The illustration of books and a picture book- as a special kind of book- takes up a special place within the visual art.
The thesis work researches the development of book illustration and its role in Slovenia. In the study, I am mainly interested in the picture book, its definitions, types, specifics and regulations. The focus of the historical overview of the development of book illustration is the period from the Reformation to the Post-War Era, whereas a separate chapter is dedicated to the period of the modern Slovenian illustration and to the Biennial of Illustration.
Illustration as a visual message most often transmits the information in cooperation with the text whereas a picture book is usually a child's first contact with the world of art and reading. Trough it she or he develops the intellectual skills as well as all other. This is the reason why I interest myself in the reception and perception of a picture book among young children.
The educative part of the thesis work analyses children’s' art work, made as a part of the lesson, which I conducted in the second grade of a primary school. I chose this particular grade because it is during this period that the children are only learning to really adopt their reading and writing skills. Since a picture book is a combination of a visual and verbal communication, I was mostly interested in the level at which the students will depict the basic elements of the story.
The genre of a picture book, where the author of the text and its illustrations are the same person, is defined as an original picture book. Since I have always wanted to be an author of such work, I chose this particular genre to be the focus of the practical part of the thesis. I wrote and illustrated the story of The Ljudmila Cat through which I materialized the knowledge of the composition and the laws of a picture book, especially the relationship between the visual language and text.
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