Key Characteristic #1: Versatility

The first thing that struck me about Leo and Diane Dillon's work is their versatility. When I first started looking at the Dillons' work, I saw not only so many different kinds of illustrations, but also quite a few different themes in terms of literature, including African-American issues, nature, fables and animals, classical art, and children's nursery rhymes. They are very versatile illustrators and writers who can cover a wide range of topics, so it's no wonder that they're so in demand with publishers.

Let's take a look at a few different ways in which they are versatile.

Observe the photo above, which contains a screenshot of many of their works from JVJPublishing. What do you see in terms of versatility? How are the various illustrations different?

METHODS OF ILLUSTRATION

1. The Dillons use so many different methods of illustration. Their work includes stark graphic designs, soft painted illustrations, ethereal watercolors, folklorish, ancient-looking woodcuts and many other techniques. Believe it or not, the Dillons have used all of the following techniques: woodcut, inlaid wood, stencil and frisket, collage, watercolor, gouache, acrylics, oils, alkyds, pastels, pochoir, crewelwork, simulated mosaic, stained glass, and painted silk.

Here is an example of their crewel work from "The Member of the Wedding" by Carson McCullers. Crewel is embroidery using wool. Aren't they versatile and creative? How many book illustrators use embroidery?

The Dillons' most famous illustrative work is "Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears," for which they won a Caldecott medal. The illustrations are truly unique-looking. The Dillons used watercolor airbrush, pastels, and India ink to do the colorful, entertaining animals that pop off of the page with their white outlines.

TONE

2. The tone of the Dillons' work, both illustrative and literary, is very versatile. They can write and illustrate stories very playfully, such as "Mother Goose: Numbers on the Loose," or very serious stories, such as "The People Could Fly," about slavery.

In the former, characters and numbers bounce and jump and play. The Dillons use clear outlines, relatively simple illustrations, and large, easy-to-understand forms to illustrate counting and numbers. The words are playful and as rhythmic as the illustrations. "The maid was in the garden/Hanging out the clothes,/When there came a little blackbird/And snapped off her nose."

In "The People Could Fly," a different story is portrayed by the Dillons' illustrations. A somber classic story by now-deceased Virginia Hamilton is updated with illustrations so powerfully sad that they bring tears to the eyes.

In one painting, the Slave Driver cracks a whip across a baby on the back of the mother, with a vivid orange background that feels like pain. The perspective of the painting is such that the mother and babe are in the foreground against the ground, directly in your face, and you can see and feel the painful expressions on their faces. The Slave Driver looms above, in the background, the whip curling like an evil snake into a dark cloud. I cannot imagine how much time must have been dedicated to painting each of these paintings. The emotion is so poignantly painted that I could not help but wonder if the paintings were very difficult to make as an emotional process. Below is the painting.

BACKGROUNDS

3. Pay close attention to their backgrounds, which can look as old as the mountains, such as in "The People Could Fly," or as new as Art Deco geometric patterns, such as in "Jazz on a Saturday Night." The backgrounds really set the basis for the story and are subtle yet important signifiers, like the rhythm of an aria to ground their literary libretto.

AGE SPAN

4. The age span of their books is also diverse. The Dillons illustrate for adult books as well as a whole range of children's books.