The magic of imperfect texture in kids books illustration
Charming smudges and wonky lines
Hi everyone!
Last week I had the privilege of attending the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, and I’d like to share a big takeaway with you. It’s about the art I got to see at the Illustrator’s Exhibition. This exhibition features the work of dozens of artists from around the world.
I enjoyed the art show so much that I bought the nearly 200 page catalog. A variety styles were showcased, although the styles were different, there was a common theme of a sort of organic looseness in the lines and coloring styles. There was so much texture, and nothing was entirely perfect. For example, look at this piece:
This was done in ink and pencil, and then finished digitally. If I was working in ink, and I smudged the red ink, I would have abandoned the piece or cleaned it up digitally. But look at how charming the smudge around her arm is.
A lot of work in the exhibit had these types of charming imperfections, and it made me realize