-
Pigs In Art And Children’s Literature
Illustrations of pigs through the ages.
-
Fish Bowls In Art
The fishbowl is a common symbol of surveillance, as is a glass house. For house cats, the fish bowl is a miniature version of the pond or lake — domestic version.
-
Sewing, Weaving and Spinning in Art
I am certain that a Sewing Machine would relieve as much human suffering as a hundred Lunatic Asylums, and possibly a good deal more. Margaret Atwood
-
Beautiful Cosy Underground Scenes In Picture Books
Mole reached down a lantern from a nail on the wall and lit it, and the Rat, looking round him, saw that they were in a sort of fore-court. A garden-seat stood on one side of the door, and on the other a roller; for the Mole, who was a tidy animal when at home, […]
-
Commuter and Transfer Stations In Art
These illustrations are views of the outside of commuter stations — train stations, lorry transfer stations. (I’m not including here illustrations of the insides of commuter stations.)
-
Illustrating Metallic Surfaces
The trick to painting realistic metal: Know how much white to use — or not use. Use too much and you’ll end up with something that looks like glass, plastic or a DreamWorks collector toy. Look at the beautiful illustrations and paintings below and take note of how much (little) pure white is used. More […]
-
Leaded Glass Windows In Art
PAINTINGS WHICH LOOK A LITTLE LIKE LEADED GLASS I have wondered if stained leaded glass artwork was inspired by the wings of butterflies. The same painting techniques artists use to illustrate butterflies can be applied equally to illustrations of stained glass. There is something otherworldly about all of Sime’s art. Even a simple landscape is […]
-
Train Stations and Platforms in Art
A collection of art and illustrations in and around train stations.
-
What do birds symbolize in literature?
Birds are much older than we are — living dinosaurs. Across cultures, birds function as smart collaborators with humans. We now know how smart (some) birds really are, but we have long had a sense of their canniness. The smartest bird in the world is currently thought to be the New Zealand Kea, which isn’t so great if you live…
-
The Three Main Types of Graphics Tablets
DIGITISER TABLETS You plug these into a computer then draw onto the tablet while looking up at your monitor. Wacom calls them ‘pen tablets’. I’ve been using digitiser tablets for a decade — first a cheap Wacom Bamboo, then a large Wacom Intuos. I’ve heard people say it takes a couple of years to get […]
-
The Illustrations of Charles Keeping
Charles Keeping (1924 – 1988) is one of my favourite 20th century illustrators. He rose to prominence by illustrating Rosemary Sutcliff’s historical novels for children: I have always had a strong feeling that Charles was a true genius… it is my belief that he came to maturity very slowly (not in terms of technique, at […]
-
Creepy Blue and Black Illustrations
Haunted Houseful is an Alfred Hitchcock collection of stories published in 1961. Fred Banbery (1913-1999) created these very nice illustrations. From what I can gather, the illustrations don’t match the stories especially well, but they would work very well as creative writing inspo. (For instance: Write Your Own Urban Legend.) OTHER ATMOSPHERIC USE OF BLUE […]
-
Storms, Cyclones and Wind in Art and Storytelling
The wind blew as ’twad blawn its last; The rattling showers rose on the blast; The speedy gleams the darkness swallow’d; Loud, deep, and lang, the thunder bellow’d: That night, a child might understand, The Deil had business on his hand. Robert Burns “STORM” BY SARAH WEATHERALL In some parts of the world, wind is […]
-
Yellow and Black in Illustration
Yellow and black is a fairly common palette in illustration. Hildilid’s Night, Mo’s Moustache, The Happy Day, My Heart and Float are a few picture book examples utilising a greyscale palette with the addition of yellow.
-
Vibrant Palettes Of Czech And Eastern European Illustrators
If you’d like to see some hopeful, vibrant, brightly coloured illustration, let’s visit a part of the world known in recent history for oppessive governments.