Wealth or Inflation? Visual Media for Children

Picture books are traditionally an undervalued medium in Germany. However, in Germany and the Anglo-Saxon countries in particular, great draftsmen have always made books for children. From the outset, great care was taken in making picture books – not in spite of the fact that they were for children, but because of it.

The first picture books were made for instructive purposes and were only available to an elite; it was not until the nineteenth century that entertaining picture stories came into their own. At first, they were not addressed only to children – think of Wilhelm Busch or Ludwig Richter.

What are the qualities of a good picture book?

Of course, the starting point is a good text. It is often just as difficult to create a story with a succinct dramaturgy that is witty, gripping and has a good ending as it is to create a relatively complex literary form. It is often the books illustrated by the authors themselves that are the most impressive because they develop the story from the pictures or characters.

First of all, the artist has to give the narrative's protagonist a face and a body. Then, the place, time of the action (time of year and time of day), and the other characters have to be defined. Then there are the formal questions: What form of presentation and what technique will I use, what format and visual dramaturgy will I choose, how shall I integrate the text typographically? A picture book is not just a series of pictures narrating the details of stories. The order of the pictures is just as important as the individual pictures. It is not just the story that creates excitement. The illustrator must be a good director who skilfully leads his characters through places and actions. Film directors' storyboards look little different to the sketches of picture-book illustrators.

Picture books are small holistic works of art combining a number of disciplines. One element probably overlooked most by viewers is the writing. In combination with the illustration, the selection of fonts, size of the lettering and placing of the lines play an important role in interpreting the text. Although almost all illustrators are trained graphic artists who have also occupied themselves with typography, most ask a specialist for advice. The surface and quality of the paper and binding, too, play an important role in bibliophile masterpieces. Usually, many illustrated books are printed simultaneously on huge machines – an individual selection of paper or a correction of the colour are no longer possible. Here, as with many other seemingly unimportant details, the costs play a major role.

It is difficult to distinguish between a confident, well-crafted drawing from one that makes an impact, but is unsuccessful. Is the characterisation right? How is the picture constructed? Are the components harmonious? How does the artist use perspective, light and space? Does the picture have atmosphere? And above all, is the person who made it someone who can create worlds of his own and can draw viewers into his pictures? Has the book prompted viewers to imagine pictures of their own, has it struck a chord? Or do you snap the book shut and not remember anything?

Training illustrators

Children's picture books are usually made by an author, an illustrator, a typographer, an editor and the publisher's production department. Traditionally, picture-book illustrators study at universities, where subjects such as book design, production and typography are on the curriculum, as well as depicting characters. Some universities have specialised in book illustration, for example, the University of Book Art in Leipzig has a major training tradition of high quality craftsmanship and great artistic freedom. In Hamburg, successful young illustrators join forces in ateliers; almost all of them have studied with Rüdiger Stoye at the University of Applied Sciences. Picture books and comics are also focal areas of the University of Lucerne.

However, basic drawing skills, like learning to play a musical instrument, are something that is learnt in a child's early years, and gifted children should be supported early on. Perhaps all-day schools will provide a new opportunity to do this.