Narrative - My Process - Illustrations 1 & 2

After some experimentation into different mediums and executions, I have settled into a process that not only achieves the effect I am after, but it comes naturally to me and I feel able to produce work to a good quality.

Earlier in the module I looked at the processes of another illustrator and took on board the tips and the possible pit-falls an illustrator might stumble across when trying to translate the written word into an image befitting of the literature.

During my experimentation phase I done a lot of digital work, completing 'The Battle of Cowshed' scene using nothing but computer software and a Wacom Cintq. The ability to draw directly onto this piece of hardware makes illustrating easier and smoother than simply operating a mouse, however, despite the illusion of 'hand-drawn' the effect is still very digitised and the hand-drawn quality you would get in a rough sketch on paper, is some how lost. The lines of a digital hand-drawn image are very clean and smooth, even with brush effects and different settings for the tools available through the software. It was for this reason I decided to revert to a more traditional method of creating the line work, as evident in the above image.

The wealth of the farm started life as a very rough sketch, done with graphite initially before being touched up and enhanced by the use of a fine liner. Cross hatching was added to create more depth in the form of shadows and pointillism became very useful when adding texture and depth to the potatoes. Over-all I was extremely pleased with the finished sketch and immediately saw the benefits of using this as the basis for the line work for my finished pieces.

After scanning in the image and with very few alterations to the line quality, I added a warm base shade. I chose this particular colour as it was a happy middle ground between the white of the page and the a red I already had in mind for the background. It also gave the paper itself an 'aged feel' and took away the starkness that a pure white would have had. As my work is based on Russian revolutionary art, with a lot of that art almost one-hundred years old, I felt that adding this duller colour helped to bridge that connection further.

The red I chose is very dark, but I feel this gives it a striking impact and really draws the eye to the focal point of the image, which is the produce. Because the red background colour doesn't quite encompass the entirety of the image, it makes it look as though the sacks of flour and potatoes are popping out. The addition of some shadows, done using a slightly darker shade of the base colour, and the effect is complete.

This illustration is to be a relatively small vignette, taking up maybe half of a page. It is to communicate the 'Wealth of the Farm' after the animals start to run it for themselves and denotes a successful harvest. 

The next sketch was done during my research phase, as I was trying to think on how to incorporate a connection of the Russian Orthodox church to the Raven itself. After looking at the Orthodox cross and other symbols associated with the establishment, I was struck with an idea for at least one scene.


The Russian Orthodox cross is shaped just like the figure to the right. After doodling this shape into my character research sketchbook, I realised that if the image was rotated ninety-degrees to the left, that it looked a lot like a broken fence. With this in mind, I drew the sketch (right).

The cross had now become a very believable, dilapidated fence, which serves to communicate one obvious observation, that the farm itself is in a state of disrepair because of the neglect by the human owner, something Orwell mentions in the book itself. Another, less obvious visual clue, is the fence itself. Some people may perhaps look at the above image and only see a fence, while those who are more aware of the characters symbolism, might see the Orthodox cross. Finally there is the mountain backdrop, that frames the character of Moses as he sits atop his perch, this is of course a reference to the 'sugar-candy mountain' that he is preaching about to the other animals.

With the design finalised, all that was left to do was to refine the design of the raven. I looked at different sources of inspiration for the design of the character, using primary and secondary sources. It was easy to spot large black birds around my own home, but for more detailed and focused studies, I used Google images and bird books. To the left is a page from my sketchbook, which includes the pose I had settled on for the final version of this scene.

I altered the face, making it less like it had been drawn from life and more like a character. I done this because I wanted his expression to communicate a hidden sinister motive. His brow is furrowed, almost like his is angry, while the eyes themselves are indistinguishable, making his motives even more mysterious and self-serving.

The perspective of the reader is also done in such as way as to communicate the characters pompous importance. The eye is drawn upwards to where Moses is perched and the mountain behind, frames his small form. He also appears to sneer with mild contempt at something off camera, below him. 

As before, I scanned the sketch into the computer and used photoshop to add the bold colours, limiting the palette once more to a dark red and the two pale beige shades for the back ground and the mountain.

Because Moses is primarily black, I added a grey to create highlights, this was preferable to a white which was to stark and make it very difficult to look at.

The fence was treated in a similar fashion, adopting similar shades of red to create light and shadow. This helped to create more depth in an object that looked very flat with just one solid colour.

The mountain, which served as the frame for Moses, was created by cutting out candy-cane shaped images from the mountain, before adding another layer of a slightly darker shade, in the shape of more candy-canes. I done this in an effort to make the mountain itself more interesting, but to also offer a connection to the 'sugar-candy mountain' that Moses himself often preaches about.

This scene serves to re-introduce Moses when he returns to the farm after his initial expulsion. I wanted very much to incorporate the visual clues as to his reason for being in the book and I feel that I have succeeded in doing this. While not completely evil, Moses' motives are self-serving, despite the comfort his sermons bring to the rest of the animals, he is rewarded with food and drink from Napoleon as the dictator recognises the benefits of a placated and hopeful workforce.