Developing an art style
As I’ve said in a previous post, I originally conceived of this project as an illustrated children’s book. However, very early on I realized what I really wanted to do was write a young adult novel. I still always intended to create illustrations for the book, but it’s only in the last few months that I have actually started drawing. Even though illustrating was the original impetus for starting this book, it’s something I was weirdly dreading.
Why? Well, I think that it’s an effect of changing the project from a story book to a novel, which means that the words are primarily forming the visuals. When writing scene descriptions, I try to let an image flash in my visual imagination. Then, when putting the words down on the page, I describe the image in my mind, carefully choosing which details to include. I’m not a fan of overly long descriptive prose, so I try to keep things brief and impactful in my own writing.
So, when I thought about creating illustrations for the book, I instinctively went back to those mental pictures. Since I was using these visualizations to describe scenes, they were already detailed—almost like the set of a play. Characters, props, and the environment were all staged in my mind. And drawing all of that detail, to me, sounds like kind of a nightmare.
An example of this is an early scene where June (the main character) goes to an after-school swim lesson, which she is dreading. The description of this scene in the book is pretty sparse:
She was hit by the smell of chlorine and the deafening shrieks of the other kids reverberating off the walls as she walked [onto the pool deck]. Miss Louise was in the shallow end with the other kids in her swim group.
But I know that there are six characters who speak or act in the scene, plus additional background characters. So an accurate depiction of the scene would probably look something like this:
To depict this scene, I’d need to find a visually appealing reference of a public pool and multiple images for each person and their actions. Then, I’d have to arrange everything into a cohesive composition.
The thought of composing this scene felt more like a layout assignment from an illustration class I took in college. While those classes taught me a lot, I wouldn't say the process of meticulously positioning objects and maintaining perspective was particularly fun.
Assignment for my layout class in college
Another layout assignment.
So, I avoided starting altogether.
Then, I was randomly served a YouTube video about finding your art style. I decided to take the suggestions in the video and create a Pinterest board for the visual style of the illustrations. This exercise completely changed my vision.
Through collecting, reviewing, and paring down inspirational images, I realized that what I wanted for the illustrations was very different from what I had initially imagined. I was drawn to images that are very simple and focused. They often focus on just a few key details and have limited colour palettes, but have a strong overall mood.
Plus, I was actually excited about attempting that type of style.
June arriving for her swimming lesson.
Coming back to the pool scene, I reimagined the illustration with this new vision in mind. Instead of overwhelming the scene with intricate details, I focused on the feeling.
Contrasting June’s small stature to the arched entryway is intended to evoke vulnerability and a sense of foreboding.
Having her turned away from the viewer is intended to reinforce her subjective point of view, leaving the reader to wonder why she was dreading swim practice.
The limited colour palette is meant to draw focus to June, contrasting the warmer tones of her hair and skin with the blue/green environment.
Does it look anything like an actual public pool? Not really. Nor does it show any of the other characters in the scene. But I believe paring down the details and focusing on June’s subjective point of view created a much stronger sense of emotion and atmosphere. And because I didn’t treat the illustration as a challenge in technical skill, I found the process way more enjoyable.
Going forward, I’m excited to translate more of the scenes into illustrations using this approach. Both in my writing and illustrations, I owe a great deal to the artists who share their work. Their art has shown me a wider range of possible approaches and inspired me to try new things.