Jeff West My dummy book of the classic fairy tale, created for Penguin’s 2018 “Draw Now” WriteNow programme.
The brief
This year’s Penguin WriteNow requirement was to create new illustrations for a potential new edition publication of a picture book ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. The existing text was provided and the brief was the standard dummy book requirement for an illustrator:
- Produce black and white drawings of all spreads to accompany the text
- Create final artwork for one spread of the artist’s choice
I chose spread 09, Jack’s escape back down the beanstalk and his introduction of the hen that lays the golden eggs to his mother.
Full-colour artwork
I elected to use a digital line and watercolour style for my artwork. This is a classic “golden age of illustration” look, used on many picture books from my own childhood—probably including an earlier edition of this story.
Escape down the beanstalk
Jack runs from the castle, supported on a cloud, with the golden-egg-laying hen in his rucksack
Jack’s character reflects his poor background:
- Repaired mismatched glasses—one lens surround in black rectangular plastic, the other in gold, round, metal.
- His shoes also do not match, one being a lace-up canvas sneaker, the other a velcro-fastening trainer.
I designed Jack in as a classic persona, staying true to my own memories, but with subtle detailed updates to engage a modern-day audience.
The hen that lays golden eggs
Jack reveals the golden-egg-laying hen to his mother. Jeck is pleased with his achievement and mum is overjoyed. A fresh batch of eggs nestle on the rucksack.
Not everyone in the household is thrilled with the new family member as she preens in an elegant movie-star strut. One of the hens already living with Jack and his mother, looks extremely disgruntled, wings on hips, staring indignantly at the newcomer.
Jack and his mother wear matching clothing, implying thay may have been made from the same fabric to save money. Now, they can clothe themselves to match their new lifestyle!
The dummy book
These are the 12 spreads I created to illustrate the pre-written text. Spread 09 was chosen to render in full colour.
