We’ve talked a lot about how we remember the illustrations in our childhood books sometimes more than we do the story. Here, you’ll learn a bit about the history of children’s illustrations and how we go about ‘reading’ them.
Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, `and what is the use of a book,’ thought Alice `without pictures or conversation?’
Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Picture books tell a story through a visual medium. Often with text, but sometimes with only images. When we read a picture book we are reading those images just as we are reading the text. Please watch this short history of children’s illustrations.
You may have seen some images that you recognized in this video. Awards for children’s books include the John Caldecott Medal and the Kate Greenway Medal named for those illustrators.
Fairy Tale Illustration (and response)
As in the video, a lot of the early history of children’s illustrations was tied into fairy tales. Please look through this slide show of illustrations of famous fairy tale illustrators.
Choose two images that stand out to you and in the comments below explain which images you chose and why you chose them.
What two images were you drawn to and why? (comment below)
12 thoughts on “Starting to think about illustration”
I was drawn to Gordon Caite’s illustartions because of the cool color palletes (despite having warm colors) and there’s this sense of “pointy-ness” that I oddly enjoy. I LOVE LOVE the dresses and outfits of the characters, especially the godmother in “Cinderella” and the evil witch/step mom in “Rapunzel”. I was also drawn to Beatrix Potter’s illustrations because of her delicate touch and gentleness of the characters. I love illustrations of animals because it reminds me of Winnie the Pooh. It just hits my soft spot and makes me sad. I realized that alot of my favorite books when I was younger were stories involving animals.
The first picture I was drawn to is the Moon Maiden by Warwick Goble. The peacock feathers just look so delicate and the colors are vibrant but also deep. The whole illustration looks whimsical but still imposing; I could see that the maiden is a figure to be respected. The second picture I was drawn to is The Juniper Tree by Warwick Goble. The bird in this illustration radiates power and light and color and the eye is really drawn to it the second it loads on the page. And then you look around and see this beautiful tree and young woman on the bottom that completes the image.
The first illustration I am drawn to is Anne Anderson’s “The Snow Queen”. What draws me to this image is how small comparatively the character is when compared to the world around her. This is really helpful for seeing what the setting looks like while keeping the character in the image. The second image that really captures my attention is Edward Gorey’s “Little Red Riding Hood. There is a lot of contrast between the red hood and the seemingly monochromatic background as well as wolf. This helps focus my attention to little red riding hood herself and her encounter with the wolf.
I was drawn to the image of the “Princess and the Frog Prince.” I loved the fountain in the back, and how bright the colors were. The princesses red dress, and the bright blue sky stood out to me to the most. I also thought it was interesting how the princess was so big in comparison to the little frog, and thought they depicted a story just by having the princess stare at the frog prince. The second image I was drawn to was the “Little Mermaid” drawing. I thought the visuals were really captivating, and was really drawn to how the mermaid was seen holding on and falling off the boat.
The Princess and the Pea, painted by Edmund Dulac. I like how vibrant the pattern and color were. The picture looks real.
The color and drawing of the dresses in Kay Nielson’s painting Twelve Dancing Princesses were stunning. Each dress is different from the others. I also like how the background seems to be in the form of a forest for one of the paintings.
The first picture that drew my attention was Beatrix Potter’s “The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck” because when I first saw the picture it made me remember that I’ve read, seen or heard this version of llrh before. I liked the illustrations of the duck portraying little red riding hood, also I loved how the fox/wolf is dressed up in a fancy suit making him look like a gentleman. The second picture that drew my attention was from Adrienne Segur and their illustration of “Thumbelina”. There is so much happening in the image that it catches your eye and makes you look at everything thats happening within the image. I like all the color used, all the different birds within the image are very detailed and look extremely realistic.
The first image that stood out to me was Anne Anderson’s “Beauty and the Beast” illustration. I have never seen Beauty or the Beast illustrated in such a unique way. I am used to Beauty being illustrated as a beautiful princess. Not to say she is not beautiful here, but she appears to be an innocent fairy-like whimsical creature/human which I am not used to. The Beast definitely looks beast-like and more like a goblin. Very interesting but also beautiful illustration. There is beauty behind how the image is illustrated: in a way it looks very light and weighed down. The image looks like it is draping down. The second illustration that stood out to me was Edmund Dulac’s “The Princess and the Pea” illustration. I have always loved this story and imagined how the mattresses would look like. The way this image was illustrated is absolutely stunning and there is so much color and detail. Stylistically, this was incredibly done. The illustrator brought the mattresses to life.
The two images that stood out to me was Cinderella and The Moon maiden. These both stuck out to me due to how beautiful they both were. The Cinderella illustration was very light and monotoned while the moon maiden illustration caught my eye because of how interesting the subject in the drawing looked. It was a woman’s body with peacock feathers coming out from where her legs should be.
The first image that stood out to me was Henry Justice Ford’s “Beauty and the Beast” because the beast looks truly horrific and straight out of a nightmare. The beast’s face looks like a combination of a wild boar and an elephant. I find it interesting how the beast’s hands resemble that of a human’s. The second image that stood out to me was Gordon Laite’s “Cinderella” illustration of the fairy godmother and Cinderella. I very much love how the fairy godmother is dressed in yellow and has butterfly wings which add to her magicalness.
I really like “Master Cat” and “cinderella”. The Master cat one makes me laugh. I love that this cat is on their hinds legs, in full costume, and standing with such conviction. Its just so silly and the guy in back looking in with shock makes it funnier. The cinderella one is just so beautiful. I love the light blue colors so much, not only representing the night, but also the dress. Its gorgeous. I love the circle that the doves make from swooping to help her to draping her dress around her. That little spot of light between her chest and the dress represents the MAGIC that is happening and that is so beautiful.
“The Moon Maiden” (a version of the Hanomoko, Japan, and “Bluebeard (1910) were two images I really liked. Moon Maiden was just so unique to me. The way the woman’s half resembles a peafowl, one of the most beautiful birds ever. I liked Bluebeard from a more cultural perspective, it reminded me of illustrations I’ve seen growing up, based on the couple’s outfit and the scenery.
Two images that I was drawn to were by the illustrated Warwick Goble. Each art has its own beauty. Like the first one he create, “The Juniper Tree” it’s colorful. You can see the big bird on top of the page and at the bottom a young girl. I am amazed by the colors he choose for the bird. Another image was by Edmund Dulac (1882-1953) he created an image in 1911 called “The Princess and the Pea” I think it’s beautiful and creative. Love the colors he chooses and the small details.