My First Blog Post! (Alice in Wonderland)

`Curiouser and curiouser!' cried Alice (she was so much surprised, that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English); `now I'm opening out like the largest telescope that ever was! Good-bye, feet!' (for when she looked down at her feet, they seemed to be almost out of sight, they were getting so far off).

hello and welcome !!! If you are reading this, I am very grateful for your interest in my creations! Here's a sneak peek behind the Alice in Wonderland spot illustration I did last fall (almost a year ago now!).

This was an assignment for my class at SAIC, a course in children's book illustration. The instructor had us create 3 spot illustrations from a selected text: Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. This was a pleasure for me because i had just read the book in january of 2022 for a fantasy literature class at UIUC.

Alice in Wonderland concept art by Mary Blair

I learned about Mary Blair, the incredible concept artist from Disney's most iconic period. She contributed to so many projects with them, including Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, and the It's a Small World ride at Disneyland. Her work has been a huge inspiration for me recently, mostly because of the rich colors, delicious textures, and unique points of view/compositions. I would say my favorite periods of illustration are the 1950s and 1960s. So much happening with composition, bright colors, and flat shapes.

<— ( My first sketches once I had received the assignment, done in purple Sharpie. )

To begin the assignment, I sat down and sketched out what I immediately imagined from the scene where Alice's body grows and shrinks from the mysterious treats and drinks. The sketch in the upper right (underneath the fuzzy brown caterpillar) got me very excited. I loved the composition and the idea that Alice was trapped within the confines of the painting. I did a few more sketches of the same scene but ultimately couldn't stop thinking about the first one, so I sketched it out more cleanly. I liked this one less because it was more rigid and felt awkward. When I felt I was losing steam a bit I dove right into the final painting—I decided it was better not to lose any more confidence during the planning stage.

I made sure not to look at any frames from the movie so as not to absentmindedly reference the existing work directly (although it crept into my mind anyway!). There is definitely resemblance to Mary Blair/Disney's Alice: namely her coloring and outfit.

I think what works with this painting is the medium. Acrylic gouache gives the piece a fluffy, opaque texture that goes well with the puffy shapes. I’m glad I omitted most of Alice's facial features and that her hair is a flat pane of wavy blondeness.

This is one of the first paintings I did in gouache and it remains one of my favorites to this day.

My Favorite Children’s Books