Locations - Wax Illustrations

In order to experiment with texture within my illustrations, I decided to use wax crayon. This is because this particular medium gives a rough, messy quality that often has the connotations of childhood and younger children. I also wanted to experiment with layering colours with wax crayon in order to create interesting tones and shades. 

After using just wax crayon, I decided that I wanted darker outlines that were more defined. To accomplish this, I used a black gel pen to roughly sketch out the outlines and then coloured the images with wax crayon. I once again layered different colours to create tone and shade but I also added messy gel pen lines over the top to add more shadow and create more aesthetically pleasing illustrations. 

Illustrations For Locations - Added Detail

I decided to add a different medium on top of the watercolour paint I used on the location illustrations that I drew out. I did this as I felt that there wasn't enough tonal range within the illustrations and that they needed more colour in order to increase the aesthetic value. The medium I used on top of the base colour was watercolour pencil as I felt that this would work better and I would be able to add more detail as well as having better control over the colour choices. Using watercolour pencils also enabled me to be able to add darker shading in places where it was needed and it was easier to graduate this into lighter tones. 

Mid-Point Drafting 1

For my first mid-point draft of the cover and pages I am creating for my final product, I decided to use watercolour and fine liner. I also used a simplistic design like E.H. Shepard would have done and added colour to the backgrounds of the front and back cover. I drew simplistic illustrations for the characters and used lines to plot out where the main body of the text will be placed. 

For the front cover, I used the illustration of a cat's eye as the cat is one of the main focuses of the book. I made the eye green in order to make it contrast with the brown-black of the back ground as well as the black font of the title. I considered a bold, modern typeface that catches the eye and stands out as one of the main aims for creating a cover for a book is to catch the eye of a prospective buyer. 

For the back cover, I used a simplistic illustration of a boot in order to link with the title and create consistency. I also used warm browns and reds for the boots and a pale, muted blue background to create contrast not only with the illustration and the background, but also with the blurb which will be in a black/dark typeface.

I used simple illustrations when designing the two DPS as I don't want complicated illustrations that will distract from the narrative. I also used illustrations that link directly to the narrative of the book and simple colours that are saturated but not so saturated that they detract from the main body text. The backgrounds are white so that the black font the narrative will be written in stands out against the backgrounds and create a strong contrast as well as with the illustrations. I made the part of the narrative that is repeated throughout the book bigger than the rest of the writing will be as I want it to stand out and contrast with the organised layout of the pages. This is also why I chose a messier, hand drawn typeface for that particular element of the narrative. 

Basic Illustrations For Locations

When drawing out the basic illustrations for the locations in the book, I chose to use a pencil first then go over the lines in fine liner. I also chose to use watercolour paints when adding colour to the images as this was simplistic and more like the style of E.H. Shepard who used watercolour and ink pen when illustrating for Winnie The Pooh and Wind In The Willows. I intend to work into these images with other media such as watercolour pencil or layering different shades of watercolour paint with a thinner brush to add more detail, depth and texture. This will create more of an aesthetic appeal and make the images more interesting to look at. 

Contact Sheet - Ideas For Locations

To get an idea of what I wanted the locations in the book to look like, I chose to take photographs of different places that are mentioned such as the wall and the kitchen. The reason I did this was so that I would have something to base my illustrations on as well as to  see which colours I would change and which colours I'd keep for each location of the book. I took the photographs from different angles to experiment with what sort of perspective I'd like for each location in the book. This will allow me to draw with more accuracy as I will be able to refer to these images as I draw.

Illustration/Typeface Ideas

Subject Matter - Simplified Drawings

For my simplified drawings of my subject matter, I decided to draw basic outlines and then develop the images as I went along. I made annotations beside some drawings so that I had some sort of documentation of where I needed to improve certain aspects of the illustrations. Elements such as proportion and facial expression for the human character were important to me as I wanted my character to have a physical personality that the reader can clearly see. To create the look of childlike innocence that the character Jojo has, I drew the eyes bigger with larger pupils then the nose and mouth smaller. Not only this, but I also tilted the eyebrows to add more innocence and childlike quality. I gave the character blond hair as many associate the hair colour blond with innocence, purity, and younger children. 

For the character of Whiskers, I chose darker colours. I picked the colour black as black cats hold the connotations of misfortune and bad luck which is what Jojo experiences consistently throughout the book. To contrast with the black, I gave the cat bright green eyes. This adds a more aesthetic value to the illustration and also doesn't stray too far from the colour of cats eyes seeing as a lot have green eyes. I chose to make the eyes brighter as opposed to realistic cats eyes which would be more of a muted green because I wanted the eyes to be what stands out the most about the character.