This document provides guidance and examples for a narrative illustration project. It discusses key concepts for narrative illustrators such as representing the meaning of text visually, setting mood and atmosphere, developing characters. It also provides exercises on compositional elements, developing visual references, and techniques like cross-hatching. Examples of illustrators' work are referenced like Geoff Grandfield, David Hockney, and Andrew Scott Ross who create images that heighten the narrative.

1. Narrative Illustration Project
Key Words
• Narrative
• Illustration
• Illustrator
• Silhouette
• Paper Cuts
• Atmosphere
• Mood
• Light and Shadow
• Contrast
• Character
• Roughs and thumbnails
Geoff Grandfield

2. NARRATIVE ILLUSTRATION
by John Vernon Lord
The main function of the
narrative illustrator is to
represent, interpret, and
heighten the meaning of
a selected passage of
text (in a complementary
way) by means of
pictures, with the aim of
contributing to the
reader's appreciation of
the narrative.

3. Homework
Put a version of your subverted fairy tale in your
sketchbook and highlight three scenes that could be
illustrated.
The Text
• Which individual passages of text shall be selected to
illustrate and how do the pictures relate to each other to
attain a satisfactory sequence?
• What pictorial properties should we consider when we
are illustrating in series?

4. Examples of Subverting a found image
Before After
original etching by Francesco Goya
from the series ‘The Disasters of
War.’
Jake and Dinos Chapman
‘Insult to Injury’ 2003

5. Examples of Subverting a found image
Before After
Fairy Tale illustration by Arthur Rackham

6. Work into the face of the character in the illustration by Arthur Rackham using
one of the Disney Characters.

7. Work into the face of the character in the illustration by Arthur Rackham using
one of the Disney Characters.

8. Homework
Visual Reference Visual reference has to be gathered as an aid
to creating illustrations -
Complete the following tasks:
1. One drawing from direct observation of an object in your story;
2. One drawing from visual memory and imagination of a place in
your story;
3. Collect a range of images that you will need for reference for your
illustrations for the characters, costumes and background scenery.
Present these as a mood board across two pages in your
sketchbook.

9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Illustrators use crosshatching to build areas of tone by layering
parallel lines, like this example by David Hockney on the right.
Task
Complete the tonal strip using hatching in each box except box 7.
Box 1 should be black, 4 should be a middle grey and 7 should
remain white.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Illustrators use crosshatching to build areas of tone by layering
parallel lines, like this example by David Hockney on the right.
Task
Complete the tonal strip using hatching in each box except box 7.
Box 1 should be black, 4 should be a middle grey and 7 should
remain white.

10. Hockney’s illustrations for
Grimms’ Fairy Tales
Copy one of Hockney’s illustrations on a page in your sketchbook using
cross hatching to show tone.

11. Copy one of Brad Holland’s illustrations on a page in your sketchbook using
cross hatching to show tone.
http://www.bradholland.net/

12. Character Design
Shapes & Silhouettes
When it comes to character design, two essential concepts are:
(1) shape variety
(2) Clear silhouettes.
The overall larger structures should make sense and form a
strong, clear balanced design, before details are even
approached.

13. Roughs and Thumbnails
http://monkeyandseal.blogspot.com/2009/11/process-seals-90-thumbnails.html

14. Scene Setting
The scene setting or location where the action takes place,
has to be thought about. The background setting may be
carried out in such a way as to emphasise mood and
expression as well as our experiencing a sense of
movement in the picture.
View Point
The choice of viewpoint (angle of vision or eye-level) has
to be established for each picture.

16. Compositional Exercises
•Explore different media and
•Create compositional boxes showing your character in different ways.
Illustrations by
Geoff Grandfield
http://geoffgrandfield.co.uk/

17. Composition Here are a few headings to think about:
• Tone and colour contrasts;
• Figure and ground possibilities - dark against light and light against
dark;
• Contrasts of scale and proportional changes;
• Different perspectival views;
• Opposites - near and far;
• Simplicity against complexity;
• Passive and active;
• Vertical, horizontal and diagonal stresses;
• Curved and angular shapes;
• Using constants (ie the grid) as a means of orchestrating
compositional elements;

18. Ideas
• Ideas in illustration may be generated in several ways:
• ideas are required to solve particular problems;
• ideas are required in selecting and composing the
elements of a picture;
• ideas can come from inventing a new visual language or
by an original use of materials.
• Ideas may take on the form of the visual clarification of
something that cannot be expressed in words or seen in
the normal way.
• Visual ideas may complement words.
• Pictorial ideas may show what the world is like in the
present, what it used to be like in the past, and what it
could, should or might be like in the future.

19. The Frozen Moment
• At what precise moment do we choose to stop the
action when the events in the narrative take place?
• Catching the fleeting moment when an event has just
happened, or is about to happen, and that will, in the
next moment change.

20. Mood and Atmosphere
We need to consider reflecting the tone of a narrative
by extracting the appropriate sense of mood and
atmosphere from its content. Our intention might be to
create a sense of drama or humour, suspense and
surprise, or joie de vivre etc.
Nature and action of the characters
The nature and action of the characters who are
participating in the narrative have to be considered as
well as registering their physical appearance, (features
of face) and their momentary gesture and expression -
not just what they are doing. Maintaining the likeness
of individual characters throughout a story might be
something that has to be handled.

21. Lotte Reigner

22. Chris Natrop

23. Kara Walker

24. Peter Callesen

25. Henrik Drescher http://www.hdrescher.com/

26. Sara Fanelli http://www.sarafanelli.com/

27. Rob Ryan

28. A detail of a sprawling work by Andrew Scott Ross, Rocks and
Rocks and Caves and Dreams:

29. Andrew Scott Ross