V&A Illustration

I recently saw the winning entries for the V&A Illustration Awards on display at the V&A and thought that I would enter my own this year.

I looked at several ideas for illustrations but in the end decided to illustrate two stories from the 'Just So Stories' by Rudyard Kipling.  I decided that I would illustrate 'The Butterfly that Stamped' and 'The Cat that Walked Alone'.  I wanted to use a bright colourful technique with colour washes and intricate pattern.  the books are read by both children and adults so it was important that the images would appeal to both.

The first images I produced I was not completely satisfied with, they did not hold together well and looked slightly flat.  I changed the size to make them square rather than rectangular.  This reduced any unnecessary space and made the images much more cohesive.  Once the images were finished I added a gradient pattern in Photoshop to the sky in both images, this made them much more dynamic.

I am very happy with the colours in the illustrations.  I used gouache in my final paintings, rather than watercolours, which I had previously used.  This made the colour much more intense. The shape of the canvas made a big difference in the over all composition.