Pages 3 and 4

Page 3 and 4 introduce the character of the Squirrel.

Here are my initial page ideas...

For Page 3, I like the idea of the Squirrel poking his head from out of the tree as it shows some character expression as he looks somewhat startled.

Final design for Page 3

For Page 4, I like the idea of the Squirrel looking down at the Squirrel as it shows an interation and actually looks like they may be conversing. Though I'm not entirely satisfied with the pose of the Squirrel as his arms look a little akward and disjointed...

Design idea no.1 for Page 4

Below is another design idea for Page 4. I've changed the position of the Squirrel so it looks more animated, and less akward hanging on the tree. I think this is the design that I will use.

Design idea no.2 for Page 4

Experiment Evaluation...

Texture and Decoration

I think the decorative backgrounds look better with a simple acrylic painting as the bold colours of the paint stand out more against the busy textured background.

My pen drawings, on the other hand, seem to get lost within the patterned background. Perhaps as they are quite intense with detail and use just one colour it's not as easy to fight against a background which is also quite busy - the eye isn't drawn to either the image or the background as there is too much going on within the page.

Collage

I like how the collage experiments turned out, and though I think children would enjoy the bold colouring and simple shapes, I would still prefer to have more detail in my illustrations.


Conclusion

Out of all the drawings I have done, I prefer just the plain acrylic paintings and the plain pen drawings.

Style example of what I would prefer to use in my illustrations...

After careful consideration, I have decided to proceed in doing my illustrations with acrylic paint.

Using paint offers me the opportunity to create bright, colourful, images, as well as allowing me the scope to create a 'cute' softness to the animals using different brush techniques - perfect for catching the eye of both adults and children!

Image Experiments Continued...

Pages 3 and 4

Here are a few design ideas I have for my third and fourth page...



Pencil sketches

I have decided to try out some of the experiments I have been using on my Hedgehog pages with my designs for the Squirrel pages. I think if I try them out on a couple more pages, I will get a better sense of it's continuity and the possible potential it may have to work as a whole book...

Pen sketches for pages 3 and 4

Acrylic paintings for pages 3 and 4

Using the above sketches, I've created some more pages using a mixture of acrylic paintings, pen sketches and decotrative patterns.

I like how using a mixture of styles is quite unique, but I still don't think these illustrations have the right look that I'm after for my children's book...