The Last Unicorn - An Introduction to Children’s Illustration

The Last Unicorn - An Introduction to Children’s Illustration

My focus was on the Unicorn, the Red Bull and the struggles, in which, I thought played a big part in the story, and I took more interest towards. I also found that within the details of the book, there were a lot of contrast and opposites which intrigued me (ie. Unicorn vs the Red Bull, her magical forest vs the doom of the human world, her innocence vs taint and filth, light vs dark, etc).

In the beginning of the book, the idea of the Unicorn leaving her enchanted home held an important lesson. She showed bravery and courage to go from her mystical and safe world to the human world that is filled with deceit, darkness and uncertainty. This was the part that drew me in to what her adventures would be like, and how her purity and innocence would handle unfamiliar situations.

This scene takes place in a dark forest below the castle of the Red Bull, and where the rest of the unicorns were being kept. She took the risk and let fate handle the ending of their battle. According to the book, it was a fierce fight, and it seemed like the Unicorn had a glimpse of winning due to the Bull's blindness. However, his persistence, quickness and will were too strong for her. She slowly succumbs to his powerful aura, with nowhere to run and hide.

My initial illustration of this part did not convey the strength and force that the Red Bull had over the Unicorn during their battle. I wanted to show the emotion of his power and devouring her into his world, piece by piece, despite her will to fight for herself and her "people".

Despite being the last Unicorn that the Red Bull has yet to capture, her human form and living in the castle encapsulated that; imprisoning her to the master of the Red Bull and his greed for all Unicorns. Her adjustment to her new body, name and life was comfortable and became a dilemma at this point. She either stays and die as a human or fight to turn back to a Unicorn and free herself, and the others, from their doomed fate.

I focused on experimenting with materials already at hand, and how these materials would portray the sense of emotion and drama to the scenes I have chosen. I did not want the illustrations to be colourful, but monotone. However, I wanted to incorporate accent colours to decipher between the two worlds and the traits of the characters. I also thought the simplicity of the illustrations seemed to fit the story and most of the scenes in the book were based in the human realm.

I thought the blue ink would be interesting but it did not give that darkness or dramatic appearance as I desired. So I decided to experiment with the black ink instead and the type of accent colors that would compliment it. I did love the black ink, but I felt it did not fit with the what I wanted to achieve in my illustrations.

I realized the right material was in front of me all this time...through my sketches! Markers and drawing pens! I did a sample with the marker, but found that it was not dramatic nor the broad point tip was detailed enough to go this route. The black drawing pens were the perfect material! I used 3 and 5 point pens (as that is all I had at this time) and slowly developed the illustrations, layer by layer. It was an enjoyable experience, and having a lot of patience helped. It also gave me the freedom to draw without boundaries or perfection. The result was perfect! 😄

This illustration was a challenge since day one. Once the material was decided, I knew the drawing pens would not work on this particular one. However, the style and line design was perfect for expressing the Unicorn's break out from the forest. I also love the contrast and approach it has between the other two illustrations, yet they all are cohesive. I finished this illustration in procreate. I scanned all pages and collaged the unicorn head and background, digitally drew the small animals, and arranged all the pieces accordingly.

Her breaking out of the enchanted forest (white pencil marks) into the human world (black paper). I added a hint of an accent colour (gold/yellow) that shows the tie between the Unicorn and the creatures in her enchanted forest, and the astonishment they have as they watch her leave for the first time.

This illustration shows the Red Bull enclosing on her. There is a sense of hope lost, fear and disappointment in the Unicorn that I wanted to express as she loses her sense of will to keep fighting. The tinge of red in her horn emphasizes his power over her during their battle. I added more pen markings in procreate for depth and drama.

I felt the illustration was already perfect in the sketch that conveyed the dilemma she was facing within herself. I added more of the pen marks in procreate for depth and emphasis for the two faces. The red accent colours in the castle reflects the Red Bull's territory that is imprisoning her from above, while she decides on her fate to go back to her magical self (hence the colours on the unicorn features) or stay in her soulless human form (all black monotone like the castle and human realm).