Cirrus@Austlit

Donna Rawlins spent her formative years in Melbourne, Victoria, and has worked as an illustrator, author, designer and editor. Rawlins began her career somewhere between photography, printing and publishing, then worked for Thomas Nelson as an illustrator and designer. From 1983 to 1984 she lectured in Graphic Design at Chisholm Institute. In 1984 she set up her own freelance business as an illustrator, designer and packager. Although she had been publishing education texts for some time, the success of her trade picture books The Kinder Hat and Tucking Mummy In (both written by Morag Loh) led to Scholastic appointing her to edit her own list for them. Noted for researching the factual accuracy of her illustrations, Rawlins has often featured rich background detail in her work.

Rawlins has worked as an art teacher and has nurtured other artists including Wayne Harris, with whom she has collaborated in setting up the design studio Monkeyfish. Together, they also established a children's book illustration course at the University of Sydney, which has been attended by artists such as Emma Quay.

Rawlins has lived in Sydney, New South Wales and in the Lower Blue Mountains, outside of Sydney. She has co-illustrated with her husband David Francis.