Fortune in situ

I went down to the bookshop to photograph my completed book in situ. It was a really nice experience, I met a lovely man who was a big fan of the book and was really helpful in helping to re-arrange the shop to make space for 'Fortune'. It really looked like it fitted well on the shelves of the children's section. I enjoyed doing this a lot, I think it's important to look at current design to see where yours fits in the market.  

Helen Firmin

Helen Firmin the the daughter of Peter Firmin and also an illustrator. She is the designer of the No.1 ladies detective agency book covers by Alexander Mcall Smith. I really love her use of colour and texture, something i've really been focusing on in my work. I decided to email her with some questions, I asked:

What made you want to be an illustrator?

Who are your influences?

What are you favourite techniques/processes?

Do you have any advice for aspiring illustrators?

She replied saying:

Dear Bea, 

               Thanks for your nice email. I'll try to answer your questions...

I grew up surrounded by people drawing/ making things ,it was normal for me and my five sisters to do creative stuff! So art college was a natural progression. At the RCA I started to enjoy printmaking more and it emerged as my area to work in. I always loved the 'narrative' , having stories read to us from an early age and seeing my father and Oliver Postgate working on film and books helped .

My influences are wide , Edward Ardizzone for stories ,Edward Bawden ,Claire Leyton,Thomas Bewick ,Picasso for printmaking .Just a few of the people who have influenced me. 

I use Lino and wood cut techniques but have often combined them with paint and collage , especially for commercial work that is a 'one off' piece , and not an edition. 

My advice ,briefly , is to concentrate on finding a way of working that suits you personally.if you seriously want to earn your living and enjoy doing that from your work you must find a way that you love and then go out and try to sell it! Things are changing hugely at the moment in the media .After 30 years (!) of working continuously I find I am doing most of my work for exhibit ion and selling at venues and galleries .This suits me now ,but shows how adaptable you need to be to make a living. 

Look at and be informed about past and present work that is going on and most importantly enjoy what you do!

All the best with your studies and work. Keep in touch via my website ie see exhibitions I 'm doing ect. Good luck! Hannah 

It was a really nice email and It gave me a lot to think about.

Book Cover design

When it comes to children's book covers there are various different ways of going about designing them. I've chosen a few varieties to see what sort of thing fits into the current children's market.

This cover incorporates large text and the title character. It's easy to understand and self explanatory. It also uses bight primary colours which makes it aesthetically pleasing and child friendly.

In this cover, the image is central and the type is slightly more oriental. I don't think it's as clear to read and if you didn't know what the book was about, i'm not sure it's a very good representation. 

In this cover, the type has been placed inside the image. I quite like the idea of using imagery to frame the text, it's a good use of text and quite a clever idea. 

The text looks quite crowded here, and the colour is almost too bright. However, I would know what it was about as little red riding hood and the big bad wolf are very recognisable characters. It is also quite lively and friendly and I think children would like it.

I really like this cover, I think it works really well. The colours are nice to look at, the image is very playful and very suggestive. It's intriguing and I want to read it. I like the use of really simple type - overall I think it's really successful. 

This is a nice simple cover design. It's self explanatory, the type is clear and I like the colour scheme that has been chosen. My criticism would be that it doesn't necessarily brand itself well as a children's book. It's not very playful and the colours are quite bland. 

I like this cover a lot. It stands out because of the bold use of colour, the quirky illustrations and the positioning of type along the top and the bottom. I think it's a really successful design.

I also think this cover is quite clever. Making the type and the lollipop read is a good design decision  and the positioning of the lollipop has been well thought out and it really quite clever. I like the angling of the type, it fits well with the imagery.

I think this has too much type, it looks over crowded and doesn't fit well on the page. I like the illustrations but I think they should take priority over the text and not the other way round.

Peter Firmin

Peter Firmin is responsible for the creation of some of the most popular and successful children's illustration. Some of his most famous creations include Bagpuss, The Clangers and Noggin the Nog. These are also a big influence to me. I love his whimsical style and the energy in his drawings. The characters are easy to sympathise with and the illustrations speak for themselves. In my children's book, I am focusing mainly on the images to do the talking, I think it's important that images don't necessarily need type for you to understand them. 

Tony Ross

Tony Ross is a children's illustrator. I am really inspired by his style and have always been influenced by his work. He works mainly using ink and watercolour/pencil which is the technique I have recently developed for this project. I re-read a few of my favourite stories of his for some inspiration. 

Korky Paul

Korky paul is a very successful cartoonist and illustrator. I love the attention to detail in his work, there is so much surprise and although I read these books as a child, it is only on re-reading them that I have discovered this. I really like this idea, I think it gives the books an edge that others might not necessarily have. In my book, I am focusing on several subtle details such as each place 'Fortune' visits, she gets another luggage label on her suitcase. I think it's good to have a bit of fun within the illustrations as ultimately I just want to make people smile when they look at my book. 

Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter was a massive success in children's illustration. She created characters that generation after generation of children have grown up loving. What is it about her illustrations that make them so successful? i think it's because you are able to relate to the characters and follow them in their adventures. I also think it's because they have such memorable faces. I think it's important to design characters that people can remember, hopefully people will be able to remember Fortune the magpie!