We Don’t Make Fuzzy-Bunny Books (part 2)
Before I post more sketches of the characters and world I created for Kenny and the Dragon, I thought I would share some of the inspirational art that I looked at while writing the story.
I started with the best known rabbit artist of all time, Beatrix Potter. Her technical skill and eye for detail in her numerous nature studies made her a master of creating anthropomorphic animal characters. The above shows her knack of placing these characters in an inviting environment as well. Look for Beatrix Potter Artist & Illustrator, by Anne Stevenson Hobbs, for more of her wonderful watercolors.
Around the turn-of-the-century, when Beatrix was becoming huge in England and abroad, the American artist Arthur B. Frost was dazzling many with scratchy frenetic pen line. Probably best known for his work on the Uncle Remus books, he also illustrated books for such greats as Lewis Carroll. Though he gained a lot of accolades for his later paintings of hunters and fisherman, I prefer the inky gesture of his book illustration. The above watercolor is from The A.B. Frost Book.
Alongside Frost was an editorial illustrator named Thomas Sullivant whose work is bit harder to find (since he worked primarily for magazines and newspapers), but Jim Vadebonceur has featured Sullivant’s deft line-work in his many issues of the magazine, Images.
Over in New Zealand, Harry Rountree was creating fully animated scenes for children’s books and advertisements with his line and watercolor work. His rendition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, done in 1908, is one of the best. The above is from his version of Uncle Remus.
Moving forward in time, I looked at Garth Williams (as Jim G. mentioned) and Lillian Hoban (I mentioned Emmet Otter back when I was discussing dragon designs). But Wallace Tripp’s work really had a lively quality which reminded me greatly of Garth’s work. The above is from 1976’s Granfa’s Grig Had a Pig.
..so there are some of the main influences in the character designing that went on in Kenny. I hope this was an introduction to some lesser-known illustrators who will delight you as they did me. Track some of their work down, you won’t be dissapointed.
April 20th, 2008 at 9:33 am
I was recently thinking to myself; ‘I should like to see an entry on Tony’s blog similar to the early ones on goblins and dragons.’ How did you develop and change hobgoblins? Or elves?
Brownies,phookas, the possibilities are endless!
Sincerely,
Your good friend Ezekiel
April 20th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
I love each of these artists, but Wallace Tripp had a profound effect on me. Unfortunately his work is really hard to come by so I’ve only seen a few samples. Most notably though was his book Wurst Seller. I stumbled across it in my library when I was a teenager and it blew my mind. The way he drew the animals with such care that they retained their animalness, yet had a very human quality to them would be something I would only hope to achieve in my own work. Few since him have been able to capture that. Yourself and Pete De Seve are the only ones that come to my mind right now. One image that always amuses me in Wurst Seller is a picture of a mouse in shirt and pants rubbing his feet while saying something along the lines of, “Oh my aching feet. Gah, how I hate anthropomorphism!”
Anyway, the few images I’ve seen of your Rabbit character have been expertly crafted and a delight to look at. I’m anxiously waiting for more.
April 20th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Man, so many incredible illustrators out there that I just havent found yet! Thanks for sharing man. i cant wait to get my hands on some of these books. the last one by Wallace Tripp is just great! that little kid on the lap has no clue what everyone’s laughing about im sure, but to him its clear hes having a blast. that makes it so fun to look at, and their mouths are drawn so well that you can almost hear them all laughing.
great inspiration, T.
April 21st, 2008 at 2:14 am
Thank you so much for writing posts like this one. I love looking at the art you study and then being able to see how it influences your own work. It’s fascinating– and quite an education, which I sorely need. I run the children’s department of a bookstore, but I started reading so early myself that I kind of missed the picture book phase when I was small; I scarcely remember looking at illustrations at all. Now I’m going back and learning about and from them in my late twenties, and I need all the help I can get!
That said, the Wallace Tripp illustration bears a striking resemblance to one of the few picture books I remember from my childhood– I can’t remember the title. It was a Christmas story about small animals who lived in an enormous fir tree, and painted balloons to resemble ornaments in an attempt to get Santa Claus’s attention. I wish I could find it– I’m not sure if it’s the same illustrator or merely a matter of similar styles.
April 21st, 2008 at 2:39 am
Hey,
Awesome. Cool Post!!!
Great going.
Your pictures and posts are great and they are simply the best…