These days, illustrations aren’t just for children anymore. Adults and children alike appreciate carefully drawn illustrations; they make the story personal and intricate. The best illustrations allow the children and other readers to immerse themselves in the story. There are many ways to make the illustrations stand out, and yet blend in with the theme of the story. Here are some of the things they help do in a story and storytelling techniques, and in the retention of the ideas. This is how illustrations make stories magical.
The help you visualize
Some ideas can only be expressed when shown. Illustrations allow that; they spark different ideas. Why did you use this colour? Aren’t they supposed to look like this? This way, pictures entice children and adults to think about the image. This clearly calls for a picture to form in their head and visualize the rest of the story. With that, they understand the gravity of evil actions and the benefit of doing well. Illustrators undergo a great deal of training to express the scenes in detail; they do all these without ever overloading an image with unneeded information. You can see some of the best at ilustra.co.uk
They help deepen the meaning and get you to feel things
Some pictures go over what the texts say. This is actually true; you never know how much joy there is until you see it in the eyes of the illustrated character. Sometimes, the text may talk of joy, but have implicit doubts; illustrations show these indescribable instances. In addition, some children may not understand the “gravity” of an adjective or an adverb in a story. When you say, “freezing,” children will better understand “coldness” as what you want to describe when you illustrate it.
They give the basic mood using colours
Colours have already proved they alter moods based on scientific research and tests; in illustrations, they do the same thing. Fill the space with blue and the feeling of sadness may come over a person. Blue can also be used to describe and enhance diligence in work. Red can be used to express love or hate. Yellow has extreme joy or hunger. Children also love the expression of colours that are simple, yet nicely done. Multiple colours at one time can get children to feel unruly and misbehaved.
Illustrations stick in one’s mind
A person may not be able to remember all the details in the story. Eidetic memory theories suggest that children recall more when they visualize something. This is also true in adults. In a study done in 2010, adults were tested to remember 10 of 20 completely random things. The control test only showed them the word to remember. Most were able to recall five to six words only. When it was told with pictures; however, they learnt a different set of words better; this time, they gave five to eight. They achieved perfect scores (20 points in all) when the words and pictures were told in a coinciding story. Illustrations give such power to the storyteller. Storytellers can embed the ideas in people’s minds using great narration paired with awesome illustrations.