A B C book research

There are a ridiculous amount of ABC books on the market, but not many quality ones as far as I can find. Here are some of the ones that have stood out to me. Some are from famous illustrators, some aren't, but each seems to have a different layout and approach, which makes me think that anything goes in the ABC book market. All images are from amazon.co.uk  and further images are available of the inside pages of some of these books on this site, which can help with layout, as they will not let you download these pages.

In the curious George book the characters are created by using the letters as a starting point.

This Maisy Book combines naive illustrations with a lift the flap book to bring ABC to life.

    

In this book the letters become part of the illustration with the characters interacting with them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quentin's illustrations help to give movement and feeling to the ABC book.

I love the use of mixed media used in this book, The lino cut effect lettering combined with the solid painted characters works really well. I also like the use of stacking items on top of one another, this is also a good way of a different layout.

I really like the bright colours and the graphic style of illustration used in this book, his style reminds me in some way of mine. He uses shape and colour to portray his characters and scenery.

Charley Harper fits his text around his illustrations. 

Good old Dr Seuss uses his amazing use of words and quirky illustrations, his layout is often jumbled and busy, which all adds up to another great book.

 

More card research

gagafabrics.co.uk

I am looking at different inspiration for more cards aimed at boys, and this fabric has inspired me no end. I love the colour palette and I was thinking of a rocket card but I also love the idea of a flying saucer as well.

www.pict-web.com

I really like the simple use of line and shape in this illustration, it shows that you can produce character in an image without being too complicated about it. This illustration is produced by Cozy Tomato (Koji Tomoto) a Japanese artist, who I think captures the retro style with simple ease. This will also help me with my girl orientated card designs.

retrotogo.com

Loving the characters in these illustrations, by Camilla Lundsten. These really do have a retro feel about them and I like the use of the limited colour palette. Can use these illustrations as  well to inspire me for my girl inspired cards. What I need to do now is to get creating, cause I feel I have enough inspiration to be getting on with.

Train Research

I am thinking of doing a train design as one of my card illustrations so here is some inspiration for me.

flickr.com

I love the colours and style used in these illustrations. These images are from a book called Train to Timbuctoo, written by Margret Wise Brown and illustrated by Art Seiden, published by Golden Books in 1951.

flickr.com

                                                                                                                          
I adore this retro jigsaw on Wooden Donkeys site at flickr, it reminds me of a cross between something off pigeon street and the yellow submarine.

 grainedit.com

I have looked at this illustration before on a different project, its illustrated by Toru Fukado, a Japanese illustrator. Again loving the use of shape and the basic colour palette. Grain Edit is a site I find I visit a lot, they seem to have the same love for retro inspired illustration as me and they have really good interviews with illustrators which can be both inspiring and informative.

More card research

 

janefosterblog.blogspot.com

 I love Jane Fosters work, her use of simple shape combined with patterned line makes these screen prints work really well.

 graphicdesighforum.com

I also really like Adrian Johnson's work it has a really retro feel about and I think this is the way I want to go in my designs.

   

astridandinez.com

I don't know who the artist is but again these have a retro feel about them.

 

flickr.com

Illustration by Jerry Smath for "How do we know feature" in the children's digest magazine 1961. I like the use of simple shape and the limited colour palette. Glen Mullalys photo steam on Flickr is really good he has a collection of old magazine images which are great as a reference unfortunately he does let you download them.

 

designismine.blogspot.com

These illustrations by Amanda Visell  have a very retro feel about them,  I also like the blocky shapes she uses.

 abuzeedo.com

These illustrations by Lab Partners have really captured the retro feel. I think the use of simple shapes combined with contrasting line work has helped to achieve this retro style.

Card design research

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stardustkids.co.uk

I like the contrast of the patterned background against the flat colour of the owls, got to stop looking at owls!

 

merchantcircle.com

Not a very clear image I know, but looking at the variety of themes within this collection of card designs, makes me think that perhaps I do not need a overiding theme to my designs and that the style of my illustrations is what brings the whole collection together.

             
babyccinokids.com

I am loving this retro style of Darling Clemantine, what a great name as well !!

Macmillan Childrens Book Prize

I have decided to produce an ABC book as an entry for the prize. This will help me concentrate more on the illustrations and less on producing the text, it also gives me focus for the main 26 pages required for the entry. What theme I do not know yet. I would like to lino cut the letter shapes and use the screen printed swatches I will make to produce simple page designs in keeping with my style.

Towel Design

wikipedia.org

adamrlee.org

highmagazine.com

To help inspire for my towel print design I have decided to look at plankton. The reason for this is that it is not an obvious choice for surf design, but still involves the sea. I like the shape of these creatures and I feel I could create an interesting pattern design with this inspiration.