Big Fat Duck Cookbook

This is a book written by Heston Blumenthal and illustrated by David McKean. It is extremely big, extremely heavy, and extremely expensive. The illustrations are very beautiful and are made using mixed media such as: Photography, painting, drawing, photoshop etc.
He uses great colour + light/dark contrasts that make the images all very dramatic. His use of line and dirty colours continue his typically macabre style that is so prevalent in all of his work. It is interesting how with most of the illustrations, the type is incorporated into the image itself, which gives it a much more contemporary feel and gives more meaning to the text.

eMOTIONal

"Death to the death penalty" is a campaign that was launched in October 2010 in aid of Amnesty International, who are aiming to abolish the death penalty in the 58 countries that still practice it.
This clip was written by TBWA/Paris and directed by Pleix with the production company, Warm & Fuzzy.
This ad works well as a visual metaphor representing the work that Amnesty International are doing worldwide. It says that this organisation is like the flame in the darkness, melting away the evil around it.

The Princess and the Frog

In this song from the Disney film "The Princess and the Frog", the animators have drawn everything differently to the usual, typical "Disney style".  They have tried to adopt a style that visually represents the 30's jazz movement and the result is much more dynamic and vibrant compared to the rest of the film.

Children's books

I took advantage of the week I spent at my sister's to have a good rummage through all of her kids' books!
Here are some interesting examples of the illustrations I liked best:

"Mummy Mine" is a book written by Tim Warnes and illustrated by Jane Chapman. The pictures are very good as they capture the nature of the animals well whilst still creating a fresh style that appeals to children.

"Lost and Found" by Oliver Jeffers is a beautifully illustrated book. His style is very minimalist but at the same time extremely expressive, this book was so popular that a short 25 minute film adaption was made.

"Hide and Seek Birthday Treat" by Linda Jennings and illustrated by Joanne Partis, has a more experimental illustration style as the images are a mixture of collage, hand drawing, painting and pastels.

I like this mixed media style and I think that it is definitely something I should try experimenting with.

  

Mirror Mirror

Mirror mirror, pretty mirror

Tell me what you see

All I see is desolation

How can this be me?

Mirror mirror, evil mirror

Would you tell a lie?

How can you be so deceitful;

Make me want to cry?

Mirror mirror, woeful mirror

Tell me, is it true?

No one else can see my weakness

None except for you

Mirror mirror, honest mirror

Is this what they see?

I have never met this stranger

Is this really me?

Princes and Princesses

Princes and Princesses is a beautifully animated film by French illustrator, Michel Ocelot. He is also responsible for the famous Kirikou series which started as a graphic novel, then became a film and is now also a musical. Princes and Princesses uses only black silhouettes and colour backgrounds. It is visually very pleasant to look at and the story line is also highly engaging, both for adults and children.

Beautiful Illustrations

I have just come back from a shopping spree at Waterstones and after spending over an hour in the child's section I bought 4 beautifully illustrated books...

Sarah Gibb's illustrations in "The Princess Who Had No Kingdom" by Ursula Jones are a really beautiful use of colour and silhouettes and reminds me of Princes and Princesses by Michel Ocelot in the visual style. The story is quite original seeing as it is in the style of a classic fairy tale and involves princes and princesses as do so many others...

Eric Puybaret's paintings are also very beautifully done in the book "Puff the Magic Dragon" by Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton. His style is very curvy and flows a lot. I think that his landscapes work best as he captures distance very well by using fading colours. It is a shame that the text isn't as good as the pictures. The book also comes with a CD of songs to sing along with the book...and they are AWFUL!

Even for kid's songs they are extremely cheesy and predictable...but it has inspired me to maybe write songs to go with my future kid's storybooks as I like writing music.

Lynley Dodd's illustrations in her book "Slinky Malinki Catflaps" are much rougher and quirkier than the other books which seem very laborious in comparison. Dodd's technique is much freer and she is not afraid to show evidence of brushstrokes and pencil lines.

The text is positively delightful, it is very well written poetry with brilliant use of literary tools such as alliteration and using certain letters to create a real sense of rhythm.

R.W. Alley's illustrations in "Paddington"are more like laborious drawing but still full of energy, particularly in the line. The character style is also very effective and they all transmit individual personalities through their appearances. It is interesting how many of the images are deliberately left unfinished. The story is of course brilliant. Paddington Bear is a classic after all...