Narrative Illustration - Points to Consider

The main aim of an illustrator is to represent, interpret and heighten the meaning of a selected text with pictures. These images should be complimentary and aim to contribute to the readers appreciation of the story.

Consideration needs to be made towards settings, time, nature, character and the action that's takes place in the story.

Ideas

Illustrations work alongside the text to communicate ideas such as;

• The visual form of something that can not be described in words
• Complement the words
• Inform, persuade or warn of danger
• Celebrate beauty or emphasize ugliness
• Amuse, delight and move people
• New visual language or realization of an existing visual language

Text

One of the first things an illustrator must do is the interpretation of the text. Having read the story, the illustrator identifies things such as;

• Description of characters
• Identifying features
• Passages of text that can be selected to illustrate
• Story spikes
• Action scenes
• Moments of calm/reflection

Mood and Atmosphere

The illustrator must use every tool at their disposal to reflect the tone of the narrative, by identifying the appropriate sense of mood and atmosphere from its content. They should use techniques such as;

• Perspective can add drama or bring the reader back from the action
• Light source. A limited light source can cast dramatic shadows and create a tense atmosphere. Plenty of light can create a soft, welcoming glow, communicating safety
• Light levels can also indicate time of day, weather or season
• Location and the appropriate visual representation are vital to draw the reader in. A dessert is hot, therefore warm colours must be used, unless its a dessert at night, in which case cool colours are vital to communicate the coolness
• Line quality can communicate whether something like water is soft and flowing, or if rocks are sharp and jagged

Pictorial Composition

The composition of the scene is also vital to communicate elements not realised in the text and to relate the ideas and vision of the illustrator. 

• Which compositional approach best serves the idea?
• How the elements of the composition relate to one another in terms of size, for example; a barn will always be bigger than the animals who reside in it, but a severe angle on the perspective, or the distance between these things can change this rule.

A good example of perspective. The man directly in front of the viewer is much bigger compared to the second figure seated to the left, but if they were to stand side by side on the same plane, there would be very little difference in their size. 

• Emphasis or understatement can be given to certain elements by using heavy or light to light quality
• Stressing dynamic rhythm or passive qualities of environmental influences. For example; the weather. The winds effects on the characters and what they might be wearing or their hair. Likewise its effects on the scene around the character. A gentle breeze effects will shift the leafs while a gale might bend the trees themselves.

Narrative Illustration - Early Character Deveolpment.

From children's, animals or adult books, the characters are at the heart of the story and it is important that they are portrayed in a way that is both unique and interesting. Another factor to consider when designing the characters is the personality types. Who are they? What are their motives? Likes, dislikes? Rich, poor? Happy, grumpy? Positive, negative? Hero or antagonist? All of these factors need to be identified and incorporated into the characters in question.

Each trait identified can be portrayed into the character design, by using a variety of line qualities as well as colour and tone. If the character is quite round, then the line quality will be curved and bold. Where as a thinner character might have straighter, thinner lines with a more defined edge.



Concept art for a thin, curious character Proog, from Elephants Dream
https://orange.blender.org/blog/character-design/

Exaggerating certain features can also help to emphasize the characters personality. Large, soulful eyes might indicate a gentle soul. A long pointed nose could be an indication of someone who is curious about matters that do not concern them, a 'nosey neighbor'. Small, beady eyes gives the impression of a mistrustful character or someone who is hiding a secret and being evasive. All these quirks can go a long way to communicating the characters personality and help the reader to relate more to them.

Facial expressions too can help the reader to identify the characters personality as the face is the first feature the readers eyes are drawn too, everything else about the character simply reinforces what the reader assumes about the character in that first look.

Other factors, such as colour and tone can also help to indicate an aspect of the characters personality. Dark or dirty colours giving an unkempt appearance could suggest someone who doesn't wash or doesn't have the facilities with which to wash. So this could be personal choice (because the character doesn't care about personal hygiene) or lack of a choice (the character is poor and has no access to bathroom facilities). To help determine which is actually true, the reader needs other cues, such as whether they are happy or sad about their situation? Where they live? So to avoid confusing the reader and to ensure that the character is represented the correct way, the illustrator needs to consider many factors about the characters personality present within the narrative text of the book they are working from.

This is the reason the first thing I done once reading Animal Farm, was to research each of the characters, their personalities, what/who they represent and the symbolic meaning of their actions.



This is one of the first concept pieces I done for the character Napoleon. The two pictures have been done with different line qualities. The one on the left has been done with a much bolder line and I feel this represents his larger frame better than the picture on the right, which has been done with a much finer mark.

Napoleon is one of the main characters from Animal Farm. He is the one who assumes leadership of the farm after his trained dogs chase Snowball away. From that moment on, Napoleon evolves into a much more ruthless character as he selfishly hordes food for himself and those other pigs supporting his regime, while the other animals (who he considers second class) are starved and worked to the point of death. He goes from being a selfish pig, to emulating human behavior and privilege.

I have tried to capture his subversive nature in the way he is looking out from small eyes, narrowed by a brow lowered in suspicion since he is very mistrustful of others. The moisture on his snout is there as an undesirable feature, to make him repulsive. Another repugnant gesture is the pose itself. He is seated like a human would be, with his left front trotter (or hand) hidden by his hind leg, towards his genitals which are on show just below.

Over-all I am pleased with how this has turned out but I feel more development is needed for this complex character and I will continue to experiment until Napoleon is fully realized. 

Narative Illustration - Revolutionary Art

Animal Farm is based on the rise of Communism in Russia and the corruption of the ideal that follows. Propaganda played a huge role in one mans rise to power and his ability to hold on to it.

There is a lot of reference material to draw upon and it is all quite impressive.

These are some examples from the very beginnings of the Russian revolution, when the people drove out Tsar Nickolas II and the became a socialist state. The posters created are very colourful and some are in the abstract. They operate with a limited colour palate but that's what makes them so striking and eye-catching.




Cover for a photomontage book, by Sergei Chekhonin



"Workers of the World Unite!"
Gouache on paper, Artist unknown



Socialist revolutionary poster designed by Lev Brodoty 1917



Cover to Ogonyek, designed by Olga Amosova 1923

I would like to incorporate some of these styles into my work, a blending of the fictitious Animal Farm with the actual history that inspired it.

I have not yet fully realized my character designs, but now I have identified a style I can base the work around, I will now try to incorporate these 'Avant Garde' posters and illustrations into my own work.

Even the composition of some of these pieces might actually serve as a template for the animals in the book.

Narrative Illustration - Process Research

Now that I have read the book and have an understanding of at least some of the work, I now need to think about how I am going to illustrate the scenes. To gain a better understanding of the process, I am going to be looking at established artists and the processes they use to achieve their finished designs.

Dan Yaccarino

Dan was born in Montclair NJ, and attended Otis-Parson school of design and graduated from Parsons school of design. He had worked freelance and for a number of publishers, his freelance clients include, New York Times, Rolling Stones, Business Week, The Boston Globe and many more.

He has illustrated a number of childrens books as well as writing his own. Titles include Big Brother Mike, Bam, Bam, Bam, One hole in the Road and Goodnight Mr. Night.

He has taught at Parsons school of Visual Arts and Montclair State College and exhibited work in a number of shows including a one man show at the Dance Theatre Workshop Gallery.

Dan has won a number of awards for his work, including Communication Arts, American Illustration, How International Design Annual, Society of Illustrators and Studio Magazine.

Dan Yaccarino



 

Dan Yaccarino - Process

 

 



• Interpretation of the script. He does this by breaking the story into pieces, identifying the 'peaks' of the story and the relationship between the illustrations and the text.

• Sketching and Thumbnails. All sketching and rough work is done using 'inconsequential paper'. This being cheap and if mistakes are made, the work can be discarded without any care for the materials lost. Ideas begin here and its important to keep energy levels and enthusiasm high.
• Colour palate is kept simple.
• Using one large piece of paper, Dan blocks out the 32 pages deciding what goes where, working out the rhythm of single and full page spreads.
• Once this page is done,it can be cut up and rearranged.

• Here Dan is playing with several different fonts, trying to decide which one to use.

 

• The pages of the book are then printed on Xerox paper and cut up. Here Dan then plays around with the composition of each page, altering the layout until he is happy with the look and flow.
• This 'dummy book' is then presented to the editor and art director who look at each page and feed back any changes they feel need to be made.
• Once everything is approved, Dan can then start to create the finally illustrations. This is when he uses the more expensive Arches 300-pound cold press paper which comes in 30-40inch sheets. He cuts these down to 11-15inch pages, which is the size of the book.

•  Sketching is done using a very light pencil and colour is applied.
• To finish, Dan uses a gentle gum eraser to eliminate any unnecessary guide lines or pencil marks. Each page taking roughly 1-2hours.
• If any thing needs changing at this stage, a whole page would need to be redone. 

Patrice Barton - Sweet Moon Baby

 

 

 



Sweet Moon Baby is an adoption story, written by Karen Henry Clarke and illustrated by Patrice Barton.

Patrice has such a beautiful, loose style when it comes to sketching which is still present in the final images. It's dream-like and wistful. She starts off very loose and rough drawings and builds up over and around them with tracing paper.

She too uses thumbnails and partial pieces to develop the layout and composition. The colour palate is bright and vibrant in the finished illustrations, but the work she shows to the editor for confirmation are black and white but still have a lot of depth and tone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxn6fJms_JM

The above link is a short video in which Patrice explains her process and shows off some of the beautiful sketches as well as the finished book.