Sereena O’Gorman
Ba Graphic and Digital design
How illustrations in books for adults affect the experiance of reading?
CONTENTS
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AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Content to be added later
INTRODUCTION
"A picture is worth a thousand words"
A phrase we’ve all heard before, if pictures are so informative, strong and straight to the point
why do so many adults sit reading dull books filled with nothing but ‘Times New Roman’ for
hours on end? And is there reading experiance any more or less exciting to those who
chose to go for books with illustrations.
Why do books for adults tend to have less illustrations, do we grow out of wanting to see
pictures? Is it just a matter of personal preference? or is it an assumption made by the writers
and publishers?
In this dissertation i plan to explore how illusrtaed books for adults affect the experiance of
reading. I am focusing my attention to illustrated books for adults and not children as i feel
child illustration plays too much of a major role in the learning development of a child and has
to many factors to take into considerastion when trying to analyse the affect illustration has in
relation to our reading experiances.
I have chosen to discuss the subject of Illustration because it is a feild of design i am
currently intrested in. Looking at current illustrators work today i am inspired as a designer. I
feel the task of producing complimentry illustration for different texts is exciting and
encourages creativity. I particularly like how mixed media and graphic designers have made
a noticeable input to contemporary illustration.Find quote
Personaly I need visual stimulation when reading I get bored and distracted without it. I prefer
to communicate with pictures and sketches rather than long paragraphs of writing. However
for me the content of a book does win the battle over presentation so if a novel excites me
with illustration and has great content i would take this option everytime.
Finding out about other peoples feelings toward illustrations in books and how it affects thier
reading experiances, will give me a greater understanding of the importance of illustrations
today and the service i would be providing to readers should i become an illustrator in the
future.
Topics i will explore throughout my dissertation include:
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History of illustration in books
peoples reaction to illustration
The relationship between text and illustration
how illustartion has changed today, new styles of illustration techniques and
production methods
illustrators veiws on the industry today and the service they provide
can illustration prevoke emotions in a book
how important are illustrations to readers
which types of books/ text do readers least or most like to see illustations
current illustrators veiws on how illustraions effect the experiance of reading.
the differences between reading a book with/without illustrations.
Finally,I would like to achieve a well structured, energetic and interesting dissertation. I’m
hoping this is a subject I will be able to have some fun with whilst doing enough constructive
research in order to make an informed and fare personal conclusion.
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CHAPTER 1
BRIEF HISTORY OF ILLUSTRATION IN BOOKS
Timeline
egyption papyrus rolls
1370BC- Book of the dead
“Illustration proper implies a picture tied to a text and in
this sense we are on firm ground in claiming ancient
Egyption papyrus rolls as the first examples of book
illustrastion.”
(Harthan.J, History of the illlustrated book:manuscripts.1997.12).
fig1:http://www.egyptsbookofthedead.com/images_or/page3lg.jpg
(accessed 26.10.10)
Greek astronomical papyrus
2nd century CE
These illustrations were created for an informative
rather than decorative use.Illustrated with simple
diagrams.Which have been traced as the origin to
explaining and understanding technical and scientific
text.
“Proffessor Kurt Weitzmann has traced the origin of
illustrations to the need for...understanding technical
and scientific texts”
(Harthan.J,The History of the Illustrated book.1997,12)
Greek papyrus
CE -Olso papyrus
Greek illustrated papyrus influenced by egyptions "...It
may, therefore be argued that even if we have not
sufficient evidence to show that the Greek art of book
illustration descended from the Egyptian, there can be
no doubt that the latter had a strong influence on the
origin and development of the Greek ornamentation and
illustration of books.”
http://www.historyofscience.com/G2I/timeline/index.php?category
=Book+Illustration( accessed 27.10.10)v
Earliest dated codex
345CE - Chronography of 354
First full page illustrated codex(traditional styled book
with cover and pages) produced for a wealthy Roman
Christian. no original copies survived to date but
original illustrations are believed to have been fully
painted in colour.
“ The Roman originals were probably fully painted
miniatures.”
(Wikipedia article on Chronography of 354 accessed 27.10.10).
Biblical manuscript
CE - Quedlinburg Itala
The Codex soon became veiwed as the appropriate
form for religious teachings it became to some extent a
symbol of gods word.
“from early days the codex was associated with
christianity and recognised as th appropriate form in
wich the revealed truth of the scriptures might be
broadcast.”
(Harthan.J,The History of the Illustrated book:byzantine
illustration.1997,14)
(TIMELINE WILL CONTINUE TO 2010)
HOW ILLUSTRATION IN BOOKS CAME ABOUT
From the timeline I have generated we can see that illustrations originally began with
egyption papyra rolls,as sketches that acompanied text. illustration became popular in the
form of books after the invention of the codex which is thought to have been invented by the
Romans in the ... century.
Printing of illustration came from a variety of different methods starting with woodblocks and
-then etching and engraving this was an important turning point as the art work could be
reproduced. Illustration grew as an art form, the technique of etching an engraving both from
wood and metal were mastered with such skill that it was possible to take down fine details.
the art work was initially sought after by the wealthy as it was time and cost effective.the style
of illustrations in books appeared to be in keeping with the style of that period eg
expessionism, and russian conrtuctivsm had a great influence of illustration in thier time.
NEEDS FURTHER REVISION AND REFERENCING ONLY AN OUTLINE OF
HOW PARAGRAPH SHOULD READ. (QUICK SUMMARY OF THE TIMELINE)
PEOPLES REACTION AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS ILLUSTRATION
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THE DEMAND FOR ILLLUSTRATED BOOKS
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CHAPTER 2
ILLUSTRATION TODAY
NEW STYLES OF ILLUSTRATION
CURRENT ILLUSTRATORS VEIWS ON BOOK ILLUSTRATION TODAY