Children's Book Illustrators Part 2

Trina Schart Hyman

 A little while ago I had written a bit about some of my favourite children's book illustrators and I thought I might periodically show some others. 

Trina Schart Hyman has long been a favourite of mine. Her freedom of line and sense of composition has a strong traditional balance. I also love her sense of design which she incorporated into many of her illustrative works including Little Red Riding Hood, for which she received one of three Caldecott Honours.    

Jan Ormerod

I find there is a lot of similarity between the work of Trina Schart Hyman and Jan Ormerod. Immediately you can see the strong balance of compostion and the attention to detail in the design of the illustration, let alone the fluidity of line. The art nouveau influence in the borders of the Frog Prince also echo back to another time period.

Lisbeth Zwerger

This illustration by Lisbeth Zwerger comes from another interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood. Zwerger's illustrations for her Little Red Cap differ from the previous two in that her style of composition incorporates a lot of space around her subject. Attention to detail is in her lines, as the use of colour is soft and subtle allowing us to "feel" the particular moment. See how the red cap immediately draws your eyes to Little Red's face and how her braid takes you to the lines of the apron  which suggest a gentle breeze? These lines take your eye down to her boots where the line of a hill brings you back up to the wolf whose gaze takes you back to Little Red who happens to be looking off the page. But a splash of  quiet green (and the lines) of the bottle in her basket catch your view and you again follow the lines of her apron. Perfect circular control.