Experimental Techniques for Picturebooks
Composition: Theory and Practice
A course by Catarina Sobral, Author, Illustrator, and Director
About the video: Composition: Theory and Practice
Overview
“Think about the illustration as a body: the bones are the compositional lines. The more structured is the skeleton, the more stable and stronger the image is. ”
In this video lesson Catarina Sobral addresses the topic: Composition: Theory and Practice, which is part of the Domestika online course: Experimental Techniques for Picturebooks. Tell an original story using tempo, tension, and plot to create a wordless visual narrative from scratch.
Partial transcription of the video
“In this lesson, I'm going to talk about some of the rules I use for composition. I always think about the compositional lines of an illustration as its bones or its skeleton. They're invisible. but they're there and they structure the illustration. Unlike photography, filmmaking, or graphic design, there shouldn't be any important element in the center of the composition. but all the other compositional rules apply. If we are using another binding structure, like a leporello, for instance, there's no problem because it doesn't compromise legibility of the book. But most importantly, we need...”
This transcript is automatically generated, so it may contain mistakes.
Course summary for: Experimental Techniques for Picturebooks
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Category
Illustration -
Areas
Children's Illustration, Drawing, Editorial Design, Narrative, Picturebook, Storyboard, Traditional illustration

Catarina Sobral
A course by Catarina Sobral
Catarina Sobral is a Portuguese illustrator, author, and director of animated films. Before launching her career as a freelance illustrator, she studied graphic design and illustration, developing a unique style blending her eye-catching illustrations and strong narrative voice.
Catarina’s work can be seen regularly in illustrations for press, album covers, posters, and of course, picturebooks. Her award-winning picturebooks have been published in 16 different languages and exhibited around the world, gaining recognition from the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the Portuguese National Illustration Award, the Portuguese Authors’ Society, the White Ravens catalog, and 3x3 magazine.
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- 21 lessons (3h 53m)
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- Audio: English, Spanish (Latam), French, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish
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- Level: Beginner
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