Narrative Illustration Artist research. Nancy Ekholm Burkert

The illustrations of Quentin Blake may be the most recognisable for "James and the Giant Peach" but the originals were by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. She had a very different distinctive style for the story as her illustrations come across as darker. She has distorted the characters which makes them seem a bit unsettling, I find this most with James. The illustrations appear to have been created using pencils with a limited use of colour. I find these illustrations to be more captivating than the those by Blake, I think the depth of detail and interesting character designs help.

The first image to the right is one which I am very interested in. the illustration shows the moment when James first meets the bugs. I love the colours used in this piece as they are very earthy which complements the bug characters. The texture also helps with this as it helps the piece to appear organic along with the colours. The perspective of the room is a bit off but I think this is intentional, the scued perspective helps with the overall look. 

The second illustration shows James lewering in a Seagull using Earth Worm as bate. This is the image where we get a clear look of James’s face for the first time. I think that James comes across as a bit creepy in this illustration, it’s not that I don’t like it I just find it a bit strange. I think the distorted style works for the world of James and the Giant Peach but not for the character James.

The third illustration is the peach in flight. I think this is meant to be something to do with the Cloud Men but in not too sure. Still I think it’s a great illustration with some good texture work in the clouds. I think it makes an impact because the peach is the only use of colour.  I think the light placement in this piece works well to create a dramatic atmosphere.

Narrative Illustration Artist research. Quentin Blake

I cannot talk about children’s illustrators without looking at the work of Quentin Blake. His drawing style makes him one of the world’s most recognisable illustrators in the publishing industry. He also illustrated the works of Roald Dahl which is another reason I wish to discuss Blake’s work. For this project I am looking at the book "James and the Giant Peach", which Blake illustrated.  I feel it would be good to focus on the illustrations for that particular book because I can then analyze his interpretation of the text. Despite being the most recognised, Blake was not the first illustrator to take on "James and the Giant Peach". 

I have selected some illustrations by Quentin Blake for "James and the Giant Peach". They are all interior illustrations to accompany the text. Illustration one is a depiction of the characters Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. This illustration is fairly early in the novel and accompanies the description of the two characters. Despite his loose style of working I think Blake has done a good job. As with all of his work he has shown the situation with minimal detailing. It’s not an important illustration to the plot but it does show us the two characters. 

Illustration two is showing James comforting Earth Worm before they catch some seagulls. In the novel this is a fairly humorous part of the plot. It’s nice to see some interaction between some of the characters and a splash of colour. Centipede is also in the illustration as he was mocking Earth Worm. As simple as it is I like this interpretation for its colours and the look on Earth Worms face.

The third illustration is a classic depiction of the peaches escape from the sharks.  This is a very important point in the plot as it's when the peach flies for the first time. I like the blotchy watercolour use for the sky and clouds. 

I’m not massively keen on Quentin Blake's style but he does do a good job of showing what’s happening. I think his style appeals to children because of its simplicity and choice of colour. I also noticed that I use similar mediums as Blake but in a different style.