Illustration

[osprey_archer]

You know what would make the world a better place? If books had more illustrations. I’ve been looking at books from the 1920s and earlier (because it grieves me to think of all the years they’ve languished unloved on the library shelves) and they all have illustrations. So does The Perilous Gard (which also has fairies and Tam Lin and a love story and Elizabethan England and is made of awesome. Has anyone else read it?), but it’s at the tail end of the illustration boom; after about 1970 only kids’ books have pictures.

I’m not sure if illustrations disappeared because they add to the production costs (and as publishers became more commercial they weren’t willing to eat the loss) or if they were just a fad to begin with, and faded as fads do. Either way it’s tragic.

Perhaps I should start drawing again. I could illustrate my fanfic. It would be like Shoebox!

***

Also, links to stuff on Youtube. Trajan is the Movie Font is a rant about how the movie business is addicted to the font Trajan

This Twlight movie trailer spoof is made of hilarious. Also, the actors here are better-looking than the actors in the movie. Especially the guy playing Laurent, who spends his screen time here exposing his abdominal muscles. They’re impressive.

I think Twilight’s main contribution to the world is the excellent parody it spawns, because God knows that the mire of angst and pain that is the second book doesn’t count. Bella needs to stop leading Jacob on. It’s very unkind of her, even if she does have a hole in her chest where her heart ought to be.

Comments

[girl-called-sun.livejournal.com]

Books with illustrations rock. Try Walter Moers for wonderful surreal stories (fairy tale - esque) with beautiful, detailed line drawn cartoons. That's some imagination.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, I think I considered buying one of his books once. I should add them to my List of Books to Read.

Do you have an opinion on which one is best?

[girl-called-sun.livejournal.com]

I'd go for The thirteen and a half lives of Captain Bluebear. It's long, but episodic (thirteen and a half, in fact) so easy to dip in and out of.

[visualthinker11.livejournal.com]

um, shoebox is excellent. and if you started illustrating your fics that would be kind of amazing.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

The Shoebox people are about ten times as talented as me, but it's tempting to try it all the same. I could probably draw a pretty good picture if I can find a photo to use as a guide.

[visualthinker11.livejournal.com]

i think i read once that's that's what they do, too. and there was a picture of the person they use for sirius, and that was excellent, of course.