Am I Dreaming? is a picture book exploring the different representations of dreaming. We tend to think of dreams in two ways, one of a sweet idealism and the other in nightmarish terror, both falling under the surreal altered state we experience while sleeping. Our feelings and experiences in dreams can parallel our waking lives in times of disillusionment and disassociation. I felt a picture book reminiscent of bedtime stories was the best format to explore these themes through a combination of cute and eerie aesthetics. A goal with this project was to push myself to work with illustration in a narrative format, and not to be afraid to express a topic personal to me. I hope you can resonate as I bear my soul, and if not I hope you enjoy the pretty pictures :o)
I originally chose the bear as a symbol playing off of a teddy bear, but when I looked into dream interpretation I found that the bear has multiple interpretations that aligned perfectly with my story and my message.
A resting bear can represent a period of reflection of yourself and your life.
A sleeping bear can be a sign to look deep into your soul to find answers you need.
A bear trap signals that there will be challenges that will be difficult to overcome.
A brown bear is a sign that you will face your fears and overcome them.
Dreaming of yourself as a bear means that you are an independent person who is self-confident in your waking life.
My choice of color palette and illustration style also reflects the narrative, a warm and cool palette represents contemplation, and the pastel Dreamland gets more saturated and contrasted as the dream gets more intense, leaving us in a desaturated state of reflection and uncertainty.
The idealism of dreams is mirrored in the painterly gouache style while the darker and more unstable themes are expressed though more line heavy styles. The mix of the two styles represents the blurring of the dream state and reality and the challenge in differentiating.
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I'd like to thank my mentor Adelaide Ritter for guiding me through this project, pushing me to do my best, and for being an all around amazing person :o)
And thank you for viewing my project.
Sweet Dreams.
