Working process: Research, Symbolization, Anylises and Mind mapping
Ideas
Ideas and sketching
Charcoal Sketching
I had to illustrate three scenes from the novel Heart of Darkness. I could select any three scenes from the book. I designed and submited binding to accompany with my illustrations.
The binding design was inspired by the overall tone and themes. I decided to illustrate a heart because the main character and his expedition travel to one of the world’s darkest places referred to as the heart of darkness where danger awaits them around every corner. The heart symbolizes the door from their world into wild and inhibited place where something is looking at them through the keyhole within the heart. The heart is surrounded by a dark and evil looking rainforest that swallows expeditions as they enter. The use deep greens and blacks colour in order to make it mysterious, intriguing and provokes exploration.
The scene which is illustrated depicts when during a flood on the river Thames in merry old England, the British ship Nellie anchors near London and waits for the flood to recede. The sun sets and Marlow begins talking. I decided to illustrate Marlow in the beginning of the novel because he is the main character and narrator. Besides, Marlow’s narration engages with the readers as it takes them though his story while he travelled to the Congo into the “heart of darkness”. The main character stands in front of the readers with the ship behind him. This is to portray him to be presenting the story directly to the readers.
The second scene I chose to illustrate when Marlow has first arrived at the costal station on the continent. When Marlow arrives he gets his first glimpses of black slaves. The healthy ones are chained and trying to dynamite through a stubborn cliff to build a railroad. The reason why I chose this scene is because it transforms Marlow into the reality of the different and cruel world in which he still cannot believe. Moreover, I wanted to show slaves facial expressions in order to convey their pain and emotions.
For my third illustration depicts a scene where “the knobs on the ends of the stakes Marlow has seen from a distance are in fact not ornamental. They are heads of dead Africans”. This scene is very dramatic but in the same time powerful and over emotional, which has impact on the readers.
