Fantasy Watercolor Animal Illustrations

I’m looking for an illustrator to complete a roughly 28 page children’s picture book featuring an established character, a construction paper Square Duck i made as an art project in Kindergarden. The manuscript, character design, visual direction, and several reference images are already complete.

The style combines warm, classic painted picture-book environments (gouache/watercolor feel) with Square Duck rendered as a tangible handmade construction-paper character. He has an irregular torn yellow-paper body, simple pencil-drawn eyes, folded orange-red paper beak/feet, subtle paper fiber, and minimal creasing — not heavily wrinkled or crumpled paper.

I need someone who can maintain strong character consistency across poses and pages, work closely from existing reference art, and create polished, print-ready illustrations without redesigning the established character.

Experience with children’s books, mixed-media/collage aesthetics, and consistent recurring characters is strongly preferred.

Key Requirements:
- Theme: Children's story book
- Characters: Animals

Ideal skills:
- Proficiency in watercolor techniques
- Experience with children's book illustrations
- Creativity in designing fantasy animal characters

Please provide a portfolio showcasing relevant work.