188. Draw me a story

When I was in the 5th grade in Chennai, my english language skills really sucked. It was so bad that during 'free' periods our teacher used to call me out in front of the class to read the English textbook out loud (to everyone's hilarity and to my utter embarrassment). Yes, I was really bad. The one bright spot in those days were the Russian storybooks (in english) that my dad used to bring home. I used to immerse myself in those illustrated pages for hours trying to piece together text and visuals. Where would I be if it were'nt for those talented Russian illustrators? They taught me English and so much more!

Today's assignment is a tribute to storybook illustrators everywhere.

Consider this piece from the Retro Kid collection...

This is the work of Robert J Lee. Brilliant character design, awesome stylisation, atmospherics, colour control, great composition... this painting has it all. Imagine the effect it has on a chide who is learning about lamps and genies for the first time.

And this ancient piece here...

Don't miss how the artist has put the organ bang in the middle and composed the elements around the central theme. The strap leads you to the second most important piece the grinder and his monkey.

and John Bauer's beautifully stylised piece that leaaves you wondering about what happened before and what will happen next.

This is the magic of storybook illustration. Finding the right spot to illustrate and weaving in the elements in such a way that you don't give away too much, but also bring to life (illustrate) the text without taking away from it.

So that is today's assignment folks. Illustrate your fav story, and it need'nt just be a children's tale. Illustrate any story, but study a few masters and distill the essence down into your drawing!

A few more examples...

Gold Fever by Austin Briggs

Trina Schart's Rapunzel

Ruth Sanderson's Brilliant magical forests

And many many more on this great blog.

Have an awesome time, and for those celebrating Diwali... visual brilliance to you minus the noise and smoke.

Tags: drawing, storybook-illustration, storytelling

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by satish kumar on October 26, 2011 at 1:20pm

Oooh Russian Illustrations! I fell so much in love with book illustrations that even pursued it for a little while back in art school...Here are a few from the time. Happy Diwali!

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Permalink Reply by George Supreeth on October 26, 2011 at 1:42pm

Satish, these are amazing. Did you completely stop illustrating for books? Why? Please share more if you have any lying around.

Permalink Reply by satish kumar on October 26, 2011 at 10:26pm

Thanks Supreeth! Illustration started as a part time job whilst in art school. After graduating, I decided to take it up professionally, by then most publishers were moving digital and the time and the market for illustration was relatively low, at least in Bangalore. Then tried my luck illustrating for a few American and European publishers but it wasn't a viable career option for me.

After almost a decade, I am illustrating a children's fairytale book for a friend who is willing to risk with me. All excited to be back into illustration.

Permalink Reply by George Supreeth on October 27, 2011 at 11:41am

The Indian illustration scene really sucks doesn't it? For some reason Indian publishers confuse an illustrator with anyone who can scribble and that really does bring down expectations and of course value.

I'm working with a few friends to see how we can help indian illustrators market and position themselves, and everyday it looks more daunting because of the total lack of frameworks or standards.

Meanwhile, here is my illustration studio, www.pencilsauce.com. Take a look.

Permalink Reply by satish kumar on November 1, 2011 at 10:04pm

Wow! Illustration studio in Bangalore! I just got to see the works of pencil sauce, Uber-cool! I really like that you've worked on quite a variety of projects and in various media especially the advertising work. I would love to visit you!

It's true, most Editors in publishing houses are apathetic and cynical towards illustrators, I even remember, they used to chop my original compositions to accomodate more text..Grrr! I did have some success in Advertising doing storyboards for commercials than publishing, but nothing substantial....i think 10 years is a long time, I don't even look at myself as an illustrator anymore :(

Permalink Reply by Lavanya Karthik on October 30, 2011 at 1:45pm