This cover illustration for Beautiful Joe (Penguin Canada) was heaps of fun to complete. The story was written in the 1890’s by Canadian author Margaret Marshall Saunders but originally published under the name of Marshall Saunders.
The story was inspired by a real life dog who had been cruelly maltreated by his owner and was later taken in by the kindly Morris family. The story has become a beloved classic and sold over a million copies. A better synopsis of the book can be found here on Penguin Canada’s web site.
We wanted to give the sense that the illustration may have been screen printed directly onto the cover to evoke the historical context of the era. All the while keeping it timeless, fresh and appealing to young readers. In addition, one of the things that made this such a treat to work on was the chance to hand illustrate the typography for the title. It was a welcome excuse to dig through some of my old Victorian and Edwardian type reference books.
Below are some detail images highlighting the richness of the finished illustration.
Hand Lettering & Custom Typography | IlloLab
December 16th, 2009
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