Learn:

Be sure to read Chapter4 in your book. Then read through the lecture notes below. There is also a menu of important topics from this lesson at the top of this page. You can quickly and easily navigate to the topic you want to explore by clicking on one of those menu items. 

The Power of the Pictures

Moreover, they need to consider the implications of the text/illustration relationship as well. For in picture books and illustrated children's literature, the marriage, or symbiotic relationship of image to word, is an art to be explored and enjoyed. 

The best ilustrated books can be read and enjoyed again and again. The best illustrated books will challenge the child's ability to see beyond the text and will encourage the child's honest response to the artwork. A child's young eyes will focus on the "happy surprises" that the gifted illustrator will include in the text. Our book lists a few of these. I'm sure you or children you know can tell us others.

Task 3a: Happy Surprises/DC Posting
Post a message in which you describe one "happy surprise," or one detail you overlooked in an illustration and then discovered when you encountered the book one more time. Tell us the author and title of the book and describe the illustration and what you noticed. Use the subject  header: Happy Surprise. This task is further described in this lesson's Apply section.

The Contribution of Illustrations: 

• to delight
• to capture attention
• to tell a story
• to teach a concept 
• to develop appreciation and awareness [of art] in children

As students of illustrations we can look at illustrations in terms of their form, function and their visual elements and finally at the relationship between image and text.

The Functions of Illustrations:

• estabish setting 
• define and develop characters 
• reinforce the text 
• provide a different viewpoint 
• provide interesting subtext/commentary 
• extend or develop the plot 
• establish mood 

Style & Form of Illustrations: 

• realistic 
• surrealistic 
• expressionistic 
• impressionistic 
• naive 
• cartoonish 

So, illustrations have a variety of objectives, functions, styles and media and our text explores all of these in detail. Be sure to read pages 37-38 in the text to find examples of the elements above. 

Visual Elements :

Illustrations also capitalize on a number of visual elements which give subtle cues about the text and further develop the relationship between words and image in the book. These visual elements are the use of lines, shape, color, texture, and composition. 

We will now take a closer look at these elements. There will be some images on this page that will help illustrate the basic concepts, and then you will be referred to specific pictures in our text for examples of how these elements are applied in actual illustrations. The pictures we will be referring to are found in the color insert at the end of Chapter 1 in our text.

Lines:

Open a transcript of the Visual Elements - Lines audio.

We'll look at LINES first.  Note that artists use lines to suggest motion or tension in a piece.  If you look at the image below of those pre-Raphaelite women, youíll see that their exagerrated verticality and the long lines in their gowns suggest the "set" nature of their experience.  They are captured and rendered motionless, caught in time.  We as viewers of the image sense the artificiality of the idealized image.  These are not real women but rather imagined perfection. 
 
 

All that from a few vertical lines?  Well, letís now look at our text example.

When we look at Van Allsburgís  illustration (#5 in our text) we note that the trees present strong verticals which dominate the scene in direct contrast to the smaller horizontal line of the train.  Whatís your feeling when you look at that picture?

Our text suggests that the vertical lines used in ThePolar Express illustration increase the tension of the story and suggest a moment arrested in the flow of action.  Even the train appears to be stalled on its journey north. 
In contrast, Brinton Turkle, in illustration 21 uses angles to suggest the fast-moving action in Deep in the Forest.

The use of lines not only structures the image but also plays a large role in creating the feel of the illustration.
 
 

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Shape:

Open a transcript of the Visual Elements - Shapes audio.

Simple or complex two-dimensional shapes are used to suggest human form or man-made objects. Often rounded forms are used to suggest the former and angular forms the latter.

In the illustration below, click on the red Play button in the lower right-hand corner to see an animation that reinforces this point. 

Open a text description of this animation.

All drawings, however complex and however masterful, are really a collection of shapes.  Early Renaissance masters loved the rounded forms of zaftig madonnas and charmingly plump cherubs.  Modernists loved cubes and angularity even for the human form. Post-modern illustrators ARE moving towards that stick-figure sharpness that these frenetic times suggest.  Letís look at the illustrations in our text to explore these uses of shapes.

In Illustration 28, we see that Ann Jonas uses rectangles and abstract forms to emphasize the city rather than the people in her Round Trip.

Note in Illustration 8, how Vera Williams uses rounded forms to suggest the loving comfort of A Chair for Mother.

Tomie dePaola and Lane Smith further illustrate  this contrasting view of shape and form.  Often an illustrator is recognized by his preference for shapes. A Tomie dePaola book will always included well-rounded, welcoming characters in flowing garments, evocative of his Italian background. 

Check out dePaolaís Strega Nonna and Smithís The True Story of the Three Little Pigsas examples.

Finally,artist Leo Lionni uses shapes as characters in his famous Little Blue Little Yellow book. 

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Color:

Open a transcript of the Visual Elements - Color audio.

We get subtle messages from the intensity of the colors used in an illustration. They can suggest an historical period, a mood, a setting. 

Now letís look at Color as a visual element.  Those of you who have reacted at a visceral level to burnt orange or avocado green will agree that color will suggest mood or emotion in an illustration. 

Look at the color palette below.  How does it make you feel?  What emotion or mood would you imagine that the illustration using this palette would suggest? 

If we look at this palette extracted from Illustration 1 from The Fortune Tellers, we note the warm colors suggest the warm intimacy of a family gathering and the use of a variety of colors highlights the details and exuberance of the image.

Look again at Illustration 5 from The Polar Express and you can see that its muted color palette emphasizes the somber mood of  the book at this point. 

Contrast that with the limited use of vibrant colors in Illustration 3 from Rosieís Walk and you can see how use of color adds to the emotional value of the illustration.
 
 

 
 

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Texture:

Open a transcript of the Visual Elements - Texture audio.

The tactile sensation we crave in the real world can be suggested by the artist using cross-hatching, shadowing, layering, etc.

When we consider Texture as a visual element, weíre looking at how  the illustrator uses lines and shadowing t o give a three dimensional feel to the illustration.  If you look at the image below you can see that the beauty of the piece lies in its use of textureólines either sparse or abundant which add depth and interest to the image.  Note that the swan is the least textured and thus our eye is drawn to its brilliant white plumage in the center of the image.

In illustration 2 in our text Mercer Mayer, a master in the use of texture, uses a variety of line combinations to suggest  the fatherís nubby suit jacket, the sisterís flowing hair, and the "almost can feel it" scratchiness of t he the car upholstery. His use of texture creates a vividly real world created by line.  You can contrast his use of texture with David Wisnieskiís use of collage texture in Golem, Illustration 31.  Look at some of the other examples in our text or in books youíve chosen and explore the use of texture in each.
 
 

 
 

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Composition:

Open a transcript of the Visual Elements - Composition audio.

Simply put, composition is how all elements of the illustration fit together.

Let's look at composition in illustrations.  This visual element creates the "gestalt" of the imageóhow everything fits together.  Look at illustration 6 from Rumplestiltskin.  Youíll note that our eyes are drawn to the horseman outside the window.  Zelinskyís use of perspective pulls us from the maiden inside to the outside,creating the tension we know she feels when sheís sees yet another monumental task before her.  Look also at Illustration 4 by Stephen Gammell--here the use of the full spread illustration suggests the anticipatory joy the children felt When the Relatives Came.

Illustrations may be balanced, suggesting an ordered universe, or unbalanced, suggesting chaos or movement. They may be symmetrical or aysymmetrical suggesting harmony or discord. 

Some visual elements may dominate the illustration so that the reader forced to focus on that element. See Illustration 22 in our text. What are your eyes drawn to?
 
 

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New Eyes!:

Open a transcript of the Visual Elements - Conclusion audio.

Keep in mind the ways artists use the visual elements listed above to give added meaning to the story. You may find you have "new eyes" when viewing the illustrations you encounter as you go through this course and beyond!
 

The Relationship Between Illustration & Text:

What is remarkable is that more often than not, the author never meets or communicates with the illustrator. The words of the story stand alone and the illustrator is chosen by the publisher for a variety of reasons unrelated to the nature of the text. An illustrator will receive a copy of the text and her mind will inhabit the story with all manner of images and styles. The author is rarely consulted. It is perhaps miraculous that some of our favorite and memorable illustrated stories are products of such a long-distance relationship. 

What's more astonishing is that good illustrations can add so much depth and entertainment to the text. This fluid and magical relationship between picture and image can be described as congruent, elaborative, specified, or counterpoint (an abbreviated list taken from How a Picture Book Works by Nikolojeva and Scott). 

Congruent pictures:

Congruent pictures are those where the illustration and the text meet each other's expectations. For example, Eeyore in the original illustrations is a walking billboard for the depressed. Every line, every aspect of the artwork reflects his distressed character. 

Elaborative pictures:

Elaborative pictures extend the text by adding details and character details which enhance our undertanding of the story. For example in Illustration 2 of our text from Frog Goes to Dinner, the picture captures each character's reaction to the restaurant escapade. The picture is eloquently elaborative. 

Specified illustrations:

Specified illustrations nail down the setting and specifics of the story. They create a sense of time and place and even ambience. Illustration 1 with its authentic fabrics and household elements aptly suggests the location and mood of The Fortune Tellers. 

Counterpoint pictures:

Counterpoint pictures become subtext. Their excellence lies in the contrasting messages given by words and pictures. A classic example of this is Rosie's Walk, Illustration 3. The text says one thing, the picture suggests another and together we readers revel in the disconnect between the two. Our enjoyment of the story and others like it, lies completely in the counterpoint between text and visual image. 

Conclusion:

Now that you've explored the many aspects of illustrations you'll have the joy of re-visting your favorites with a discriminating eye and a greater appreciation of the intricate dance between image and text. 

In the end, it is attention to action and detail which differentiate the poorly illustrated book from the expertly illustrated one. As our book suggests, artwork is a labor of love in which the artist invests research time, artistic vision and individual creativity. The best illustrated books speak to us because they touch us and teach us more about ourselves and our world, as all great art does.
 
 

What Next?