As an illustrator for children's books...

amother

OP ↓

Sun, Sep 01 2024, 12:19 pm

The thread about shaitels in children's book illustrations has given me some food for thought.

As a children's book illustrator, I have tried to think about my role in the scheme of things.

I don't know to what extent people really care what they see in children's books, or if it really affects them. But I once discussed this with someone who had very strong feelings about the lack of female presence in the illustrations. She said it always bothered her, even as a young girl. As a result, I have gone out of my way to add women and girls to some illustrations, even if the story was about boys or men.

I am wondering if people can weigh in if they ever choose kids books based on the illustrations? Do you care if the drawings are well done or you don't care, as long as the writing was good? Do you prefer illustrations that are more realistic, or more cartoony or whimsical?
Thanks for your input!

simcha12plus

Sun, Sep 01 2024, 12:25 pm

it is certainly not realistic for mothers to always have makeup on and to be thin after a few babies, especially right after birth.
BUT, no one really wants illustrations of shlumpy exhausted mothers either.
So whimsical is probably safer than realistic.

Rappel

Sun, Sep 01 2024, 12:38 pm

I absolutely pick books based off the illustrations, and the word flow. I love when illustrations convey emotion well. So -- cartoon-level emotional expression, in realistic water-color drawings?

Examples of good kids books illustrations:
Yossi and Leibel Hot on the Trail
A duck named ping
James Herriot's Illustrated Children's Stories
The Voyage to Good Middos
The Arrival
The Man
The Homer Price books
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Stella Luna
Verdi

iluvjlem

Sun, Sep 01 2024, 12:48 pm

I like when the illustrations are more realistic, like the illustrations in Yossi & Laibel books or similar.

I also appreciate when the illustrations include women and girls. It's important for my daughters to see themselves in stories just like my sons can. I hate it when you read a kids book and it's a world populated only by men & boys.

Like, who gave birth to all of them if there are no women around?

amother

Lightcoral

Sun, Sep 01 2024, 12:57 pm

Illustrations are big for me! I love the Benny and Tzvi illustrations

When a book has noticeably bad illustrations (for example the proportions are way off), it bothers me a lot

bigsis144 ↓

Sun, Sep 01 2024, 2:08 pm

amother OP wrote:

Can you link the original thread this spun off from?

mushkamothers ↓

Sun, Sep 01 2024, 2:15 pm

Side note the lubavitcher rebbe wanted girls and boys equally depicted in kid magazines and he gave specific feedback when they weren't. On opposite pages (not mixed) but equal representation.

He also had feedback that the characters shouldn't be cartoonish and should have realistic faces and bodies, with boys having visible tzitzis and yarmulka.

You see these represented in Hachai books (publisher of Yossi and Laibel and the "I go to..." series) (yes yossi and label has the most unrealistic postpartum mother lol)

I think the visuals are extremely important and that's what the child is really looking at anyways.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Sep 01 2024, 2:37 pm

Thanks all for your feedback.
As an aside, I consider the faces of Yossi and Laibel to be pretty cartoony, though the background is done realistically. Also, Norman Nodel was great at linear perspective.
I was referring to realistic illustrations like the old Esky Cook books on Dov Dov (not sure how many of you have seen those.) There are a few artists who depict very realistic artwork, where you don't see the "outlines".

↑ mushkamothers ↓

Sun, Sep 01 2024, 3:29 pm

amother OP wrote:

They're cartoony but their faces and bodies are pretty proportionate and they have all facial features instead of missing ears or noses.

amother

NeonBlue ↓

Sun, Sep 01 2024, 3:36 pm

amother OP wrote:

Yossi and Laibel are just the right amount of cartoony. Definitely my favorite style.

Artscroll has some books that seem to be photographs with a filter. Im not a huge fan of those. I think fictional characters should look somewhat fictional.

Amelia Bedelia

Sun, Sep 01 2024, 3:42 pm

amother NeonBlue wrote:

Artscroll has some books that seem to be photographs with a filter. Im not a huge fan of those. I think fictional characters should look somewhat fictional.

Do you mean like the Uncle Moishy books?

Rubber Ducky

Sun, Sep 01 2024, 3:52 pm

I like both realistic and whimsical styles and agree about body proportions.

But a pet peeve is that I often cannot tell the difference between women and girls. All the women are conspicuously flat-chested.

amother

Whitewash ↓

Sun, Sep 01 2024, 4:01 pm

I'm fine buying magazines that don't print photos of women but it makes me really upset when children's books have no female characters in the illustrations. How can an entire comic book about yetzias mitzrayim have no women when they were so integral to the event?!?

Anyway, as to your question, I like the whimsical look. My kids really dislike the AI illustrations in some of the magazines and I hope that publishers continue to value illustrators like you.

Simple1 ↓

Sun, Sep 01 2024, 4:13 pm

amother Whitewash wrote:

At first it bothered me. But after thinking about it I was wondering if the author was concerned with his own shmiras Enayim rather than beshita just leaving out women . As someone who studied art, I know that drawing people involves a lot of study and observation of anatomy, a lot more than what the average reader notices. Maybe we just need more books illustrated by women.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Sep 01 2024, 4:38 pm

amother NeonBlue wrote:

I hear you.
The thing is that alot of those books have stories about real people, gedolim, etc.
Referring to those books that have 20 stories, with one illustration per story.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Sep 01 2024, 4:41 pm

Simple1 wrote:

That's a very interesting thought.
Based on what I see, the majority of the illustrators for Artscroll, Feldheim and Hachai children books are women.
Most of the artists who draw for the circle are women as well, not including the companies like Studio segalov.