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Creating A New Visual Language

Rachel Lopez takes a look at some of the illustrators who are creating a new visual language in children’s books in India. Two of our books (illustrated by Rajiv Eipe and Ruchi Shah) are also featured in her article.

Via Hindustan Times

Some of the work is almost cinematic – moody vampire landscapes, grandmas that swing up coconut trees. Others are clearly tongue in cheek – jokes about poo, gags sneaked in for parents. But each is a step towards a new visual language for kids, one where the rules are elastic – and a new adventure is just around the corner.

Rajiv Eipe : Ammachi’s Amazing Machines (authored by the illustrator); Pratham Books

“As a child, I was always drawn more to the pictures than the story,” says Eipe. He trained as an animation filmmaker and jumped at the chance to work on children’s books. “The publishers wanted physics-related content, but in a way that was fun, not preachy,” Eipe says. He dreamed up a grandmother who invented simple machines using household objects, to make coconut barfi with her grandson. “Grandparents are resourceful, they are from a DIY generation,” Eipe says. “I captured some of the spunk of my own grandparents, and details of their home, in the book.”

Ruchi Shah : The Cat In The Ghat (authored by Ambika Rao); Pratham Books

Inspired by a real-life expedition of explorer Sandesh Kadur, this story follows a photographer‘s attempts to document a little-known wild cat in the Western Ghats. Shah says the book was originally conceived to feature the photographer’s work. “But a children’s book is a lot more fun when it’s illustrated,” she says. Unlike most books, the drawingstake up only half the page, so she knew her work needed to stand out. “I had to select what could be highlighted in the pictures and I knew I wanted the feel of the rainy, lush, damp forests,” she says. “I wanted the colours to burst out of the page.” She worked with photo-inks and splotches and didn’t care about staying within the lines. “When kids draw they spill, yaar. Why shouldn’t you?”

Read the entire article here.

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