Pictures With a Story to Tell: How To Build Visual Narratives

Creative partners Illan Brenman and Guilherme Karsten share their creative process for building funny visual narratives

The power of a story isn't always in the writing. You can say a lot with images too; they tell stories and have done since prehistoric times when people started to record events, beliefs, and moments by drawing on cave walls.

The partnership between writer Illan Brenman and children's book illustrator Guilherme Karsten demonstrates just how many things can be written in text and expressed through images. Their ideas can give way to a visual narrative that tells a story without the need for text, like Refugiados (Refugees), which is part of the Imagens que contam historias (Pictures with a Story) collection in which they are both credited as authors.

In this video, they discuss the creative process between a writer and an illustrator, introduce the Imagens que Contam Historias collection, and show the power of images when it comes to building a narrative.

Creative partnership

For Illan, the most important aspect of developing a project is to ensure that the illustrator and author can create something onto which the reader can project their dreams. In other words that allows them to identify with the story. Developing projects with Guilherme and other illustrators also creates room for interpretation.

Guilherme tends to give a script or synopsis an initial read-through, before talking to the author to get an understanding of their overall idea. Sometimes, he even suggests edits to give himself the freedom to present a piece of information or an important detail through the images. After all, a good picture book aims to unite text and image to create new things, not just to illustrate a story.

Pictures that tell stories

The Imagens que Contam Historias collection stems from the book Enganos, (Illusions), which in turn was born out of a game of light and shadows Illan and his daughter once played in a cave.

The other books in the collection include: Famílias (Families), Parece mas não é and Refugiados (Refugees). The latter was a very special project for them both because it deals with a very raw reality. The challenge lay in telling the story with their characteristically light touch and humor.

The result is a book that takes us on a unique journey and invites readers to reflect on the variety of reasons that lead people to migrate, from Ancient Egypt to the present day.

Loved it? If you want to learn techniques to develop your creative writing and delight young and old readers, don't miss Ilan Brenman's course: Creating Children's Stories.

And if you want to learn how to create unique visual narratives that will awaken your readers' curiosity, check out Guilherme Karsten's online course: Children's Picture Books with Digital Techniques.

English version by @studiogaunt.

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