This is the first exercise for another Domestika course I have recently started, Introduction to Children’s Illustration. We are supposed to do a self portrait as an illustration (a bit like the Animalise Me exercise I did for another course, also led by Adolfo Serra).

I have really struggled with this, partly because I don’t really think my face represents who I feel like I am, partly because I am not sure what I want to communicate with the image, partly because I don’t know what sort of pictures I want to make, and partly because my skills are not up to scratch. But I guess the process of doing this will help me answer some of these questions.

This is a rejected picture, which I won’t submit for the course, I’m working on another one now.

I also think now might be a good time to look at some of the illustrators that I like and would perhaps like to emulate, specifically in a children’s story context (i.e. avoiding stuff that’s too strange and dark).

Krystyna Turska

Yuri Vasnetsof

Adolfo Serra

Daniel Belben

Jon Klassen

Lee White