SUBMITTING TO ROALD DAHL

I chose the Roald Dahl literary estate brief because I have a passion for storytelling. Since reading Roald Dahl's books as a child, I have become enchanted by his world and the magical stories he told. Dahl captured my imagination and I was excited by the idea of re-imagining the scenes from these modern classics. Dahl had a very unique approach to writing for children in that he was bold, truthful and often quite scary. I enjoy making illustrations for children, trying to visualize the excitement of a scene, so the challenge of translating Dahl’s unconventional tone of voice thrilled me. Quentin Blake is renowned for his illustrations in Roald Dahl’s books, but I believe that readers may rely on his illustrations instead of imagining the characters independently. It’s time for a change and I tackled this brief with the intention of encouraging a more imaginative reading experience. The Roald Dahl Literary Estate shares the original intentions of the author and I appreciate their dedication to Roald Dahl’s legacy. When I think of Roald Dahl, I don’t just think of the stories or the characters, but I remember the worlds he created. Roald Dahl caught the attention of readers by bringing them into his magical worlds, showing them the wonders of the imagination. I am an illustrator but I enjoy working in three dimensions, physically constructing props and puppets to bring illustrations to life. Each of the scenes I made exists beyond the screen or a printed medium, they are standing models that can be touched and moved. I wanted to be brave and bold in my approach to the illustrations, echoing Dahl’s memorable narratives. The handmade figures and scenes I produced for these images are combined with hand drawn foliage and leaves to blur the lines between what is real and what is fantasy. Dahl’s stories speak of fantastical creatures, bizarre events and real-life scenarios, so I made my illustrations to exist between dimensions. I chose to illustrate three different scenes from Roald Dahl’s stories. For the villain character, I made my own Grand High Witch from The Witches. The Grand High Witch is the scariest character I have ever encountered and I wanted to capture her ferocious power. The child character I showcased is James from James and the Giant Peach. James is a brave and adventurous character who encourages children to explore and appreciate the nature around them. The fantastical creatures I featured are the tiny Minpins folk from Roald Dahl’s The Minpins. Unlike most of Dahl’s books, this story was not illustrated by Quentin Blake. The original edition was illustrated by Patrick Benson and it is a lesser known story, so I attempted to bring these forgotten creatures into the spotlight. The Minpins is a lovely story and it deserves more recognition.