I love illustrations of certain books. I just discovered a new one this week: Robert Ingpen, an Australian who illustrates a Classics series. The one I'm reading is Wizard of Oz. Why am I drawn to his illustrations? There's a softness to them. They appear a bit fuzzy around the edges. I like the brushstrokes. I like the emotion of the characters. I see some munchkins and the Good witch with a hunched back. His characters have spindly legs.
I also like the illustrations of Blair Thornley. Hers are simple, ink drawings of people. Also soft I might say in the sense that their backs are sloped. I guess the illustrations I'm drawn to show people in poor posture--maybe that's a subtle element of reality some people aren't capturing. She likes shoes. Her characters are doing something.
I'm thinking about, kind of daunted by, illustration, because I never feel I've been able to capture the human form adequately or do it justice. I'm more of an aiming-for realism drawer. But with this, I'll be challenged to capture an emotion, be simplified. Maybe I could think about the underlying tone/emotion of the whole piece and think about how that tone manifests in a human body. Hm.
Some things I'd like to think about if I dabble more this way: Consider details. Consider texture. I can still do it by hand, I think. Consider a human form/model I like. Remember details to make it interesting/fun--they are a little treat.
