The Concept

The concept behind my work for this album is the ideal of the 'American Dream', focusing on the high-class and very fashionable era of the 1920s- 30s (think 'the Great Gatsby' with a more modern perspective).

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Vintage Classics cover 2013

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My reasoning behind this is that this era was very much focused on wealth and the things that often go with it, i.e. fast cars, fashionable clothes and well-furnished homes. The general ethos in that time was that with enough work, even more determination and just a pinch of luck was that you could achieve the unachievable; incredible success for you and your family in 'The Land of Dreams'.
Iggy herself journeyed to America in pursuit of her own aspirations, and the story of this is well interwined in the lyrics, going hand in hand with her tales of new found fame, money and access to the world of fasion and luxury.

Another constant allegory within her songwriting is the determination to have a booming career. Running along the same lines as that is that she possesses some lone wolf qualities enabling her to work without distractions and hindrances. This is something I'll definitely try to convey in what I create although exactly how I'm not sure yet. This is where research comes into play as now I need to research typical items associated with all of these themes. By using research I can really dig deep into my concept and get the work spot on.

Brainstorming

So because I set a theme I first did a little brainstorming in my sketchbook to help me get some ideas down. I was thinking about things like the setting and the characters, from the clothes to the hair and other fashions. I also thought I could try looking through old family photo albums to see if I could draw any inspiration from those pictures; it would also add a more personal element to my work. 

The setting I thought would be best for this kind of theme was a beachside hotel, with big tall windows and featuring gorgeous Georgian architecture. To gain some inspiration for this, there are some seaside towns near where I live that I could visit and take photographs of and draw the buildings there.

Gobbolino the Witch's Cat by Ursula Moray Williams

Recently I've been thinking about other illustrated books that I enjoyed reading as a child and immediately thought of this one. Gobbolino the Witch's Cat is the story of a kitten who never wanted to be an evil, mischievous witch's cat- he wanted to be a house or farmcat that could just curl up beside the fire instead of stirring cauldrons and making spells.

I really loved the illustrations in this book because of their scribbly style. The author Ursula illustrated the book herself which I thought was a great idea because an author would know exactly where each illustration should be and where it would be needed most, and would be able to execute it exactly the way they wanted. However not all authors have an artistic talent like Ursula and so there exists jobs for people like me. :D

Just like in Black Beauty there are little vignettes throughout the book which is something I'm beginning to realise is a feature I like in books, as well as chapter illustrations. I love that the drawings in this book in particular are almost just refined sketches- they remind me of my reportage and sketchbook work in that they're not perfect but have a quaint charm about them (maybe because they are so imperfect).

 There are quite a lot of illustrations in this book, more than usual for a story of this length. However although this would be impractical for a lot of artists, because of the style of the work, it meant that it wouldn't be so difficult to put in as many illustrations as want or needed.
While working through The Witches I identified quite a lot of illustrative spikes, many being small vignettes, and so maybe I could try doing my own drawings in a quicker, colourless style to be able to achieve this.

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

Black Beauty was one of my favourite novels as a child and in the hardback edition I own I've always admired the watercolour illustrations inside. This book was illustrated by Kate Aldous in watercolour and pencil, in an accurate style with plenty of colour and life.

 This was one of the first full page illustrations in the book. As you can see, the use of colour is bright and vivid, and the dynamic composition of the drawing gives it plenty of movement and flow. I love the 'realistic' style of the drawing too, which is something a lot of modern illustrators forego in favour of their own wackier styles.

 

Another thing I really like about this book is the vignettes in each chapter. There are lots of these throughout the book, both big and small, with some taking up 2/3 of the page like the one above. The text has expertly been moulded around the images and helps to punctuate key points of the text which don't require full-page illustrations but definitely benefit from the extra visuals. 

 

These are two of my favourite full-page illustrations in the book. The watercolour paints are the perfect choice of medium for this kind of realistic illustration because although bright and colourful they can also produce just the right tones and colours for human and animal forms. They are a great choice to use for children's books and illustrations because of their friendly, inviting atmosphere.

 

The small illustrations for each chapter title are also features I think work really well in this book and style of illustration. They definitely help to keep the book interesting and engaging for children- the book itsself is particularly long and while I could read it all the way through without losing interesting, I know not every child could and the illustrations definitely spurred me on to read even more voraciously.