Illustration © D. Yael Bernhard
Here is another illustration from an “easy reader” school textbook – this time for a children’s poem titled “Moon, Moon.” The poem went like this:
And the assignment from the editorial department went like this:
Simple, right?
A layout was provided, indicating that the poem would be dropped into the upper lefthand corner of the illustration . . . a bit challenging, since the scene takes place at night, and the type had to be in black on a white background. I faded out the background with a tight gradient.
I was also a bit confused by the poem’s reference to both afternoon and night. To my knowledge we never see the full moon in the afternoon. Of course, this wasn’t my problem, and the editors were beyond my reach in this corporate assignment in which I only had contact with a booking agency.
So I focused on creating mood. Children connect to stories and poetry from their feelings, and this is what mood conveys. Fortunately the moon is quite evocative, and brings a sense of awe at the vastness of the night sky. To suggest moonlight, all the larger objects and fields of color are painted in shades of purple and blue. Even the warmer tones are tinted toward lavender or magenta – as close to blue as possible. Only the lights in the distant windows are yellow, to convey a sense of interior light.
I chose a downward-looking 3/4 view to lend a greater sense of spaciousness to the scene, and a feeling of elevation from the perspective of this high-rise apartment. Here I drew upon my own experience as a child peering out the window of my father’s sixteenth floor office in midtown Manhattan. The tiny people and cars far below on the street made a powerful impression on my childish mind.
This was a simple assignment with a short deadline. In just a few days it was done, delivered, and off to press it went. I never got to see the illustration in print. Artists have no control over this sort of “work for hire” assignment – but the pay was good and the work pleasant enough.
Illustrators don’t get to choose their subjects, which is restrictive but also fosters growth. Applying myself to these challenges strengthens my drawing and painting skills and my powers of creative expression. At the same time, it also has a tightening effect that I don’t like. Sometimes I feel my art is too polished and controlled, and I long to break free from making my images so accountable and precise – perhaps like that little girl gazing up at the distant, soaring moon in the clear and spacious sky, wanting to break free from the fixed enclosure of her man-made city apartment.
A good week to all –
D Yael Bernhard
http://dyaelbernhard.com
children's books • fine art • illustration
posters • cards • calendars