Ella Bailey
DIGITAL MADE TO LOOK LIKE PRINT.
The images look like print because of the textures she applies digitally, making the ink seem as though it has been applied through a screen. The shapes she uses are ideal for printing because they are blocks of solid colour.
Perhaps not actualised in screen print since it isn't cost or time efficient compared to digital for mass production. She uses more than two colours, so would need several positive layers.
Why has she tried to make it look like it has been screen printed? Bailey is heavily influenced by 'retro' illustration (evidenced by her kitsch characters and the elements of 50's/60's interior design in her illustrations), which I think is why she's tried to echo this in her modern take on those pictures.
https://tygertale.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/wpid-photo-201410272342457.jpg?w=650&h=341
Her work exists as publications. She has worked for several publishing companies, including Nobrow, Flying Eye books. Nobrow has a collection of illustrators who produce picture books under their publishing and they are a very successful publishing house. They've brought out some beautiful books, but I can't help but question if they have a house style. There is an undercurrent of trendy, graphic illustrations and although all of them are unique, there does seem to be a signature 'Nobrow look'. Is Bailey conforming to that? Did they give her specifications?
https://tygertale.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/wpid-photo-201410272342454.jpg?w=650&h=416
Ella Bailey's illustrations appeal to me because they have the three things I always aim for in my own work: character, charm and narrative. Her characters are lively and full of personalities. The ghosts (see first image) each have their own dance move, details that make them believable and identifiable.
Bailey creates charm through her childish imagination, her attention to detail in the scene (socks everywhere! Silly and fun) and her friendly, informal tone of voice.
The illustrations I've included on this blog post come from her book 'No Such Thing'; the theme of this storybook is Halloween, a popular seasonal event that I've never seen written about in a kid's book before, but that children love. This is a similar topic to that of my own intention for this brief.
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