Illustrations and Personal Opinions Regarding Them

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  • #23301
    Joy Mastron
    @i-j-anderson
      • Rank: Wise Jester
      • Total Posts: 81

      Hello, wonderful, wide world of KP!
      I’m actually not sure if someone has already done a topic concerning this before or not, but it seems that the Art forum decided to fade away a little while ago, so I might as well ask: Do you prefer to have illustrations in the books you are reading?

      On one side, I’ve heard that people like illustrations (I think I’m mainly refering to character portraits rather than scenes) because it gives them a more complete personification of a character.

      On the other hand, I’ve heard that illustrations can just become annoying and inhibit imagination because they are never how you pictured them in your head.

      Personally, as an artist myself, I tend to become easily bored if I don’t have a reference point of what the characters look like before hand. Often what I do is wait until after I’ve read a book, and then go online and find fan art on Deviant Art. But I would rather have a portrait before I start reading rather than a long, clunky, awkward description.

      #23303
      Emma Flournoy
      @emma-flournoy
        • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
        • Total Posts: 1352

        I-J-Anderson Well if the book was written well, there won’t be a long, clunky, awkward description. 😛

        I prefer to get my picture of the character from reading the book, not by an actual picture. It just seems more real to me that way. I could like looking at pictures of characters after I already have my own head picture, but not to get my perception.

        #23304
        Emma Flournoy
        @emma-flournoy
          • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
          • Total Posts: 1352

          That’s the right tag but it didn’t work…lemme try again.

          I-J-Anderson

          #23305
          Emma Flournoy
          @emma-flournoy
            • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
            • Total Posts: 1352

            i-j-anderson

            #23306
            Emma Flournoy
            @emma-flournoy
              • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
              • Total Posts: 1352

              I’m sorry…dunno what’s goin’ on. 😛

              #23307
              Daeus
              @daeus
                • Rank: Chosen One
                • Total Posts: 4238

                @emma-flournoy You need an @ symbol.

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                #23309
                Emma Flournoy
                @emma-flournoy
                  • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                  • Total Posts: 1352

                  @Daeus Oh gracious, that was dumb. *headdesk*


                  @I-J-Anderson
                  There!

                  #23311
                  Jess
                  @jess
                    • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                    • Total Posts: 575

                    @I-J-Anderson, I don’t go crazy if there are illustrations in a book, but I would rather have a book with no illustrations. Illustrations can be good, but I as the reader would rather fill in the blanks on what the characters look like myself. Also, like Emma Flournoy said, if the book is well written there won’t be clunky descriptions. 😉 It’s when the illustrations are not what I want them to look like, that’s what annoys me. I’ll imagine this cool city, but on the very next page, a boring picture of the same city destroys the image I conjured. Maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but yeah… And I read one book where the pictures were the page before the events, spoiling the story. I eventually just ignored them.
                    So yeah… No pictures in my opinion. 🙂

                    #23313
                    Kate Flournoy
                    @kate-flournoy
                      • Rank: Chosen One
                      • Total Posts: 3976

                      It really depends, @I-J-Anderson. Some books are good with illustrations. A lot of old classics have illustrations— things like Gene Stratton-Porter, and Ballantyne, and the like. I liked those because they sort of filled in the setting gaps the author didn’t spend much time on, though I could have filled it in without them. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’m just fine without illustrations. It gives my imagination license to go wherever it wants. But illustrations (done well; I’m an artist myself and so can be extremely picky 😛 ) can add a lot to the color of a book for me without me having to fill it in. So I don’t mind if they’re there. Praise indeed, I know. XD

                      Sarah Hoven
                      @sarah-h
                        • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                        • Total Posts: 669

                        @i-j-anderson Most of the time I prefer to just use my imagination, but I do enjoy the illustrations in the old classics, like Henty and Ballantyne. Which do you prefer: sketches, or color pictures?

                        #23319
                        Daeus
                        @daeus
                          • Rank: Chosen One
                          • Total Posts: 4238

                          I don’t like it when the illustrations look different from what I imagined them being, but I think I still like having the images even despite that. They’re generally at least close and if I get a book with illustrations, the first thing I do is go through at look at all the pictures.

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                          #23321
                          Kate Flournoy
                          @kate-flournoy
                            • Rank: Chosen One
                            • Total Posts: 3976

                            if I get a book with illustrations, the first thing I do is go through at look at all the pictures.


                            @Daeus
                            ha! Me too! 😀

                            Daeus
                            @daeus
                              • Rank: Chosen One
                              • Total Posts: 4238

                              *lightbulb* New fad everybody! Forget adult coloring books, the new thing is adult picture books!

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                              #23323
                              Kate Flournoy
                              @kate-flournoy
                                • Rank: Chosen One
                                • Total Posts: 3976

                                I’m in. Where do we sign up to fund this thing? 😀

                                Daeus
                                @daeus
                                  • Rank: Chosen One
                                  • Total Posts: 4238

                                  I don’t know, you do it @kate-flournoy. I only come up with the ideas.

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