the simplicity of it. It’s sometimes so hard to put the digital pencil down!

© Kathryn Kindig

 

What is your preferred medium and style for illustration?

Although I’ve always enjoyed doodling with the classic paper and pencil, I prefer digital art for creating picture books. I’m currently using Adobe Illustrator on iPad. My style, I’ve been told, is very kid friendly. I prefer vibrant colors and shapely characters. I do gravitate towards animals since that’s what I’ve drawn since I was a kid.

© Kathryn Kindig

 

What projects are you working on now?

I have a couple picture books that I’ve author-illustrated and I’m focused on getting them polished so I can start the submission process (eek!).

© Kathryn Kindig

 

What is one thing most people don't know about you?

I didn’t realize that creating picture books for children was a dream of mine until the past year so there are very few people who know that…until now! 

© Kathryn Kindig

 

Where can people find you online?

I have a website at kathrynkindig.wixsite.com/kathrynkindig

 

Kathryn Kindig, her husband, Kurt, and 2 kids live in Columbus, Ohio. She is a new author-illustrator and is currently working on getting a few picture book dummies polished in order to begin the submission process.