Hello. I want to share with you my first experience of illustrating a book.
The writer Vitkoriya Dlugach-Klymchuk offered me to create collage illustrations for her first book "Not Guilty". I had to read a manuscripts of a book and create 6 collage illustrations, cover, back, spine and bookmarks for it.
"Not Guilty" is a socio-psychological drama by Victoria Dlugach-Klymchuk with a duration of 150 pages. A significant feature of the book is that, in addition to the main plot, it also has a hidden metaphorical line. And it had to be shown in the illustrations.
The book tells about a young girl Lily who hitted a woman by a car. At first she was tormented by a guilty conscience. However, thanks to the psychological manipulation of her relatives, the Lily completely avoids responsibility and begins to believe that she wasn't involved in the murder. Using this example, the author wanted to show how the methods of propaganda and self-deception work. So I, as an illustrator, had to show in my illustrations not only the events that take place in the book, but also find successful images and metaphors that would also reveal the hidden meaning of the book.
COLLAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
There are 6 chapters in the book. I created an illustration for each of them. It is also interesting that the actions in the book take place in reverse order - from the last day to the murder. Therefore, it was important for me to maintain this mood and intrigue in the illustrations as well.
In my collages, I used black and white images, as well as accent red lines. This adds more drama to the illustrations.
BOOK COVER DESIGN
I also designed the book cover. Actually, it was the most difficult task. The cover had to contain the key idea of the book, as well as be made in a minimalist style. One of the main wishes of the writer was that the book should be pleasant to pick up and that the cover should not visually repel readers, as well at the same time it should reveal the drama of the detective story. I created 4 versions of the cover, until the writer and I settled on the most successful version, which you see in the photo. We also showed different cover options to beta readers of the book to hear their feedback and find out if they would buy a book with such a cover. Thanks to such a check on potential readers, the writer Victoria Dlugach-Klimchuk and I refused one of the cover options. After analyzing readers' feedback and taking into account the writer's wishes, I created the final version of the cover, which went into print.
UNSUITABLE BOOK COVER DESIGNS
THE FINAL COVER VERSION
The photos I used to create the book cover.
BOOKMARK DESIGN
I also created a double-sided bookmark design. These bookmarks are included with each copy of the book.
My task was to replicate the book cover image to the bookmark and add a message to readers and qrcode for ordering the book.
Now the book "Not Guilty" by Victoria Dlugach-Klimchuk is sold in bookstores in Ukraine, it’s available in libraries, and it can also be ordered directly from the writer.
Photo by Victoria Dlugach-Klymchuk
Bookstore "Readeat" (50 Antonovycha Street, Kyiv, Ukraine)
Bookstore "Readeat" (50 Antonovycha Street, Kyiv, Ukraine)
I really liked this collaboration and co-creation of the book. I felt that I was participating in something very important. So I want to continue creating collage illustrations for books. I will gladly create book illustrations for your book. I will put a lot of love and genuine interest in your story. Just write me☺.
