Milne and Shephard collaborated closely on the illustrations so they reflect what Milne wanted to say in the story and Shephard further developed the story as he drew the illustrations. Their success is partly due to the way that they seamlessly reflect the written story. They are also drawn with a light touch, Shephard avoided unnecessary lines but the drawing style has clearly developed from the drawings he made in the trenches of the Somme which had to be made quickly to capture the moment. The combination of his reportage style with real toys plays on our childhood dreams of favourite toys coming to life. I would think that most children have a toy bear so the drawings of Pooh, who in a way represents every bear, is nostalgic taking adults back to a simpler time. Many people struggle with the Disney version of Pooh which is smoother and more polished, lacking in the spontaneity of the original drawings.
Jane Hissey also uses real toys as the character in her books. She roughs out the illustrations then makes the finished drawings in coloured pencil. The coloured pencil drawings are a big part of the charm of the characters for me. Children get to use coloured pencils a lot and it is exciting to see them used proficiently in a story. Interviews here and here tell you something about her approach and development of the books.
Axel Scheffler, pages from his sketchbooks here give insight into character development and here is an interview with him and Julia Donaldson. (He cites Tomi Ungerer as his inspiration, who is a very interesting character himself but I'm getting away from the theme of this research point.) Scheffler's most famous character is the gruffalo (slightly unrelated discussion of the story here) which is similar to the monsters in Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are but this doesn't seem to have caused him any trouble. Donaldson seems to have allowed Scheffler more freedom to create the character so the book is a collaboration between them to give the best outcome. Scheffler draws many versions of his characters and makes endless revisions to his illustrations to get them right. Its not a book that I am familiar with so I can't really comment on the success of the characterisation within the story.
Arthur Rackham's illustrations are darkly figurative. Beautiful girls and women and effeminate heroes. Ugly wrinkly baddies and sinuous mystical trees. For me he defines fairy tales, not just Little Red Riding Hood. Although the illustrations are beautiful there is an underlying menace about them because of his clever use of shadow and tone. The characters are realistic you can imagine yourself in the story which adds to the tension. I disagree that he defines the characterisation of Little Red Riding Hood. All his female characters look the very similar, red riding hood could take off her cloak and become Alice in Wonderland or dye her hair and become Snow White. I think his influence is greater than just red riding hood. In my opinion he defined fairy tales for many British children. Although he died in 1939 I was very aware of his designs and I was born in 1963. That influence may have been diluted since by other interpretations but I think that you can still see his legacy in the way Disney depicts Snow White or Cinderella, even the characters from Frozen. Influenced by Manga the eyes have got bigger in modern Disney cartoons but the use of dark and light is similar and the non human characters look very much like Rackman's elves and gnomes to me.
Paddington bear was originally illustrated by Peggy Fortnum (also here). Here are a series of drawings by different illustrators who are all clearly influenced by her original characterisation.
The best illustrators capture a life and personality to a character which works with the text but also has some individual personality of its own. They build sympathetically on the description from the author but they aren't restricted or solely defined by it. Once the character has been defined it is difficult for the reader to accept variations, it's like seeing a much loved friend who has had an accident or some ill advised surgery. We cling to the familiar, particularly when it comes to children books which are an important part of our childhood memories.
Jane Hissey also uses real toys as the character in her books. She roughs out the illustrations then makes the finished drawings in coloured pencil. The coloured pencil drawings are a big part of the charm of the characters for me. Children get to use coloured pencils a lot and it is exciting to see them used proficiently in a story. Interviews here and here tell you something about her approach and development of the books.
Axel Scheffler, pages from his sketchbooks here give insight into character development and here is an interview with him and Julia Donaldson. (He cites Tomi Ungerer as his inspiration, who is a very interesting character himself but I'm getting away from the theme of this research point.) Scheffler's most famous character is the gruffalo (slightly unrelated discussion of the story here) which is similar to the monsters in Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are but this doesn't seem to have caused him any trouble. Donaldson seems to have allowed Scheffler more freedom to create the character so the book is a collaboration between them to give the best outcome. Scheffler draws many versions of his characters and makes endless revisions to his illustrations to get them right. Its not a book that I am familiar with so I can't really comment on the success of the characterisation within the story.
Arthur Rackham's illustrations are darkly figurative. Beautiful girls and women and effeminate heroes. Ugly wrinkly baddies and sinuous mystical trees. For me he defines fairy tales, not just Little Red Riding Hood. Although the illustrations are beautiful there is an underlying menace about them because of his clever use of shadow and tone. The characters are realistic you can imagine yourself in the story which adds to the tension. I disagree that he defines the characterisation of Little Red Riding Hood. All his female characters look the very similar, red riding hood could take off her cloak and become Alice in Wonderland or dye her hair and become Snow White. I think his influence is greater than just red riding hood. In my opinion he defined fairy tales for many British children. Although he died in 1939 I was very aware of his designs and I was born in 1963. That influence may have been diluted since by other interpretations but I think that you can still see his legacy in the way Disney depicts Snow White or Cinderella, even the characters from Frozen. Influenced by Manga the eyes have got bigger in modern Disney cartoons but the use of dark and light is similar and the non human characters look very much like Rackman's elves and gnomes to me.
Paddington bear was originally illustrated by Peggy Fortnum (also here). Here are a series of drawings by different illustrators who are all clearly influenced by her original characterisation.
The best illustrators capture a life and personality to a character which works with the text but also has some individual personality of its own. They build sympathetically on the description from the author but they aren't restricted or solely defined by it. Once the character has been defined it is difficult for the reader to accept variations, it's like seeing a much loved friend who has had an accident or some ill advised surgery. We cling to the familiar, particularly when it comes to children books which are an important part of our childhood memories.
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