Treasure Island

This was a lockdown challenge for the art class I attend. Design a cover. I decided on print because it seemed appropriate, and it gave me the chance to mess around with colour and type.

It seemed I was the only one who really remembered the book. I last read it 15-20 years ago as a bedtime story for my son. Some books work well when read out loud, while others don’t. Huckleberry Finn, for example, is great to read aloud, whereas Tom Sawyer isn’t. Anyway, Treasure Island is another good one.

I did a lot of drawings based on things I could remember, but in the end I decided on a picture based around landing on the island because it allowed me to fit in a range of characters and the island, and the ship. Though I am aware that I have taken some liberties with the story. I went for a fairly stylised design in the end, placing the “goodies” on the front cover with some leaves representing the island, and the “baddies” on the back with the ship.

I liked the idea of wood grain representing the sea and sky, and my first version was a single background blue. My teacher suggested adding another colour to give a horizon. My first try was rather too dark and brooding. Like they were rowing through a late Rothko. This version is much better I think.