A commercial illustrator’s “hiking trip” that doesn’t want to be swallowed up by reality
The best place to walk your baby is of course nature, but you can’t escape the hustle and bustle of the city and social circles Adults cannot stay in nature forever, so people have a lot of longing for nature and a yearning for a slow life. This kind of imagination may only have the freshness and freedom of nature, but ignore its tranquility and loneliness. However, there is a person who regards walking in nature as work, observation as enjoyment, and loneliness as wealth. He is 19 Century American writer, poet, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau.
Henry David Thoreau's "Walden" is very famous. It records his reclusive life at Walden Pond - walking, observing nature, thinking about life, and then describing what he saw and heard. Write down what you think. The American illustrator D.B. Johnson created five picture books based on these stories, namely "Henry Hikes to Fitchburg", "Henry Goes Hiking", "Henry Built a Cabin", "Henry's Work" and "Henry's night". Henry here refers to Henry David Thoreau. It expresses the vision of a commercial illustrator eager to enjoy painting itself from the busyness.
"If I can enjoy the company that the four seasons of the year bring me, then life will not be a burden to me." The care for nature and the simple attitude towards life are even more clear in Johnson's paintings.
Johnson also incorporated literary creation techniques. In "Henry Walks to Fitchburg", he set up a suspense at the beginning. Henry and his friends all went to Fitchburg to see the countryside, but Henry chose He went on foot, while his friend chose to work first and buy a train ticket after earning enough money. They decided to compete to see who could reach their destination first. In "Henry's Job", Henry tells everyone he meets on his walk, "I'm just walking to work." The reader doesn't know what his job is until he turns the last page.
American thinker and writer Ralph Waldo Emerson will also appear in these books. The lake, woods, and land of Walden Pond were Emerson's property. From 1841 to 1844 and from 1847 to 1848, Thoreau lived in the Emerson family most of the time. He also built a cabin with his own hands and spent a wonderful time here. In "Henry Built a Log Cabin", Thoreau's friend Ortko and Emerson's wife Lydia both "appear".
Thoreau was not only an essayist and poet, but also a land surveyor and naturalist. In 1862, while measuring tree rings in the field, he suffered from bronchitis due to rain, which aggravated his tuberculosis, thus ending his short but great life. Only 44 years old.
"Henry's Night" is the latest book in the Henry series. [US] Written/illustrated by D.B. Johnson, translated by Yang Jiasheng, Magic Elephant | Guangxi Normal University Press November 2021 edition. Suitable reading age: 3+
The article that Book Reviewer brings you today comes from Zhang Xun, a lecturer at the School of Communication of Nanjing University of the Arts. He made more comments on the characteristics of Johnson’s painting creation. You can see from it Thoreau and the influence of Walden on a commercial illustrator.
01
Use ingenuity to introduce Thoreau’s ideas to children
In the past 100 years, North American illustrators have gradually established a mature business mechanism. They provide customers with illustrations in different media and styles according to market demand. Advertisers or editors find them and often get the works they want. These illustrators generally have distinctive creative characteristics, proficient painting skills, good communication skills and sensitive text sensibility.
D.B. Johnson is a typical one. His paintings are full of rationality and strong purpose, providing appropriate image interpretations for various journal articles. In his nearly 20 years of commercial design career, Johnson has always taken "good care" of his clients and "enjoyed the work" as the joy of painting. It wasn't until he created the image of Henry that he finally found the opportunity and prepared to take a "good hike" in the painting.
Henry’s prototype is Henry David Thoreau, a writer who had a profound influence on the American spiritual world. More than 170 years ago, he used an ax to build a log cabin on the shore of Walden Pond, and he enjoyed walking in the forest with swaying light and shadow every day. Thoreau is Johnson's idol, so Johnson's Henry also has messy hair, a stiff, jagged beard, and a pair of long, clear eyes that seem to stare forever - these are Thoreau's typical characteristics.
In "Henry Walks to Fitchburg", Henry and his friends meet to see the countryside.
"Henry Walks to Fitchburg" is Henry's first appearance. He and his friends make an appointment to go to Fitchburg. My friend is slightly fat, has two dull beady eyes, and wears a pocket watch on his waist that hints at the theme of "walk slowly." No matter what he does, he is impatient and does not know how to enjoy the walking life. These behaviors set off Henry's wisdom and thoughtfulness. As a result, Henry quickly became a clever and harmless picture book star.
A reader wrote to thank Johnson for his ingenuity in introducing Thoreau's thoughts to children.
The letter mentioned Thoreau's "indecent" experience of being imprisoned for refusing to pay taxes, and believed that the real Thoreau was not just a performer who took selfies while walking, but also a philosopher who thought about and practiced truth in real life. , is a fighter who opposes slavery and upholds the belief of "civil disobedience".
In "Henry Goes to Climb the Mountain", Henry's imprisonment.
After Johnson received the letter, he immediately wrote "Henry Goes Climbing the Mountain" as a reply. Henry had to say "Don't even think about it!" and had to go to jail, but even in jail he could still wander. In his fugue, he met a black slave brother who wore shackles on his feet and patched trousers, but was equal to him. They blessed each other and waved to each other before leaving, as if to say, "Enjoy the journey to freedom." The words "enjoy it" echoed in the valley and continued on the pages of the book. Although "Going to Fitchburg" and "Going to Climb the Mountain" are works from different periods, they are a whole. The theme of "enjoying it" runs through both books.
Walden Pond is not a holy place to escape from work. Thoreau's reclusive life is the practice of philosophical ideals and the search for the true meaning of life. This is also a kind of work. Even if this kind of work is difficult and dangerous, he has nothing to fear. In Henry's mind, the fellow travelers who traveled over the mountains and ridges in pursuit of freedom were doing exactly this kind of work; and in Johnson's mind, the pity for the travelers who symbolized black slaves even went beyond "enjoying the journey to freedom" itself, and the political significance seemed to greater than philosophical significance. Is this Thoreau's thought still full of anarchism? Maybe not. But what does it matter? Johnson raises a challenging question here: Will Thoreau's voice still echo more than 100 years later?
Henry was imprisoned but never heard from the wall. I gained the freedom of "climbing the mountain" while painting on the mountain.
Thoreau's answer in "Walden" is: "The echo, to a certain extent, is still the original sound. This is its magic and loveliness. It not only makes the bell worth repeating The sound is repeated, and some of the sounds in the forest are repeated; it is some nicknames and musical sounds sung by a forest banshee."
Compared with the neat drawings of "Fitchburg", "Go. The colors of "Mountain Climbing" are more vivid, the composition is more dynamic, the emotions are fuller, and Henry's stiff beard seems to be brighter. I often think that the United States, which has a strong commercial atmosphere and is full of pragmatic spirit, has emerged many outstanding figures. Why do people respect this independent "thorny head" Thoreau as a spiritual cornerstone? Maybe because he lives in reality. On the other hand, with him, Americans will reach a delicate balance in their hearts, just like Lao Tzu left the rigid Oriental people with a wayward and unrestrained attitude towards life. This kind of contradiction may keep people energetic, allowing those "D.B. Johnsons" who work hard to keep a thought and a hidden energy in their hearts, so as not to be completely swallowed up by reality. Thoreau will always remind us: Have you always wanted to go hiking in the forest?
Speaking of the forest, we can easily think of another French painter named Henri Rousseau whose name is very similar to Thoreau. Thoreau was just born when he was taking a walk in the forest. He lived a well-behaved life for most of his life, and one day he suddenly picked up a paintbrush and painted the forest. In his works, various plants are densely populated and animals shuttle among them. Everything is full of primitive power. Picasso was shocked after seeing it, thinking that Rousseau was not living in the city but in the jungle. A century later, Johnson also walked in the forest and then went into the studio to work hard. Whether it is a forest in a dream or a forest in reality, they may be full of magic. So, what will Johnson collect in the forest?
Although the traveler has shackles on his feet, he is very happy inside.
02
Integrating Thoreau’s life experience into five picture book creations
Johnson used a drawing technique that is more common in American commercial illustrations: plane The geometric cartoon shape, the design of contradictory space, and the full composition. They often apply flat acrylic paints for coloring, then use spray painting to create special effects of shadows and gradients. Finally, they use colored pencils to add texture, mix colors or depict details. Inkjet painting is a painting technique that involves diluting paint and pouring it into a delicate spray gun, and then using the power of an air pump to spray the paint out. The painter can use the switch on the spray gun, the distance between the gun nozzle and the picture, and the tilt angle to control the gradient effect of the color and the thickness of the particles.
This technique has full characteristics of industrial painting. Johnson's painting process is like a workshop process, one after another, rigorous and precise. Of course, there is room for improvement: when people spray paint, they can use blocking techniques to draw clear edge lines or soft gradient boundaries. In the five books with Henry as the protagonist, Johnson used blocking techniques to flexibly create various wrinkles and shadows on the clothes, leaves, and ground in the books. This is where his creativity lies.
However, Johnson's paintings at this time were still more like a product, far less indulgent than Rousseau's works. His characters are often summarized by regular straight lines or curves, and the rich forest plants are often processed into three or four simple styles. Everything in the painting appears regular and uniform. Is this really a wild forest? Perhaps after 20 years of "working hard" and preparing to "enjoy hiking" in painting, Johnson still can't let go of the sense of security he's accustomed to.
He also tried to play with some tricks, such as using Cubism techniques to organize the picture and letting Henry walk through the walls of the cell, or using spray-painting blocking techniques to cut the picture to create a spatial interlacing effect. . But it all looks a bit like origami. Johnson filled the picture with various elements. What interested him seemed not to be the elements in the forest - he was working responsibly, organizing the natural scenery neatly and surrounding the smart Henry - maybe he was concerned about Just Henry, or more accurately, Thoreau. It is also possible that he is concentrating on his work.
The cabin Henry built himself was not big, but he enjoyed life here very much.
After completing four books, Johnson paused the series and seemed to have finished telling Thoreau's story. Five years later, with the help of his wife, he launched his fifth picture book with Henry as the protagonist - "Henry's Night". Because computer spray painting replaced traditional airbrush techniques, Johnson had more opportunities to experiment with his techniques. More importantly, Henry, who symbolizes Thoreau, no longer seems to be an image that is eager to be praised. Thoreau's life experience began to surface in Johnson's "walking" again and again. Henry, who couldn't sleep, gave up the protagonist's position and light took his place. The spots of moonlight shining through the leaves, the ripples of the creek in the jungle, the scattered refracted light in the rain, the sunlight slanting into the room in the early morning - the whole book is filled with light and shadow that change instantaneously. Henry's modeling melts into it, and the deliberate depiction of objects begins to give way to the rendering of atmosphere. Johnson may have found his forest magic.
If "Fitchburg" is the beginning of Johnson's hiking, and it is just the "work" of "enjoying the hike", then "Henry's Night" marks the author's move forward. After a long period of time, start enjoying the hiking process. But ultimately, where is "Fitchburg"? I don't know. Henry found it, Thoreau thought about it for a long time, and believed Johnson would find it too. Enjoy your hike and take it easy, friend.
Written by Zhang Xun
Editor Shen Chan’s introduction and proofreading of Guo Li’s illustrations on how to draw succulents
Succulents are also very common in China, such as sedums Some species generally appear on rooftops in rural areas, and there are also wild root species in the mountains. However, the Chinese do not pay much attention to these plant species and have not developed them into commodities. Nowadays, countries such as South Korea and Japan cultivate them and sell them all over the world. Below is how to draw succulent illustration patterns.
Materials: watercolor pens, paper towels.
Steps:
1. First draw a fleshy flap, and continue to add along the drawn flap.
2. After drawing the succulents, let’s draw the basin. First draw two relatively gentle arcs as the mouth of the basin, and then draw a semicircle as the body of the basin.
3. Finally, draw a cylinder as the bottom of the basin, so that the outline is completed. Next, color the succulents. Paint the succulents blue and the pot green, so that the succulents are finished. After watching it, children can instantly understand what the law of the jungle is
##Hello
The United States releases many animated blockbusters every year, but the movie "The Jungle Book" has something special. In addition to the very advanced film production technology, it also comes from the literary masterpiece The Jungle Book. Therefore, after watching this movie, children have a wonderful encounter with a classic. Whether they watch the movie and then read the book, or read the book and then go to the movie, it is a three-dimensional reading experience.
The author of The Jungle Book is the British writer Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936). He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907 and published the story collection of the same name The Jungle Book in 1894
Disney This story was put on the big screen in 1967, but the 1967 version of the animated film was not faithful to the original work. This "live-action animated film" is not only closer to the original work, but also specifically explains the story of the little boy through the wolf parents. Through the teachings and his own experience, he gradually realized what the law of the jungle is, and through his own efforts, he gained the respect of all animals. The famous film review media ScreenDaily commented: The movie brings a dizzying visual spectacle and makes all the characters and stories written by Kipling come alive.
The boy Mowgli was found by the black panther when he was a child and grew up among wolves. But to other animals, he is still a human being, and the animals are deeply afraid of humans...
Therefore, it is difficult for the boy to gain a foothold in the wolf pack, and he can only survive alone... The story unfolds here, with two bright lines, the struggle for survival and personal growth, intertwined...
Kipling's "Law of the Jungle" is an important concept that appears in this story, and it sounds particularly cool.
Regarding this law, Kipling himself said this: The law of the jungle is ancient and clear. Those who follow it prosper, and those who go against it perish...
NOWthisistheLawoftheJungle—asoldandastrueasthesky;AndtheWolfthatshallkeepitmayprosper,buttheWolfthatshallbreakitmustdie.
So what exactly is this law? Is it the control of the strong and the law of the jungle as we traditionally understand it?
Kipling told us that the law of the jungle can also be struggle, due diligence and obedience. . Chinese scholar Wen Meihui explained:
The "Law of the Jungle" is Kipling's contribution to governing the world. The human world is the same as the animal world, and the interests of people are mutually restrictive and interdependent. For the survival and prosperity of mankind, everyone must abide by a certain social order.
The "Law of the Jungle" is a point that can be particularly explored when taking children to watch this movie. In addition, after watching the movie, I realized that it is clearly an educational apocalypse that records personal growth and allows people to travel through the jungle!
Give the child an environment and let him exercise on his own
At the beginning of the film, Mowgli shuttles flexibly through the jungle like an ape, running forward with all his strength, as if avoiding the huge danger behind him. The wolves accompanied him, but soon left him behind. Due to a small mistake, a black figure threw him to the ground like lightning. Before the audience could get over the shock, this "black lightning" had already stood up leisurely. It turned out to be Bahli the Black Panther giving Mowgli a jungle escape lesson.
The unwilling Mowgli complained that if the branch had not broken accidentally, he would have been able to escape successfully today. Bahli patiently told him that when living in the jungle, one must learn to observe potential dangers. Animals would not make stupid mistakes like him. The big tree was entangled with vines, and at first glance it looked like a dead tree. If you can't run as fast as a pack of wolves, you will one day become someone else's dinner
We can imagine that sparing no effort in training like this has been accompanying Mowgli's growth. From the survival laws and social norms of the jungle to fighting with powerful tigers to protect Mowgli, Bahli is like a persuasive and conscientious life mentor who does his best to protect Mowgli's growth - not only accompanying Mowgli to exercise , and found the best environment for his growth and fostered him in a wolf pack, so that he had a sense of belonging to the group and learned to share and cooperate, follow and lead.
What the movie wants to convey is a philosophy about survival and growth: If Mowgli does not practice survival skills, he will easily be ruthlessly eliminated by nature. Similarly, in our education, if children always rely on others and do not have proper self-training, they are likely to be at a loss when facing society.
“All love in the world has the ultimate goal of gathering, and only one kind of love has separation as the goal, and that is the love of parents for their children. Therefore, the truly successful love of parents is to let go of them as soon as possible. The more your child is separated from your life as an independent individual, the more successful your education will be. "From this perspective, education is a kind of self-training. Only when we give children the opportunity to exercise can their potential be stimulated and they will have unlimited development possibilities. Even a fall is a kind of growth. Of course, letting children exercise is not the same as laissez-faire or indulgence. Instead, they should be given guidance on direction and methods like Bahli, and let them explore the rest in practice.
Throughout our education, there are no more than three types: one is the "arrangement type", which takes care of everything and always, and uses "diligence" to achieve "laziness"; the other is the "laissez-faire type", No matter what, let it go, which is called giving children freedom, but in fact it results in a lack of education; the third is the "do something and don't do something" type, giving children the opportunity to fully exercise, not intervening in everything, but letting go , this pointer points out that it seems to be "doing nothing" but in fact it is "doing something". What kind of education method do you prefer? I believe that parents with educational wisdom will choose the third education method. There is a kind of love called "letting go". This kind of "letting go" is to give the child an environment and allow him to exercise himself.
Give the child a chance and let him make his own choice
Acela, called the "noble and just leader of the wolf pack" by Bahli, is one of my favorite characters. I like him firstly because he remained calm when facing the threat of the tiger and protected Mowgli behind him, and secondly because he gave Mowgli the opportunity to choose himself. With the advent of the rainy season, facing the tiger's revenge, the wolves had to consider the issue of Mowgli's stay. They discussed it for three days and three nights without coming to any conclusion. No one had ever been able to make the wolves so divided. As the leader, it would be understandable if Akela handed Mowgli over to the tiger in the name of maintaining the safety of the wolves. Indeed, how many lives can a little "human child" be worth?
But Accra did not do this. His nobility lies in not giving up individual survival value for the benefit of the group. Invisibly, he gave Mowgli the right to choose his own destiny - for the safety of his loved ones, he voluntarily left the wolves and returned to the human village. He not only gave Mowgli the opportunity to choose himself, but also protected Mowgli's dignity and life to the maximum extent, prompting him to take the first step of self-growth.
Give the child a space and let him be himself
Bahli and Ackerly love and protect Mowgli, but hope to use "dehumanization" to make him truly become a part of the jungle . The cute brown bear Baloo is different from them. He starts from Mowgli's perspective and hopes that Mowgli can be himself. He said: "You don't have to go back to the human tribe, because you have the right to make your own choices." He also encouraged Mowgli to use tools to obtain honey, and the two became close friends and spent a happy time together. time.
Human beings gave Mowgli life, Bahli and Ackerley pushed Mowgli to become an animal, while Baloo hoped that Mowgli would return to his human instinct and be himself. Animals have animal abilities, and humans have human instincts. Mowgli unified animal nature and human nature and achieved individual growth. In fact, there is no contradiction between the two. Just like fire can destroy everything, but as long as it is used properly, it can also become a tool to help people in distress. Mowgli killed the brutal tiger with fire, threw the fire into the lake, saved himself and the wolves, and used tools to rescue the baby elephant, winning the respect and recognition of the animals. Seeing this scene, Bahli realized that Mowgli was not a wolf and could never fight like a wolf, but he could fight like a human.
The same is true for education. Only by being themselves and giving full play to their own strengths can children become their unique selves. Every child is a unique individual with his own thoughts, personality and dignity, which are beyond the control of his parents. The famous educator Chen Heqin pointed out: "Children are not 'villains'. Children's psychology is different from that of adults. Childhood is not only a preparation for adulthood, but also has its own value. We should respect children's personality and cherish their Romantic and innocent. "Giving a child a space to become his unique self is a good education.
What is more noble than freedom are rules
This fantasy forest is the epitome of civilized society. The animals consciously live according to certain rules. When it is in the dry season and the Peace Rock is exposed, all animals consciously abide by the truce rules and drink water peacefully without predators or fighting, because water is more important than food at this time. Even the extremely cruel tiger Shelik Khan did not dare to violate this rule, so he temporarily let Mowgli go and threatened the wolves that he would retaliate when the rainy season comes. Wolves also have laws of survival. "This law is the law of the forest, as ancient and correct as God. Wolves who obey it will prosper, and wolves who violate it will be destroyed... The power of the group comes from the lone wolf, and the power of the lone wolf comes from the group!" In In the jungle, every animal can live according to its own way. This is the freedom of survival, but for the harmony of the jungle, it needs to follow more noble rules.
This reminds me of a story:
In 1978, 75 Nobel Prize winners gathered in Paris. People admire Nobel Prize winners very much. A reporter asked one of them: "In your life, which university or laboratory do you think the most important things were learned in?" The gray-haired Nobel Prize winner calmly replied: "In kindergarten. The reporter was very surprised and asked: "Why in kindergarten? What do you think you learned in kindergarten?"
The Nobel Prize winner replied with a smile: "In kindergarten, I learned a lot. For example, give half of your things to your friends; don’t take things that are not yours; put things neatly; wash your hands before eating; take a rest after lunch; apologize if you do something wrong; think more and be careful when studying. Observe nature. I think that's all I've learned. ”
All those present gave warm applause to the Nobel Prize winner’s answer.
The habit developed by this Nobel Prize winner in kindergarten is a sense of rules. The concrete embodiment of "There is no circle without rules." Rules are the behavioral norms and standards that people must abide by in their daily lives, study, and work. "Sow behavior, harvest habits; sow habits, harvest character; sow character, harvest destiny." , fully demonstrates that the cultivation of rule awareness is not only a guarantee for the orderly development of children's current learning and life, but also an essential foundation for them to become social people in the future.
Finally, I would like to recommend TheJungleBook to everyone. Various Chinese and English versions for children of all ages. This is almost a must-read for European and American children. Parents who have already watched the movie with their children may wish to take their children to review the charm of the original book.
TheJungleBook( CampbellBooks)
This is a board book that can be started by babies as young as one or two years old. The painting style is warm and cute, and it will be a good reading experience for parents and children.
The JungleBook (HarperCollins)
p>This is the new edition in March this year, with text and illustrations specially recreated for children.
TheJungleBook (WalkerBooks)
The illustrations of this edition are the highlights. In order to better express the artistic conception of Kipling's works, the illustrator Nicola Bailey went to India for on-site visits and searched for classics in various libraries in London, just to understand what India was like in Kipling's era. The British "Sunday Times" commented: The beautiful illustrations are completely a work of art.
The Jungle Book (Guangxi Normal University Press)
This version has the highest sales online and was translated by the famous translator Wen Meihui. It includes 7 chapters from "The Jungle Book" and 3 chapters from "The Jungle Book Sequel". At the end of the book, there are also reading guides and parent-child reading suggestions written by children's reading promoters.
The Jungle Book (East China Normal University Press)
"The Jungle Book" can be said to be one of the most translated novels in the world. The translator's authoritative translation is closer to the style of the original work.
In addition, Kindle has free original English e-books, which older children can choose to read.