Original Illustrations

Today I was looking at the original illustrations by John Tenniel. I did transcriptions of them in my sketchbook to develop a better understanding of technique and lines used in the drawings. 

Source:
  http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/alice2a.html

What influenced Lewis Carroll to write Alice in Wonderland?

Today i have researhed what has influence Lewis Carroll to write Alice in Wonderland. It was interesting to find out how many similarities there are between his life and the story he wrote 'Alice in Wonderland'.

 

At Oxford, Lewis Carroll made friends with the new dean's three daughters, Alice, Lorina, and Edith Liddell. It became somewhat of a tradition for them to take rowing trips on the river Isis, also known as the Thames.

Alice in Wonderland was originally told to Alice Liddell and her sisters by Carroll to pass the time during a 5-mile boat ride. The story was so well loved by Alice that she pleaded with Carroll to write it down for her. It took him 2 years, but eventually it was given to Alice in hand-written form on November 26th, 1864.

A publisher friend of the Liddells saw it and asked Mrs Liddell to persuade Carroll to publish it. Carroll lengthened it and had it illustrated and it was published by Macmillan on July 4, 1865.

{ http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_did_Lewis_Carroll_write_Alice_in_Wonderland }

 

Many aspects of Lewis Carroll's life influenced his writing. Some of these aspects include his mathematical background and logical disposition, interest in and photography of little girls, abnormal eating habits, dual personality, sleeping difficulties, Victorian lifestyle, and neglected childhood. These characteristics of his life are reflected in his literature, including in his most well-known novel, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland".

Carroll was always an extremely logical man, constantly inventing more effective methods to complete a task. As in life, Carroll was extremely logical in his literature. He wrote many mathematical treatises, but also his fiction novels were full of elements of logic, such as cards, chess, and mirror reversals. The appearance of chess and croquet in Carroll's writing is due to his own interest and participation in these activities. Carroll's characters consistently ignored the commonly understood to reach a more logical conclusion.

Carroll was known to have an obsessively negative association with eating which could have been drawn from his neurosis. This obsession with eating is reflected in his literature. Food is commonly accentuated, most of the time in a negative connotation, as in the Alice tales. The consequence of Alice eating and drinking is a change in her size. The Knave of Hearts is put on trial for allegedly stealing the Queen's tarts, with a proposed penalty of beheading. Also, The consequence of the Duchess cooking with too much pepper is everyone continually sneezing. At the mad tea party, Alice inquires about food in a story that the Dormouse is telling:

"What did they live on?" asked Alice, who always took a great interest in questions of eating and drinking. "They lived on treacle" said the Dormouse...
"They couldn't have done that, you know," Alice gently remarked; "they'd have been very ill."
"So they were," said the Dormouse; "very ill."
(Carroll, 75).

Alice also comments:

"Maybe it is pepper that makes people hot-tempered," she went on, very much pleased at having found out a new kind of rule, "and vinegar that them sour--and camomile that makes them bitter"
(Carroll, 93).

Eating is also emphasized in other ways. Eating is associated with sin by the means that a garden, in which a serpent is present, represents the Garden of Eden. Alice, therefore represents Eve when she desires to eat the Queen's tarts while there, even though she knows its wrong. Also, most poems and songs in his writing revolve around the theme of predator and prey. Furthermore, the Chesire Cat's grin is the first part of him to appear and last part of him to disappear, therefore focusing on the mouth. Carroll's cartoon, "The Rectory Umbrella" displays a family eating a meal of extremely irrational proportions. In another of his illustrations, he exhibits a man eating a whole plum-pudding.

A dual personality was present in Carroll's own life beginning when he started writing under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. Similar to his own duality, many opposing identities are present in Carroll's literature. In Through the Looking Glass, Tweedledee and Tweedledum are twins who constantly contradict each other's opinion. In Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland, the animals have opposing identities. Alice's cat Dinah is predatory, while the Wonderland animals are victimous. When Alice falls down the rabbit hole, top and bottom become one. At one point, Alice pretends to be two people, speaking in two different voices.

She also plans to assume other's identities when she says:

I shall only look up and say, "Who am I, then? Tell me that first, and then, if I like being that person, I'll come up: if not, I'll stay down here till I'm somebody else"
(Bloom, 99).

Carroll had sleeping difficulties and possibly insomnia which was in his writing. Inventions to keep him busy at night, including the Nyctograph, support this assumption. These sleeping problems are reflected in his literature. There is an emphasis on sleep in the Alice stories, at the mad tea party, the dormouse can't stay awake, and in both of her tales, Alice is dreaming. The title of Carroll's last mathematical treatise, is Curiosa Mathematica Part III: Pillow Problems, which alludes to his sleeping troubles.

Carroll lived during the Victorian era, which influenced his writing. Queen Victoria reigned during this time period, so female dominance is displayed in Carroll's writing. In the Alice stories, the Queen of Hearts overcomes the King both in size and power. Also, the Duchess overpowers her husband and is in control of the household. Carroll aged during an era characteristic of punctuality. This is reflected in the White Rabbit's extremely paranoid reaction to his lateness, in which he repeatedly says "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date." The Victorian time period was also characteristic of a rigid class structure. This is displayed in his writing when Alice regularly insults the Wonderland creatures, especially the smaller ones.

Carroll had a somewhat neglected childhood, which influenced his writing. The cause of this neglection was the birth of four other siblings before he was six, leading to a loss of attention for himself. "Neither Charles Dodgson or Lewis Carroll had many good things to say about babies. 'Throw them away.' 'Tie them in knots and send them into the wilderness.' 'Roast them well and serve them as appetizers for the main meal.' His negative experience with babies is reflected in Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland when the Duchess's baby is a nuisance because it cries so much, and then it turns into a pig and is left in the woods.

{ http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/explain/alice847.html }

Research Begins ...

http://www.illustrationweb.com/artists/VictoriaBall

I began my research by researching some illustrators that specialises in character design and cartoon illustrations. I first looked at Victoria Ball, who focuses on illustrating children's books, magazines , advertising and packaging . She hand draws and paints her illustrations which then she refines on Adobe Photoshop. As I am also thinking of hand drawing my illustrations and then refining them using Adobe Photoshop, Victoria Ball is a great inspiration to me.

http://www.illustrationweb.com/artists/AlexWohlrab/view

I also looked at Alex Wohlrab. He studied Visual Communication, and is now an illustrator. However unlike Victoria Ball he does not focus on children books. I decided to look at him not because of his illustrations but because of the style and technique he use to produce them. I liked the idea his illustrations are every strong and realistic. His illustrations really communicate the mood and characteristics of the figures illustrated. I particularly like the shadow he adds to the face of his illustrated people. 

http://www.illustrationweb.com/artists/ThiesSchwarz/view

Third Artist i have looked at is Thies Schwarz. He produces his illustrations using a mixture of traditional and digital techniques. Thies Schwarz focuses on character and cartoon illustration. As my project is children book illustration, Thies Schwarz illustrations with give me inspiration and ideas when illustrating my own scenery.

The Beginning ...

Today I am officially starting my EPQ project. I will be re-illustrating the story of 'Alice in Wonderland' and producing a set of images illustrating certain scenes of the story of my choice. I will also produce the front and the back cover of the story book. By carrying out this project I am hoping to improve my skills and learn   different techniques and styles of illustrating. 

I chose to do this project because I am currently studying Graphic Design Communication and Art&Architecture in my A2 year. I find this project very fascinating because I have never illustrated a book before so this will be a new experience for me, and a chance for me to learn new things.