How Illustration Shapes the Way Stories Are Told
Since illustration is essentially the only aspect of a novel that doesn’t involve the written word, the language of illustration is important. Whether it’s the first thing the reader sees or scattered throughout the text, illustrations do a lot of the work when it comes to conveying tone, character, and even pacing.
A good illustration can pique the reader’s curiosity, stir a memory, or instill a sense of enchantment, encouraging the reader to continue reading. An illustration can provide a jumping-off point for the reader’s imagination, while still providing a visual reference. If executed thoughtfully, illustration enriches the reading experience, rendering the book more memorable and enchanting.
Illustration aids in the pacing of the story as well. A scene can be strengthened or weakened with the application of color, composition and amount of detail. An illustration can stretch a moment out, and invite the reader to pause and let the feelings settle in, or tighten up, and quicken the pace, with an emphasis on action. This visual pacing influences the pace of the story as a whole, and underscores the story’s structure, in an organic, unobtrusive way. Effective illustration knows when to shout, and when to be quiet.
Being an illustrator isn’t just about drawing and painting well. It’s also about being able to tell a story. The best illustrations are those that are needed to tell the story, not those that just display the illustrator’s abilities. It’s about thinking about what has just happened to the character, the mood of the scene, the feeling the reader should take away from each image. It’s about thinking about light and shadow, viewpoint and colour and how all those things relate to each other. Illustrations that help to tell the story, aren’t just decorations.
Last but not least, illustrating is a craft and it can only be learned by doing, by getting feedback, by criticizing yourself. You are not just drawing something beautiful, you have to tell something. When you practice, try to figure out how your illustration is serving the text, how your drawing is helping the reader feel what they need to feel. Try different techniques, different ways of expressing yourself but always come back to the drawing’s purpose: serving the story. Eventually, your work will gain its own flavor.
