Why I chose the classical illustration style in this trend obsessed reality
- Yulia Potts
- Sep 23
- 4 min read
Adding the fifth layer of watercolor small strokes, with the tiniest brush from my not so big collection, I feel as If it is me - being right there in the old cottage garden looking for the friend to go on adventure trip to outsmart the old fox and to celebrate with a cake at the dormice house after.
I am finishing the fur on the jolly bunny’s tale who sneaks through the rose bush. The scenes jumping like bunnies in my mind. I get excited and at the same time so happy and balanced… until my rooster sneaks to the window and makes me jump in a chair at the sound of his call. Immediately a picture of a rooster with the trumpet appears in my head and one more time I wish I had 5 hands at least - one to bring a cup with tea to my mouth, and all the others to catch all the stories through drawing, at the very time they fly by.
What classical illustration means to me
Whenever I draw I feel like a child again - the very little girl who was often found with a classical book under an old pear tree at her nana’s house. The worlds by Dulac, Piek, Vasnetsov, Rackham, Bilibin and the other classical masters, made the fairy tales alive and so real as if those stories were a part of a beautiful nature scenery making me appreciate the trees, the butterflies, the birds. They also taught me "to see" the little scenes hiding behind the first strawberries on a garden patch and other magical objects of everyday life.
The rich line work, timeless palettes, textured endless layers of storytelling in those books made my imagination bloom.
And I guess the purpose of those illustrations was to wake up the love to the words telling the stories of human values, history and beauty to evoke even more love to the lands, cultures, people and the most important - the place we are growing at.
The modern fast, flat, trends driven styles of children books, often minimalistic, have the purpose too - they deliver the straightforward message of whatever needs to be delivered in an unapologetically bold way. They create the immediate emotional response on whatever the message is. They do it very effectively. Nothing could work better in “make it faster, make it viral” environment.
Why I chose the classical path ignoring the pressure
For ten years of illustrating the books there were times when I tried to fit the industry.
I was craving to get recognition at publishing and illustrating world.
I tried but was constantly disappointed with what I produced, kept beating myself up for being slow, irrelevant, not professional enough to “be productive, stop wasting effort on all these details, master minimalistic style and master the digital effects”. It was the recommendation I got when my illustration portfolio was assessed by a mentor once.
I became anxious every time I was signing a contract to illustrate a book - trying to meet the expectations of my publisher and produce a book within 40 days without comments “can you make your illustrations a bit more modern” until I completely burnt out.
For a few months I did not draw much. I got the old books with classical illustrations. I was turning pages marveling the vintage illustration style while "traveling times" and I came to a decision:
"I was not designed to change the world - perhaps, my purpose was to guard and keep the old world core qualities like joyfully slow, fully lived tasks, that make the day so real. May ne I should carry on the tradition of handcrafted pictures with a classical art inspiration and turn the ordinary scenes into a note from a fairytale. May be there is nothing wrong in loving the stories filled with beauty and detail.
If I keep growing towards the goals reflecting those qualities, mastering the traditional illustration techniques, I hope, I could share them on the pages of the new books that connect the past times with now."
I believe, the past does not necessarily mean old, worn out and useless. It can be sweetly nostalgic, keeping the memories of grand parents' time alive and valid.
Besides, our ancestors put so much effort in making sure we are living in our slot of life continuation, that I find it not just respectful but fascinating - studying the sources of their resilience. I believe one of them was found in the books with timeless illustration style to feed the child’s imagination. Children grow into adults and quite often the view of the world, built in early years, affects the decisions of a grown human. But this is a long topic for discussion. :)
If my blog talk about why I cherish the illustrations with timeless charm from the past has not made you yawn (much) I invite you to my portfolio - a collection of storybook inspired art that can be in someone’s book.
I’d love for you to find one that speaks to you and makes you smile.
You can explore it here:
Thank you for sharing my creative paths. Have the beautiful sunsets and creative moments!
Yulia
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