This week I’m working on full bleed picture book spreads and vignettes. I’ve been looking at Pinterest to try and ignite my brain to make the vignettes as interesting as possible. I did a bit of analytical research to see what makes a vignette appealing (based on my own preferences, no science bits involved whatsoever).
When an illustration excites me, it’s because of layering with patterns and colours and shadows. This always seems easier to achieve with plates, boxed illustrations and spreads. That’s because I have angles to work with - I can use everything I know about composition to make it sit right.
Circles and freeform shapes are just so difficult to nail down though! Initially, it’s always hard due to the blank space without the kind of geometry I enjoy working with.
It’s also because they already have a ‘frame’ that differs to the shape of the page. It’s easy to overdo the framing within the vig shapes. One too many leaves popping in from out of frame, and your vignette looks cramped and claustrophobic. One too few and it looks empty. Because those pop-ins from out of frame are my thing, I find vignettes frustrating.
Whenever I’m asked to do a vignette, I remind myself of a formula that I’ve used before and tends to work well for me: think about the negative space first. Is there a way I can add trails, break-outs, tiny details or actual shaped frames outside of the vigs, that will make them more interesting to look at? For example, if I was illustrating a book about space, I could tie those vignettes together by making them them appear like planets on a black background and adding little hints of stars and asteroids on the page. Or, like the example rough sketch here from Dear Father Christmas where I’ve made the vignettes appear as a string of Christmas tree baubles. This eliminates the need for so much framing within the vig.
If you’ve been reading my Substack regularly, you’ll know that I’m always changing things up and evolving the way I work. This is because I like to analyse and spend a lot of time wondering, pondering and self evaluating. It can be a pain in the a$$ to have my logical brain working at the same time as my creative brain, but I do think it keeps me striving to make things better. I don’t think I started out this way, or maybe I just ignored it, but it has developed over the years. I make notes on my own processes because I don’t recall things easily (if you asked me my favourite ANYTHING I probably wouldn’t be able to tell you, even though I have some). I know that sounds nerdy - heck, it IS nerdy - but it really helps me to go over them when I’m struggling with something or I’m in a rut.
Try it out - keep a little notebook and write down observations about your own work and processes. You never know when it will come in handy, but just like a journal about feelings can help you make sense of your emotions, maybe a journal about your process will help you to understand your work on a deeper level.
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
I think this is a fab idea! I’m a lot like that,too. Sometimes, I evolve so fast, I tend to think it is a gift and a curse, haha 😆. I try to set up systems which help immensely when I stick to them and journal to remember things when I stick to that, but I’m beginning to realize that being accountable to those systems is what I need to focus on figuring out now. I have made an effort to memorize certain things I do when I’m working in order to make sure I continue working that way and have thought, let me write a side note about this, I mean scientists record every step, why shouldn’t we? I will make sure I have that little journal next to me from now on🤞🤞🤞 Thanks for the lovely posts!