Image of the Week: L is for Lioness
© D. Yael Bernhard
See the lioness hiding in this grass? Hopefully it takes a little effort, as this is an illustration from my second picture book, published in 1992 by Holiday House, titled "Alphabeasts: A Hide-&-Seek Alphabet Book." Though I was both author and illustrator, there wasn't any writing – just the name of one animal per page representing a letter of the alphabet. The challenge of illustrating this book was hiding the subject matter – frogs blending into lily pads, hummingbirds hovering among flowering cacti, lizards lurking among houseplants – yet once young readers find the creature, it must be obvious that it’s there. It took a lot of thought to figure out how to do this. I learned a lot about how animals are camouflaged in nature – an elk’s antlers among the criss-crossed branches of trees; an ape’s mask-like face just another patch of shadow among big jungle leaves; a caterpillar creeping among the patterns of foliage, and so on.
In the world of fine art, paintings are often nebulous and unclear, and that’s okay. The artist is not bent upon communication with the viewer, but on self-expression or the exploration of visual concepts. Illustrations, on the other hand, usually show subject matter very clearly. Yet illustrators, too, must trust their viewers to have discerning eyes. Children are curious and intelligent readers, and they love hunting for critters and characters of all kinds. The trick is creating just enough of a challenge, but not too much.
My own children were little when I created this book, so I was able to test my ideas on them. The book is dedicated to their babysitter, who helped make it possible for me to work on the book. She now has toddlers of her own. I love this age among young children, when reading is like a game. What better way to learn the alphabet?
I especially enjoyed designing this book, which involved hand-painting the letters of the alphabet. Each page has the same format, but a different color scheme, consisting of the letter, its outline, the background that surrounds it, and the colored border of its box; the illustration itself; and the colored border around the illustration. Creating 26 different color schemes wasn’t easy, but I loved it. It’s so interesting to see how colors react to each other in groups. Many children’s books use the same color scheme throughout the entire story. I try to vary them from spread to spread. In this book, with no story and the same page layout throughout, it felt essential. I wanted each page to feel like a new experience. Color and tone create mood and ambiance, such as the sunset savannah scene shown here.
Alphabeasts went out of print a long time ago, but you can find used copies on Amazon, or order it from your local library system.
A good week to all!
D Yael Bernhard