ByFrancesca Bottomley

BA (Hons) Contemporary Art & IllustrationUniversity of Huddersfield

2016Exploring and identifying representation in narrative illustration

Francesca Bottomley

Contents

Introduction

Pg. 2

Chapter 1: How do practitioners use representation?

Pg. 4 – 17

Chapter 2: What is Semiotics?

Pg. 18, 19

Chapter 3: Studio practice: How does representation relate to my work?

Pg. 20

Conclusion

Pg. 21

Bibliography

Pg. 23, 24

Illustrations

Pg. 25

pg. 1

Francesca Bottomley

Introduction

For this essay I will be looking at representation and how it is used in narrative

illustration using critical analysis. I will be exploring what is representation and

various types of representation including depiction and portrayal whilst explaining

how these are represented in narrative artwork. I am also going to carry out research

in to how artists represent subjects such as themes, emotions and people in their

work through imagery and colour and so forth to relate to the chosen subjects.

A few areas I will be looking at specifically is how artists represent subjects and even

people using symbolism and portrayal to help promote and get the narrative across.

Other areas I will look at is how artists use colour to represent, how do artists use

imagery to represent subjects, themes and how does materials help with

representation. What I will be exploring is are you able to know what the illustration is

trying to represent without the image being supported by text; can you understand

what is happening in the story by only looking at the illustration proving that

representation is important in illustration.

Representation is about using signs to symbolize or portray something or even

some one and produce meanings which people can make sense of. Representation

in artwork symbolises many subjects including capturing something interesting or a

study, giving an interpretation of a subject to influence or inform an audience. An

illustrator uses imagination and colour to help support what they are trying to portray.

It is likely illustrators respond to text so they need to create artwork to represent the

narrative in every way from imagination to aesthetics. To represent something is

describing or depicting it and use description and portrayal to unleash the

imagination of the audience.

Images and visual signs, even if they closely resemble to something they refer to,

are still signs to carry meaning and to be interpreted. There are different types of

signs. Visual signs are called iconic signs; they bear a resemblance to an object,

place, or person and even an event.

The purpose of book illustration is to help support a story. The illustrations

themselves need to tell a story so they need to be clear and accurate with details

mentioned in the story of the book so the reader can look at the illustrations and

know what the story is generally about.

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Being a form of visual arts, an illustration of a fairy tale is categorised as surrealistic

fantasy regarding the painting style of the illustration as well as the light colours used

and simplified perspectives. Fairy tale illustrations also have romantic elements to

represent a fantasy world and resembles of escapism. Illustrations from fairy tale

books not only help the audiences understand what the story is about and what is

happening in the story but illustrations also stimulate the audience’s imagination

referring back to the idea of escapism.

The area of narrative illustration I will be focusing on is book illustration, specifically

fairy tale books with the audience of children from the age of eight. The type of book

genre I have chosen to focus on fairy tale stories so I will look at illustrations based

on fairy tale stories.

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Chapter 1

How do practitioners use representation?

I will be looking at artists whose work has been included in fairy tale books which are

aimed at children because of their ‘childlike’ form of telling a story. However, adults

also enjoy reading fairy tales to be able to relive their childhood. Particularly, I will be

focusing on illustrations that have substantial amount of detail that include the use of

line and I will also be looking at illustrations with use of colour. I will explore and

compare illustrations by their use of portrayal and depiction and how each illustration

is seen including what can be assumed from the illustration.

Illustrator Julian de Narvaez, an illustrator from South America has had a number of

clients from around the world including Sunday Times, The Agency Creative and

Penguin Books. Narvaez studied Graphic Design and started his illustration practice

after getting the Graphic Design degree. With his practice he has developed his own

visual language “I see a bridge between illustration and contemporary art.” With his

illustrations Narvaez has aimed to produce visual solutions and bring ideas to life

“My philosophy when approaching a challenge is that no matter what the project,

there is always room to give it a unique character” (Narvaez). Narvaez have a great

number of recognitions including First National Exhibition of Illustrations by the

Colombian Chamber Books in 2008 and Honourable Mention: Latino Book Awards

2012. His work includes oil paintings [figure 1] and prints that have a fantasy and

surrealism style to them. Narvaez uses soft colours in his paintings which help

compliment his style of drawing in a surrealist way (Narvaez, N.D.).

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Because of Narvaez’s style of work he has was the illustrator of the book ‘The Green

Fairy Book’ which contains classic fairy tales such as ‘The Three Bears’, his fantasy

style illustrations compliment the stories allowing them to come alive. One of the

illustrations ‘The Three Bears’ [figure 2], depicts three bears which looks like to be a

family. This is represented by the use of the bears being different sizes, one small

which seems to be the child, one medium which seems to be the mother or daughter

pg. 5

[figure 1] Narvaez, J. (N.D.). Custodians and Thieves. [Oil]. Retrieved from

http://www.juliandenarvaez.com/portfolio/#/new-gallery-41/.

Three Bears. Retrieved from http://www.foliosociety.com/book/GF

B/green-fairy-book

Francesca Bottomley

and one big sized bear which seems to be the father. The family is also represented

with their appearance, the child like bear is holding a ball and a cookie which can be

related to a child, the mother or daughter bear is wearing a bow on her head and has

a blushed cheek with is associated with females and the biggest bear wearing a type

of blue top hat that can signify a male. Looking at the illustration without knowing the

story you instantly know that the story includes three bears and with their

appearance it suggests that the story is about a family of bears.

For the background it appears to be wood panels placed in a way that could

represent a wood cabin with a door and window along with clothes hung on a line

which could be the male and female bears clothing by the way the colours match

their bow and hat, this suggests that the wood cabin is the family bears home. All of

these elements are part of depiction and are part of what Narvaez is trying to get

across which is suggested is a portrayal of a family of bears. The colours used in the

illustration are light and expresses the feeling of the fairy tale being positive and

cheerful. Looking at this illustration there is quite a lot of signs to represent the

storyline.

pg. 6

[figure 3] Narvaez J, (N.D.) The Blue Bird. Retrieved from

http://www.foliosociety.com/book/GFB/green-fairy-book

Francesca Bottomley

Another illustration in ‘The Green Fairy Book’ also by Julian de Narvaez is called

‘The Blue Bird’. In this illustration it depicts a young woman in a type of tower looking

at a window looking at a blue bird which is sat on an open window. By the look of the

architecture in the background it is assumed that the story is set in the medieval time

period by the way the buildings have elements of castles with the come shaped roofs

and flags on top of them.

Looking at the illustration the dim, dark, cold colours used suggests the story is not

a happy fairy tale instead has sorrow and sadness within the story. The woman in

the illustration seems to be drawn using slightly lighter colours compared to the rest

of the colours of the illustration which suggests that she is important in the story,

perhaps she is a main character.

The blue bird on the window has a glow coming off it which represents that the bird

must be important and be a kind of saviour to the woman, this can also be seen by

the woman’s facial expression of relief. The woman being in a tower is a similarity to

the story ‘Rapunzel’, this could represent the woman is trapped in the tower and is

relieved of being found. The bird seems to be holding a ring between its beaks, the

ring is plain and gold which relates to a wedding band with this it suggests someone

has sent the blue bird with the ring to propose marriage to the woman. What this

illustration seems to be conveying is a troubled young woman in a tower looking at a

bird with hope. This illustration when looked at closely has little signs that have a lot

various meaning.

I am going to compare Narvaez’s work with John Tenniel, I am doing this because

even though they have decades separating them their work are similar in some ways

such as the colours they use in their illustrations but different in others, so I am going

to explore this.

Sir John Tenniel, an English illustrator and artist was especially known for his

illustrations for Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ and ‘Through the

Looking Glass’. Although he has illustrated many other books it is said that his

drawings for Carroll’s ‘Alice’s adventures in Wonderland’ and ‘Through the Looking

Glass are clever, subtle and well suited for the text. It is these illustrations that made

him popular and won him a worldwide reputation. Tenniel’s practice began when he

sent his first drawing to the society of British Artists exhibition. In 1845 he went on to

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contribute to a competition of designs for a mural decoration for Palace of

Westminster where he created a 16-foot cartoon and received a commission to be

included in the House of Lords. By 1850 he joined John Leech as joint cartoonists

the weekly paper ‘Punch’, a periodical that Tenniel worked on most of his life. In

1893 Tenniel was knighted for his artistic achievements and retired from ‘Punch’

(2014).

John Tenniel’s eye for detail allowed him to include much more detail for figures and

in backgrounds. Tenniel had an interest in expression, human types and

representation which was included in his illustrations of ‘Alice in Wonderland’. His

stylised drawings are best described as linear by the way he uses line to create

detail and shadow with shaded lines and vigorous horizontal lines that intensifies the

dark areas. Tenniel’s grotesque approach to his illustrations exaggerates the fantasy

of creatures used in the drawings. Grotesqueness is also found in illustrations that

portrays deformities of a person such as the illustration that shows Alice being as big

as a house after drinking a potion [figure 4]. Even though Alice in Wonderland is

considered more as a story rather than a fairy tale, according to Oxford dictionary a

fairy tale is defined as a traditional story written for children, a fable, fantasy and

magical story including magical creatures which ‘Alice in Wonderland’ does have

such as the Chester cat that can apparate in thin air along with the magical potions

that disproportion Alice. Therefore, I am considering Wonderland as a fairy tale for

the purpose of comparing artists work.

[figure 4] Tenniel, J. (2003). Alice in Wonderland. [Wood engraving]. Retrieved from

http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/tenniel/alice/gallery1.html

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In figure 5 we can see a setting being depicted where the character Alice is in a

room with some other characters. It can also be seen that the illustration is created

entirely of lines that are going in different directions including diagonal and

horizontal. With the use of the lines, Tenniel has created negative space that forms

the drawing, also the use of cross hatching lines creates a deeper depth of shadows

and darkness making the illustration seem more dramatic especially with the

absence of colour. The best element of Tenniel’s drawing is the clever way he

portrays the scene so that the audience can easily recognise what is depicted. In

figure 5 it can be seen that there are five characters; Alice, Duchess, cook, baby and

Chester cat. The scene seems not to be a happy setting by the way the facial

expressions of some of the characters. The frown on the Duchess’ and cooks face is

Tenniel’s way of expressing perhaps annoyance because of the crying baby. The

illustration overall is very detailed and helps the audience understand what is

happening within the setting in the story.

pg. 9

Figure 5 Alice with the Duchess, cook and baby. [Pen/Ink]. Retrieved from http://www.alice-in-

wonderland.net/resources/pictures/alices-adventures-in-wonderland/.

Francesca Bottomley

[figure 6] Tenniel, J. (2003). Alice in Wonderland. [Wood engraving]. Retrieved from

http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/tenniel/alice/gallery1.html

Figure 6 is a Tenniel drawing with added colour which was done to several of the

drawings for the story. In this illustration we can see that the colours used are mostly

primary colours, the colours in the drawing are bright and bold which helps the

illustration stand out particularly when there is text on the surrounding the image on

the page.

Julian Narvaez and John Tenniel are both different in how they do their practice.

Narvaez has an approach where his drawings are more seem more innocent by the

way line gesture is simpler than Tenniel’s line drawing where the gesture is more

expressive and fluid. Both artists use mark making to add texture and detail to their

illustration however, Tenniel’s work has a greater mass in the drawing and with the

way the lines overlap it creates an effect of a value scale where it seems there is

gradual change from black to grey and to white even when Tenniel has not used

colour in a drawing. With Tenniel’s drawing which have colour are seen that they

have a different effect compared to Narvaez’s illustrations. The colours seem softer

yet the primary colours make the illustrations bolder but Narvaez’s illustrations have

brighter colours which are not necessarily bold like the primary colours however,

Narvaez uses a good balance of primary and secondly colours.

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Another artist who I am going talk about is Madalina Andronic, who is a Romanian

illustrator based in Bucharest. Madalina earned a Masters degree in Illustration from

Camberwell College of Arts in London and went on to creating illustrations inspired

by traditional fairy tales and Slavic folklore. From 2010, Madalina’s freelance practice

has allowed her to work with clients from all over the world including editorial,

advertising and porcelain work, she has also published books in Romania and UK

and is co-founder of the brand ‘The Awesome Project’ with designer Claudiu Stefan.

Madalina’s illustration (figure 7) is very bold, the colours make the illustration stand

out especially when there is text next to it. The image seems to be depicting four

characters, two men on horseback and a man and woman sat on top of a hill. The

man and woman sat on the hill top is portrayed as part of a royal family by the way

they are wearing crowns. Although, with the man wearing a larger crown than the

woman it suggests that the man is a king and the woman is a princess relating to a

hierarchy of importance. The supposedly princess is sat on the king’s knee similar to

pg. 11

[figure 7] Andronic, M. (2013) 'When the king had got out of the way of the water ... he

stood with the princess in his arms, looking back with amazement on the issuing

torrent'[Watercolour]. Retrieved from http://www.vam.ac.uk/b/va-illustration-awards-

2014/published/book-illustrations/princess-and-goblin-illustrated-madalina

Francesca Bottomley

what a child would do when a parent is telling a story, so perhaps the king is telling

the princess a story. The other men in the illustration looks to be guards by the way

they are looking out on each side of the hill which suggests they are being on guard,

guarding the king and princess.

With the buildings at the bottom of the image in the foreground it seems that the

building is a castle, this can be seen with the architecture of the buildings, typically a

castle have towers with cone shaped roofs. The wave shape behind the buildings

that is made up of line making looks to be a symbol of a river with the way the lines

flow from the top of the hill to the bottom of the image gradually becoming larger.

Also there seems to be water drop shapes coming off the lines which helps suggests

it is water.

The colours in this illustration symbolises that the setting could be at night fall with

the dark sky, the white full moon in the background along with abstract shapes that

resembles stars. The shapes used to form objects and figures are disproportionate

making the feel of the illustration as being abstract. This can be seen clearly with the

horses, how the body of the horses are significantly bigger and unrealistic and the

heads of the figures being smaller than the rest of the body.

Overall, this illustration suggests to be portraying a king telling the princess a bed

time story with horsemen and a castle, perhaps the image is depicting a story being

told or tragedy has happened where the water has flooded the castle and the king

and princess has taken refuge at the hill top. This is expressed by the way the eyes

of the king and princess are closed almost like it is for sadness which could be

expressed by the dark colours Madalina has used and with the white bird in the sky

that resembles a dove, a symbol of hope that can be linked to tragedy. From this

illustration you can analyse the different elements and narrow down what the

illustration is about which means there is a lot of representation in this one image.

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[figure 8] Andronic, M. (2013) 'They went on, walking pretty fast, but taking care not to run a step'.

[Watercolour]. Retrieved from

http://www.vam.ac.uk/b/va-illustration-awards-2014/published/book-illustrations/princess-and-

goblin-illustrated-madalina

Figure 8 depicts three characters being portrayed as two women and a man. This

can be seen with the clothing of the characters; the characters at the front and in the

middle are both wearing long garment that are long and decorated with organic

shapes which could be related to summer dresses that women wear today and the

man is wearing shirt and trousers which represents male clothing. In this illustration it

can be seen that that woman at the front is the same princess from figure 7 because

of the same clothing and the crown however, it is uncertain of who the other two

characters are other than they are not wearing crowns so they are not related to the

princess. All three characters are raising their arms with palms facing up has if they

are reaching something, perhaps it is for religious purposes. This could be a reason

because of the circle around the princess’ head that is similar to the religious images

of Christ where he has a golden circle to act as a halo to show his importance to the

Christian faith. All that can be seen is that the characters are in a woodland setting

whilst almost summoning something. Therefore, the illustration needs to have a bit

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more in depth representation to be able to be understandable if the illustration is not

supported by the story.

I am going to compare Madalina Andronic’s work with another fairy tale illustrator

Caitlin Hackett. Caitlin’s inspiration for her illustrations depicting nature and

wilderness but often in grotesque ways. These ways are supposed to portray

animals being transformed from human pollutants as Hackett is interested in these

type of mutations and how it can be linked with mythologies and environmental

implications. Her work showcases the combined interests of nature, wildlife biology

and mythology and is inspired from growing up between the Pacific Ocean and The

Redwood Forests in North California. Hackett primarily uses ball point pens to

finalise illustrations from pencil sketches however, she also uses graphite, coloured

pencil and watercolour on paper. Her work can be seen in story books including ‘The

Lilac Fairy Book’.

pg. 14

[figure 9] Hackett, C. (2015). Illustration from The Brown Bear of Norway. [Pen and

Watercolour]. Retrieved from https://caitlinhackett.carbonmade.com/project

s/4549867

Francesca Bottomley

The illustration for the fairy tale ‘The Brown Bear of Norway’ (figure 9) from ‘The Lilac

Fairy Book’ depicts two young women in the woods or a forest that looks to be

withering away because there is no greenery amongst the trees. The line making of

the trees also helps promote the concept of the trees dying because the texture it

gives makes them look dry, fragile and unhealthy. The main focus of this illustration

is the two characters, the colours used for the characters are brighter than the

woodland and the edge of the illustration is darker highlighting the two women and

making the image look more dramatic which has the expression of gloominess. The

illustration itself does not provide much clue as to what the story is about however,

the characters themselves have signs of representation when closely explored.

Looking at the characters it can be seen that they have different appearances to

each other. The woman on the left consists of white and blues which suggests the

character has a cold personality whereas the woman on the right is coloured with

natural and warm colours which could suggest she has a humble personality.

The dresses can also signify the basics of the story. The woman in the yellow dress

looks to be a worker, this can be seen by the way the woman is wearing an apron

round her waist and the patches in her dress which indicates she is too poor to buy

another dress or her employers will not provide another one. The blue dress

compared to the yellow dress is elegant resembling a ball gown that someone of

importance would wear as well as the gold jewellery, perhaps she is workers

employer. Looking at the small details of the illustration it can be seen that the

woman in the yellow dress has a hand in her hair which has bright sparkles on it and

she is also holding a comb which is sparkling in the same way as her hair which

suggests that the comb could be magical to make the woman’s hair sparkle.

Looking at the woman on the left the saying ‘cold as ice’ comes to mind because of

her white hair and blue dress which can relate to ice. When examining the blue dress

small eyes can be seen along the edge of a layer of the skirt which could be a

meaning that the woman has eyes every; that she knows what is happening

everywhere. This idea can be seen by the way the woman on the right is looking

down with her arms slightly crossed and bearing an ashamed or guilty expression

has the woman in the blue dress is holding her hand out towards her as if she is

reaching out for something.

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Perhaps the woman on the right is ashamed because she got caught using the comb

after she possibly stole it. It could be thought that the owner of the comb is the

woman on the left, this can be seen as the comb is the same gold colour of her

bracelets however, the woman in blue does not appear to have an angry expression

instead she looks calm. With the magical comb and eyes on her dress the woman in

blue could be a witch and the other woman works for her.

Another illustration from ‘The Lilac Fairy Book’ by Hackett is from the story ‘The

Castle of Kerglas’ (figure 10). The setting of illustration looks to be in a flourishing

woodland with greenery and flowers. The animal in the center of the image is a lion

but with the lion’s mane being made out of small snakes. This concept can be linked

to the mythology of Medusa; the story of a woman who were obsessed with her own

beauty Athena punished Medusa for stating she was more beautiful than Athena, the

goddess of beauty and wisdom, that she turned Medusa in to a monster with hair

made of snakes with her body turned in to a snakes body. This idea of a lion with

pg. 16

[figure 10] Hackett, C. (2015). Illustration from The Castle of Kerglas. [Pen and Watercolour]. Retrieved

from https://caitlinhackett.carbonmade.com/projects/4

Francesca Bottomley

hair of snake’s links with Hackett’s interests of mythology and wildlife and it well be

that Hackett wanted to use the story of Medusa to base one of her illustrations on. In

the background there are garden flowers including red roses which is a symbol of

beauty and a tall red pansy where the colour of the flower means passion and the

meaning of the pansy is love or thinking of someone.

With all of these meanings perhaps the concept of the illustration is the lion cared

more about beauty much like Medusa that his mane got turned in to snakes or the

lion might well have been a person who got transformed in to a lion similar to

Medusa whose body turned in to a snake’s body. Therefore the lion had to live with

being a creature with beauty surrounding him.

In comparison both Andronic and Hackett use line making to add detail to their work

and they also use an outline around each object to help make the illustration stand

out. The artists approach are different with Andronic having a more abstract style

with the use of colours and shapes whereas Hackett is more contemporary where

she uses elements of mythology and nature to create a realistic drawing but her style

of drawing allows the illustration to be childish but realistic at the same time.

Andronic’s illustrations are bold with the use of colours whereas Hackett’s colour

scheme is softer and have more tone to them such as highlights and shadows. This

helps the artists create their own signature so their work is recognisable and that the

illustrations are different in how suitable they are for children’s book for example

Hackett’s illustrations are more suited for books with the audience of towards young

adults because of their grotesque style and realistic.

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Chapter 2

What is Semiotics?

A theorist I will be looking at is Charles Sanders Peirce, an innovative and

accomplished logician whose ideas focuses on logic and representation (logic and

semiotics). Another theorist I will research into is Ferdinand de Saussure whose

study of semiotics examines the signs and types of representation. Because these

theorists are about semiotics I will be looking briefly at semiotics to help understand

the topic of representation.

Charles Sanders Peirce born in 1839, was a philosopher and logician who explored

representation through semiotics and logic. Pierce is usually quoted on his

distinctions between types of sign: iconic, arbitrary, indexical and symbolic.

According to Peirce there are three ways that signs represents objects, these are

icon, index and symbol. Icon refers to a sign that represents by resembling, for

example a photograph and a life painting. Peirce explains an index is a connection of

fact for example if we see smoke we assume there is a fire. Symbols can be natural,

abstract or cultural. Symbols or signs depends on how they were interpreted or

resemblance of their represented object.

Semiotician Ferdinand de Saussure was considered as one of two significant

fathers, other one being Peirce, of semiotics. Saussure focused on language

patterns and functions instead of the origins and historical aspects although

Saussure’s theory is still used today. It has previously been pointed out that

Saussure did not come up with the idea of Semiotics, instead he added to the

knowledge from the Middle Ages of Aristotelian and Neoplatonist. Saussure was

more focused about the linguistic signs and speech and Saussure’s model of the

sign refers to a concept not a thing. For example, the signifier is the word ‘open’ and

the signified is that the shop is open.

Semiotics also called semiology is defined as the study of signs. Semiotics uses the

term signs to describe meanings. There are several characteristics of signs. First

being a sign having a physical form called the signifier. This can be anything from a

neon light to a tree or it could even be a word. Secondly, a sign is referred to

something else rather than itself which is called the signified. Semiotics emphasises

the distinction between the separate sounds of a word for example ‘rose’ and the

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concept of the word. This leads to the referent, which refers to both signifier and

signified: real roses come in different shapes and sizes but every time we hear the

word ‘rose’ we picture the same rose in our heads.

The third characteristic is semiotics emphasises our perception reality is shaped and

constructed by signs and words which we use in various contexts. Language

determines our sense things for example snow where in English nouns snow, sleet

and slush describe different snow conditions. Whereas, in Inuit (Eskimo) have subtle

different types of snow which English describe with as ‘soft’, ‘waterlogged’ and so on.

Indexical is the term used to describe signifiers which act as kinds of evidence such

smoke of a fire (2003).

The term symbolic is the use of visual signs that are linked to referents. An example

of this is road signs have to warn drivers such as near a school so around thirty

years ago the image of torch of learning, figure 11 was used; it meant to be a symbol

of the place of learning. However, this meaning was socially agreed to have become

unfamiliar so it became obsolete and was gradually changed to a more iconic sign

that is used today of a symbol portraying a woman and child in a triangle shape

(2005).

pg. 19

[figure 11] Hands, S. (2005). Torch of

Learning. [Photograph]. In S.Hands

Road Signs, (12). Buckinghamshire:

Shire Publications Ltd.

Francesca Bottomley

Chapter 3

Studio practice: How does representation relate to my work?

My studio practice is illustration and I prefer to create illustrations traditionally so using materials such as charcoal, watercolour, pen, ink however, I do some digital work from time to time as I consider being able to use various materials and media is key to be a good illustrator with flexible skills. My approach is to create illustrations that are colourful and use line making, this steered the research of illustrators who have similar style to myself to see how they use representation in their own work.

Most of my projects including my current project are about book illustration as I enjoy creating illustrations that respond to text so I am always determined to create images that suit the text I am focusing on.

When I am working on an illustration I prefer to include a lot of detail not only for the drawing but what is included in the illustration that makes the audience know what is happening in the story by only looking at the image much like Madalina Andronic where there are signs within the illustration that gives information of what the story is about.

I consider it to be important that the illustration can tell a story by itself. Therefore representation is vital for illustrations to be understandable and have meaning and to portray a story. Without representation illustrations are not understandable and have no sense of meaning.

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Conclusion

Creating an illustration is easy enough but creating an illustration for a book is a test for any illustrator. It is important that the illustration matches the text and is relevant to the story as well as the illustration needing to include details from the story such as characters clothing that are described in the story.

Representation is thought to be key for narrative illustration because it allows the illustrator to include various levels of meaning. Without representation illustrations would more than likely be unnecessary in story books because they would not have any relation with the text by being unable to show what a setting or character would look like and overall an illustration without representation would be meaningless.

To explain this in figures 2 and 3, the illustrations by Narvaez, the way Narvaez has used the small detail of the different coloured hats and sizes of the bears in figure 2 which are all part of portrayal and depiction, it can be worked out by the signs that the characters are a family. With figure 3 there are not as many signs within the illustration yet with the small clues such as the glowing blue bird the audience can use the signs to find out what the meaning are and what the illustration is depicting.

Narvaez’s way of using representation in his illustrations are advanced and complex therefore perhaps his illustrations should be used in stories aimed at a higher age group because of the complexity and subtly of representation in his work.

Tenniel’s approach is more literal in a sense that he takes the description of the story and draws in great detail that it is clear what is being depicted for example the facial expression of the characters as well as the portrayal of the characters. This technique of using representation is the most appropriate for illustrations aimed at young children because they will be able to look at the illustration and know what is happening in the story.

The representation in Madalina Andronic’s illustrations have the most layers to them compared the other artists. The more the illustrations are analysed the more ideas and meanings are revealed such as the dove of hope and a reference to the Christianity faith. Although figures 7 and 8 have an abstract style to them it is still clear to see what is being depicted and portrayed through the use of fluid shapes and characters.

Hackett’s use of depiction and portrayal are based in her interests of nature and mythology yet with the representation of the two areas it is still clear as to what the illustrations are supposed to depict for example roses meaning beauty however Hackett’s approach of including mythology in her illustrations could make it confusing for young children because they may not know the stories that are related to the image such as the lion’s mane being made out of snakes, to understand what the illustrations are trying to depict and portray the audience would need to have knowledge of the area or have to research in to it.

From all of this it is considered that representation is important in narrative illustration. As stated previously the illustrations would have no meaning on their own and within a fairy tale book. The purpose of the illustrations is to support the text, if

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they do not support the text then the purpose of including them in the books would be pointless. However, particularly in fairy tale books which are aimed at children from the ages of eight so to keep the audience’s attention images are included to get the reader’s interested in to the story. Overall without representation an illustration is meaningless, not only in book illustration but with all types of illustrations.

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Bibliography

Andronic, M. (N.D.). Madalina Andronic. Retrieved from http://www.madiandronic.com/4949/about.

Branston, G. & Stafford, R. (1996). The Media Student's Book. London: Routledge.

Branston, G. & Stafford, R. (2003). the media student's book (3rd ed.). London: Routledge.

Encyclopedia Britannica . (2014). Sir John Tenniel. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Tenniel.

Flower meaning. (N.D.). The Pansy Flower: Its Meaning & Symbolism. Retrieved from http://www.flowermeaning.com/pansy-flower-meaning/.

Gaiman, N. (2007). Happily Ever After. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/oct/13/film.fiction

Garcia, B. (2013). Medusa. Retrieved from http://www.ancient.eu/Medusa/.

Hackett, C. (2015). Fine Art and Illustration. Retrieved from https://caitlinhackett.carbonmade.com/about.

Hall, S. (1997). Representation: cultural representations and signifying practices, London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Harris, R. (1987). Reading Saussure. London: Duckworth.

Heckel, J. (2014). Been There Done That: Why We Keep Retelling Fairy Tales. Retrieved from http://www.tor.com/2014/08/11/been-there-done-that-why-we-keep-retelling-fairytales/

Holdcroft, D. (1991). Saussure: Signs, System, and Arbitrariness. Cambridge University Press.

Honderich, T. (2005). The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Retrieved from http://www.oxfordreference.com.libaccess.hud.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acref/9780199264797.001.0001/acref-9780199264797-e-147

Joseph, J. E. (2012). Saussure. Oxford University Press.

Londonist, . (2005). See Beautiful Fairy Tale Illustrations In A Free Pop-Up Exhibition. Retrieved from http://londonist.com/2015/04/see-beautiful-fairy-tale-illustrations-in-a-free-exhibition#gallery=606252,606257.

Nadel, D. (2005). Pictures & Words: New Comic Art and Narrative Illustration. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.libaccess.hud.ac.uk/docview/231080788/flltextPDF?accountid=11526

Narvaez, J.D. (N.D.). Julian De Narvaez. Retrieved from http://www.juliandenarvaez.com/read-me/.

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Oxford Dictionaries . (N.D.). Fairy Tale. Retrieved from www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/fairy-tale.

Sun Yatsen University, (N.D.). Visual Grammar: Social Semiotic Perspectives on the Modality of Fairy Tale Illustrations. Journal of Sun Yatsen University (Social Science Edition). Retrieved from http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-ZSDS200705010.htm.

The Folio Society. (N.D.). The Green Fairy Book. Retrieved from http://www.foliosociety.com/book/GFB/green-fairy-book.

University of Chicago. (N.D.). Representation. Retrieved from http://csmt.uchicago.edu/glossary2004/representation.htm.

Willats, J. (1997). Art and Representation. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Woodard, K. (1997). Identify And Difference. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

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Illustrations

Fig. 1, Narvaez, J. (N.D.). Custodians and Thieves. [Oil]. Retrieved from http://www.juliandenarvaez.com/portfolio/#/new-gallery-41/.

Fig. 2, Narvaez J, (N.D.) The Three Bears. Retrieved from http://www.foliosociety.com/book/GFB/green-fairy-book

Fig. 3, Narvaez J, (N.D.) The Blue Bird. Retrieved from http://www.foliosociety.com/book/GFB/green-fairy-book.

Fig. 4, Tenniel, J. (2003). Alice in Wonderland. [Wood engraving]. Retrieved from http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/tenniel/alice/gallery1.html

Fig. 5, Tenniel, J. (2003). Alice with the Duchess, Cook and Baby. [Pen/Ink]. Retrieved from http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/resources/pictures/alices-adventures-in-wonderland/.7

Fig. 6, Tenniel, J. (2003). Alice in Wonderland. [Wood engraving]. Retrieved from http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/tenniel/alice/gallery1.html

Fig. 7, Andronic, M. (2013) 'When the king had got out of the way of the water ... he stood with the princess in his arms, looking back with amazement on the issuing torrent'. [Watercolour]. Retrieved from http://www.vam.ac.uk/b/va-illustration-awards-2014/published/book-illustrations/princess-and-goblin-illustrated-madalina

Fig. 8, Andronic, M. (2013) 'They went on, walking pretty fast, but taking care not to run a step'. [Watercolour]. Retrieved from http://www.vam.ac.uk/b/va-illustration-awards-2014/published/book-illustrations/princess-and-goblin-illustrated-madalina

Fig. 9, Hackett, C. (2015). Illustration from The Brown Bear of Norway. [Pen and Watercolour]. Retrieved from https://caitlinhackett.carbonmade.com/projects/4549867.

Fig. 10, Hackett, C. (2015). Illustration from The Castle of Kerglas. [Pen and Watercolour]. Retrieved from https://caitlinhackett.carbonmade.com/projects/4549867.

Fig. 11, Hands, S. (2005). Torch of Learning. [Photograph]. In S.Hands Road Signs, (12). Buckinghamshire: Shire Publications Ltd.

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