RETRO CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATION
FINE WATERCOLOUR ILLUSTRATION
Flat Design
COMMON FEATURES OF FLAT DESIGN
“Flat Illustration” refers to minimalist design. This type of design is popular on websites and apps due to its usability. In the age of apps, flat design has recently been in fashion. This design fashion of course made its way into picture books.
Interesting use of negative space
Shapes with crisp edges, frequently sans outlines (in contrast to atomic illustration)
In picture books, flat illustrations often feature bright colours, but not always.
Most importantly, flat illustrations are two-dimensional, hence the descriptor ‘flat’.
These book covers challenge the very definition of ‘children’s illustration’, since the stories inside are for adult audiences.
Naturally, the cover art of cosy mysteries would frequently look just at home in the genre of children’s literature.
But when the film crew’s week of shooting delivers an actual shooting, Clare Cosi and her staff find themselves at the scene of a true crime.
The way this otter looks straight at the reader is highly reminiscent of many children’s book covers, along with the bright and inviting colour palette, of course.
Like Adrienne Adams
Like Leonard Weisgard
Like Louis Slobodkin
In the 1990s, research about how babies are drawn to large shapes had an influence on the number of large, simple board books published for very young children.
Like Dick Bruna
Like Vladimir Bobri
Like Jim Flora
Jim Flora was a highly influential designer of record covers who also illustrated children’s books.
“Clean Line” Illustration
Like Jon Klassen
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