If you have a little extra time with regards to gettin the website sorted, why not split it into two jobs.
If you find a freelancer or someone to do the work for you how about getting them to do the illustrations first rather than beginning work. Relieves a portion of your burden and gives you peace of mind after having issues with communication and timescales.
Would offer to give you a helping hand but not sure i could commit any time to it due to my working schedule atm, worked over 60 hours in the past 4 days and i'm unsure if i'll have any major free time over the next few weeks.