Oliver Jeffers

I chose to investigate Oliver Jeffer's pracitse after seeing his illustrated television commerical. I instantly recognised Jeffer's style in the advert from the children's books of his I have of his on my shelf.

Analysis

Oliver Jeffers illustrated this 2013 (to present) commercial for Kinder. The advert is hand drawn and painted using water colours and pencil. It follows a narrative of a mother and child and advertises Kinder's "tasty little treats" range of products.



The advert starts and ends as a harmony between real life products and illustrated pieces with an entirely illsutrated narrative in the middle. The commercial moves into a fully illustrated animation when the illustrated character interacts with the product.

As well as a television commerical Jeffers produced a series of posters for the advertising campaign.

Similar to the commercial the poster featured all handwritten type and is fully illustrated. There isn't a single piece of photography or typed text on the poster. The colour palette in the poster, and commercial, draws from the colour palette used in the commercial, all adapted from the product: white, brown, organge and blue.

Using colours from the product subtly keeps the visual of the product in your mind as you're associating the colours of the characters with the product throughout the commercial.

After looking at his advertisement campaign I then took to my book shelf and read through and studied his book 'Lost and Found'. Like his adverts artwork the children's book is drawn using pencils and painted with water colours.

The cover is very colourful. The palette uses contrasting colours with soft tones of the icy blues against bold, bright yellows and reds. The colours are friendly and grab your attention. There is an obvious separation between the characters and their surroundings, they seem very out of place in that setting, which from reading the story you learn they are.

 

There is some 'science' as to why the book cover is aesthetically pleasing. The image itself is split perfeclty into thirds with important information in each third. The top third has the boy's face, the middle third the penguin's and the bottom third has the book title and authorship.

This spread is has quite a graphic design quality to it. The soft water colour illustrations have been cut clean edged digitally and put into hard framed shapes. The artwork is presented in panels separated by text.

Whereas in contrast the opposite page spread has no cropping or background. The artwork stands alone against a stark white background. Whilst the design changes throughout the book the artwork style and handwritten typeface remaind a consistent throughout.

Again, vastly different to the previous spreads this spread is a full-colour page with the artwork entirely covering the page full bleed and the text being placed over it. There has been some consideraton for the placement of text in the artwork as it has been designed so and allowed for quite easy placement of text without taking away from the artwork.

Experiments

In my series of experiments I will explore the methods and style of Jeffers' work and approach to design in his children's books. I will be using an extract from the text (The Secret Garden) I'm using for my Final Major Project as a starting point for these experiments.

This is the artwork I'm going to be using in my experiments. I've used the soft pencil and water colours that Jeffers uses in his illustrations and retained his character traits and style.

As well as characters I've painted a background to use in my experiments using water colour paints. I considered Jeffers rule of thirds with his backgrounds so that I could experiment with design easier in my investigation. I could then also play around with both white backgrounds and coloured backgrounds, painted detailed backgrounds too.

In these experiments I will be looking at book covers and page designs.

To start I first experimented with book covers.

This first cover follows the guidelines set out by Jeffers book 'Lost and Found' using the rule of thirds for the artwork and placement of type. The typeface is also handwritten.

The separation of artwork and text in this subtle use of thirds makes a book cover effective and visually readable.

I again used the rule of thirds in this book cover, the design changed slightly with the inclusion of the robin and the girl being bigger. The typeface changed from handwritten to a premade fontface on this cover too to make it more eligible.

I created a range of book cover examples following on from this intial experiment.

I looked at exploring the graphic design elements to Jeffers work we saw inside of his books with the panelling of artwork on page layouts and cropping organic arwork into digital boxes and shapes. In this experiment the artwork is put into an invisible box.

I then altered the cover slightly by stretching it out width-wise to change the box into a band going through the middle of the book cover with smaller strips of white at the top and bottom of the cover. I didn't think this worked as well as the white boarder which framed the artwork nicely.

This experiment goes back to exploring the handwritten type but also the graphic design element of Jeffers work. The entire artwork, title and authorship this time are all condensed and put into the box with a clean white boarded the same width all around the image. I think it frames the artwork nicely but I preferred the authorship on the outside of the artwork in my previous experiment.

I experimented with coloured backgrounds/boarders. I felt the crisp, digital green didn't work as well as the white. It felt too harsh and noticeably digital against the artwork.

So I explored using a wash of green water colour instead which worked much better as it's softness complimented the artwork instead of clashing against it.

Following on from book cover experiments I looked into page design and layouts.

The first design looked at having the artwork exposed, bare against a white background. I think this captures what is going on with the stillness in it, the shadow from the character against the white background creates a sense of still and calmness. I used the handwritten type in this experiment.

The same experiment but using a premade font face for the type. I think the handwritten type works better as it becomes part of the artwork and visually flows better whereas the existing font face looks out of place and ajar to the artwork.

I then explored the graphic panelling we saw in 'Lost and Found'. I don't think this design worked with my illustration, it felt too cut up and the artwork was harder to read and in this instance the handwritten text looked out of place against the graphic edge of the panels.

I rearranged the artwork in the panels and instantly the page reads better. There is more of a flow to the visuals and they compliment the text. I still feel the type looked out of place on this experiment.

I think in this example the digital type works better as the panelling of the artwork creates a guideline for the text to fit into and the handwritten type doesn't follow a ruled line and looks messy against the clean cut edges of the artwork.

I explored two panels this time. This reminds me of a graphic novel or video game with the interaction between the two characters, particularly with the positioning and different background colours. I think this works better than the three panels with text inbetween each panel and again not using the handwritten type works better here.

This experiment I used the full bleed image with the soft wash of water colour fading off to create space for the type. I think this page retains the style of Jeffers but as design goes there isn't much to it and I prefer the designs with more.

To resolve this I simply framed the artwork in a white boarder like I did in my cover experiments and I'm much happier with the design, it looks more like a refined finished piece than an experiment or in development.

Evaluation: Oliver Jeffers' work illustrates children's stories at their best. His characters and soft water colour illustrations are so enticing to audiences and children. Jeffers uses colour importantly in his work, his books are colourful and his use of colour is effective in his stories. It doesn't stop at children's books this importance as I found out investigating his television commercial that the colour palette was very important. His use of colour helps you to understand the story, or product of the narrative you're reading. This was important when it came to my own experiments as I thought about the colour palette for the story 'The Secret Garden'. From researching into Jeffers approach to design and methods of creating illustration I have learnt a great deal about the significance of colour and also that handwritten type can become part of the artwork, words, type, they don't have to be separate things from the images. I also learnt a great deal about composition and page designs from studying his work.

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Bibliography

Artwork/books/TV

1. Collins, H. (2005). www.harpercollinschildrensbooks.co.uk. GB: Harper Collins.
2. Hodgson Burnett, F. (1910). The Secret Garden. 
3. Jeffers, O. (2013). Kinder Chocolate: Invention. GB: Passion Pictures.
4. Jeffers, O. (2013). http://www.oliverjeffers.com/illustrations/kinder. Kinder Chocolate Invention. GB: Passion Pictures.
5. Jeffers, O. (2013). http://vimeo.com/40932410. Kinder Chocolate Invention. GB: Passion Pictures.
6. Jeffers, O. (2005). Lost and Found. GB: Harper Collins
7. Jeffers, O. (2005). http://www.oliverjeffers.com/picture-books/lost-and-found.

Polly Dunbar

Following on from my research into Eric Carle's work I thought I would look at artist Polly Dunbar as I enjoyed the process of collage in my previous experiments. Dunbar's work however is a different approach to collage than Carle's as it is layered digitally.

Analysis

All over Dunbar's book covers are relatively the same. Each book follows the same recipe and formula for design.

1.  Coloured background (in muted tone)
2. Central title, including the main characters name (which is larger and in bold)
3. Author/illustrator underneath
4. Slightly off-center artwork (typically, the main character)

This simple recipe is all you need for a children's book cover. A clear title and artwork which introduces us to the main character and the story inside. The colourful background is effective with children for a cover and children respond to colour and it would get it noticed on a shelf. This basic design is also approachable to children as they can read the title and make sense of the book themselves. There also is an associated link between her publications, giving returning readers a visual to look for not just by name.

Above is a double page spread I've chosen to look at (context: a vase has been knocked over, a little girl is getting the blame and her parents are discussing it)

There is no drawn background to this piece but instead the layering and placement of characters and use of shadows creates depth and perspective within what appears to be a blank canvas. The use of the colour blue (in the spilt water, fathers shoes and trousers, mothers tights) is a subtle link to the emotions on this spread, creating the feeling of saddness and worry the little girl is feeling for recieving the blame.

The horizontals in this piece create the depth to the artwork making up the foreground, middle and background. In this sense the placement of the artwork tells us the story chronologically. On the 1st horizontal we have the issue: the broken vase, the 2nd we have the action: the parents discussion, the 3rd we have the little girl and on the 4th we have the flowers: why. The placement as so effects how we read the image.

Depending on how you read the story (type/artwork) can change the way you read the image:

1. In order of events taking place/placement of artwork. 
2. The event.
3. The discussion.

The design and placement of artwork on this spread has been thought out as it is just as important to telling the story, if not more, than the type. The text has been placed in really the only space given which to me tells me that the artwork was more important. It is there to tell you the story (or for parents to read the story) but what really tells a story to children, in children's books, is the illustrations, the visual communication. We get a better understanding of what is happening by seeing first the artwork.

The illustrations are made up of mixed media collage. The mixed media is a range of water colours, flat patterns and digital painting. Pencil lineart is layered on top. Flat patterns and texutres are used on manmade things such as clothing and the soft water colours make up the characters natural features, their skin and hair. The colour palette is muted tones of the primary and secondary colours, the soft colours compliment Dunbar's drawing style.

Experiments

I chose to do an experiment using my friend Celine as the subject. I felt Dunbar's work reflected best the personality of Celine: cute, kind, interesting, travelled. I was able to use patterns as Celine's wardrobe is very patterened and reflective of Dunbar's collages.

To start I created a line art drawing and a colour/pattern sheet, I used pastel colours as they seemed more in nature to Celine's character. I scanned both of these in and digitally collaged together my image. I collaged the pattern sheet I made underneath the pencil lineart in photoshop and created a bicycle using a collage of different patterns without lineart.

Having created both elements of my experiment I played around with placement and interaction between the two.

I took my experiment further after creating the artwork and looked into mock-ups of page layouts, type and creating a book cover in the style of her children's books.

The first experiment looked at breaking up each line of the text with an illustration, illustrating each line of the story. This is a fun way of laying out type and the illustrations become part of the text. They are in this sense ordered and looked at as you read the story line by line.

 

The second looked at type and separating it by putting the spoken text into a speech bubble. This experiment has the text become part of the artwork, by creating a visual bubble in which the characters spoken dialogue is coming out from it becomes artwork as well as narrative.

The next followed the type becoming part of the artwork again, this time moving with an image. In the example it follows the journey of the rocket and in mine the path of the bicycle. The text flows with the journey of the story.

Lastly, a much simpler design with just the text and artwork with no correlation between the two.

All the above experiments are based on page designs from the same book. There doesn't need to be a constant, repeated design in a children's book the placement of type works around the artwork and makes itself relevant to each different page and part of the story.

For the book cover I followed the recipe Dunbar used for hers. I picked out tones found in the characters dress and used these as a complimentary palette for the background and type. The title is eligible and tells us something about the character on the front cover.

I altered the colour of the cover's background and type to see how differently that would enhance the artwork.

The shades of blue and green I think complimented the artwork well, but the shades of pink made the characters face blend into the background and she was lost. They enhanced the bicycle nicely but the character is the most important part of the illustration so irrelevant if the character is lost.

Green hues work nicely against the pinks and purples of the character.

Having looked at some of Dunbar's designs and applied them to my artwork I thought I would experiment further with some of my own.

 

The first has the artwork on a muted background with text of a darker shade in the top left corner. I felt this looked flat and the coloured background instead of being a space instead is negative space.

By reducing the size of the character ever so slightly the page immediately gains some depth. It has a foreground and a background with a central character.

However, reducing the size of the character too much puts her too far into the background and the interaction between her and the bicycle is lost. She instead becomes part of the background and the bicycle then becomes the focus.

I also experimented with a different background to try and create more depth to the image in a different way. This background is a painted water colour wash instead of a digital coloured background, the gradient effect of the wash does create the feeling of depth in the image that you also achieved by reducing the size and positioning of characters.

Evaluation: Dunbar follows a simple formula to her book covers and it gives her books a uniform look. Inside the books however the design is different page-to-page depending on the subject matter, what is happening in the story. Whilst she doesn't use painted/full-drawn backgrounds she uses the coloured background and shadows as a gage for depth and creates the illusion of a background with the positioning of the artwork. This investigation has been useful to learn from and know that not all illustrations have to have objects or fully illustrated backgrounds to have depth to them.

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Bibliography

Artwork/books

1. Dunbar, P. http://www.pollydunbar.com/. The Official Website.
   
2. Dunbar, P. (2007). Penguin.
3. Dunbar, P. (2009). Pretty Pru: A Tilly and Friends Book. Walker.
4. Dunbar, P. (2013). Tilly and Friends.
5. Dunbar, P. (2009). Where's Tumpty? A Tilly and Friends Book.