Narrative Illustration Artist research. Shaun Tan

Continuing my research into illustrators I wish to discuss the work of Shaun Tan. He is one of the more popular children’s illustrators working today and has a very distinct drawing style. Some of his illustrated books include “The Arrival” and “Eric”. His pencil work is very recognised but he also works in a wide range of traditional media. 

The illustration to the right is from the children’s book "Eric" by Tan. The illustrations for this book were all created using pencil and have the same tones to this example. I think this is a good example of Tan's work because it shows how he can create a detailed image and still create fairly simplistic characters. The shadow cast by Eric across the book adds a great deal of depth to the illustration. There is a good contrast between dark and light in Tan's pencil work which I think adds a lot more interest to his illustrations. 

 

The picture to the left is another good example of Shaun tan’s pencil work. The illustration was for a children’s book called "The Arrival". The book is filled with small panel illustrations which attempts to tell a story without using text. The Arrival is an interesting book as the illustrations are very detailed and life like but show a lot of bazaar animals and architecture. The illustration itself is incredibly detailed and has a striking contrast between light and dark. I really like the lighting in this piece because it adds way more interest to the dark hull of the ship. 

The third illustration is from a book called “Tales from Outer Suburbia”. The illustrations for this book are rendered using colour. I chose the piece because I think the colour choice is very well thought out. The image also appears to have a camera grain effect over the top. I really think the style of using texture complements the colour scheme as it almost looks sun bleached.  

I think Tan’s style works well for children’s illustration as it has a sense of wonder about it. He always shows other worlds with fantastical shots and a very well thought out composition.