OUGD405 Studio Brief 04 Illustration In Children's Books Research

In preparation for my children's book, I thought it prudent to look into illustration styles and how they might inform my drawings. Everything that I have found suggests that a level of delicate intricacy can be really appealing to younger eyes. I seems that when too young to read the drawings, depending on how complex they are, can hold a child's attention for a substantial amount of time. The image below and the extract from the article that went with it are testament to this.


http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/dec/19/childrens-books-illustrations-jenny-uglow

Small children are astoundingly flexible visual readers – they can take in packed scenes just as easily as bold, simple images; they can follow adventures in silhouettes against bright backgrounds and turn without a flicker to the comic-like abstractions of Mr Men. This openness is on a par with their acceptance of magical transformations, upside-down houses and flying through space, and their tendency to anthropomorphise everything, from rabbits to trains and from dinosaurs to umbrellas. They know no boundaries. They also linger over pictures, with a time-defying immersion that grown-ups tend to lose


The illustrations of Teagan White, as shown below, also make use of a complex visual texture but by integrating pattern. This is something i would love to do with this project, possibly by using pattern to suggest the habitat of the insect and the season in which it is most common. This would add another educational layer to the product and follows the advice I was getting at the crit. 


http://abduzeedo.com/adorable-childrens-book-illustrations-teagan-white



The picture below are from my favourite books as a child. Although for a long time I was too young to read them the illustrations fascinated me with their complexity; there is always something new to notice.

I am going to experiment with illustration options in order to create a detailed effect that is feasible in  a week.