ILLU5050 - Literal Illustration

The Brief

To produce two literal illustrations to accompany a given short story. The short story I will be producing illustrations for is Number 13 (1904) by M.R. James.

The parameters for my illustrations are:

• ​300dpi CMYK, 160mm wide x 226mm high with a 3mm bleed around all edges. To be representative of the story as a whole.
• 300dpi Greyscale, 105mm wide x 50mm high with the possibility of being a vignette. To be viewed as an establishing shot for the story/ chapter.

Research & Inspiration

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Number 13 Summary & Notes

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Number 13 is set in The Golden Lion a hotel in the city of Viborg, Denmark at around the turn of the 20th century:
"​The Golden Lion is one of the very few houses in the town that were not destroyed in the great fire of 1726"
"It is a great red-brick house—that is, the front is of brick, with corbie steps on the gables and a text over the door; but the courtyard into which the omnibus drives is of black and white "cage-work" in wood and plaster."

The events are those experienced by an English academic researching the history of the Church in the region. The events are retold by their cousin.
The story hinges around a mysterious room 13 within the hotel, which appears and disappears throughout the story. The appearances of room 13 are, early on, merely dismissed as tricks of the mind, misrememberings, or not even attributed to the room itself. That is, until the issue is forced and multiple people perceive the room at once one night. No less than four people are confronted with room number 13 together, as they go to break into the room, dawn breaks and the room door disappears, revealing nothing but plastered wall behind.

After digging up the floorboards in an adjacent room, a document written in an unknown language is recovered, copied, and given to the local museum.

Quotes & Scenes Of Interest

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"He had tried the wrong door, of course. Was his own room to the right or to the left? He glanced at the number: it was 13."

​"There was the door with its number as plain as could be, and work of some kind was evidently going on inside it, for as he neared the door he could hear footsteps and voices, or a voice, within."

"He went to the window—the right-hand window it was—and looked out on the quiet street. There was a tall building opposite, with large spaces of dead wall; no passers-by; a dark night; and very little to be seen of any kind. The light was behind him, and he could see his own shadow clearly cast on the wall opposite. Also the shadow of the bearded man in Number 11 on the left, who passed to and fro in shirtsleeves once or twice, and was seen first brushing his hair, and later on in a nightgown. Also the shadow of the occupant of Number 13 on the right. This might be more interesting. Number 13 was, like himself, leaning on his elbows on the window-sill looking out into the street. He seemed to be a tall thin man—or was it by any chance a woman?—at least, it was someone who covered his or her head with some kind of drapery before going to bed, and, he thought,  must be possessed of a red lamp-shade—and the lamp must be flickering very much . There was a distinct playing up and down of a dull red light on the opposite wall. He craned out a little to see if he could make any more of the figure, but beyond a fold of some light, perhaps white, material on the window-sill he could see nothing."

"he was in the habit of giving vent to his animal spirits when alone. Why else should he be dancing? The shadow from the next room evidently showed that he was. Again and again his thin form crossed the window, his arms waved, and a gaunt leg was kicked up with surprising agility."

"Just then, came an impatient knock at the door, and the knocker entered, without waiting to be asked. It was the lawyer, in deshabille and very rough-haired; and very angry he looked.
"I beg pardon, sir," he said, "but I should be much obliged if you would kindly desist——""

"Suddenly the crying or singing voice in the next room died away, and the singer was heard
seemingly to laugh to himself in a crooning manner. The three men actually shivered at the
sound. Then there was a silence."

"The only weapons of defence that could be mustered on the spot were a stick and umbrella. The expedition went out into the passage, not without quakings. There was a deadly quiet outside, but a light shone from under the next door. Anderson and Jensen approached it. The latter turned the handle, and gave a sudden vigorous push. No use. The door stood fast."

"In that moment the door opened, and an arm came out and clawed at his shoulder. It was clad in ragged, yellowish linen, and the bare skin, where it could be seen, had long grey hair upon it."

"The men dropped the crowbars they had brought, and said flatly that they were not going to risk their throats in that devil's den."

"The men nodded, and the younger stepped forward, raised his crowbar, and dealt a tremendous blow on the upper panel. The result was not in the least what any of them anticipated. There was no cracking or rending of wood--only a dull sound, as if the solid wall had been struck. The man dropped his tool with a shout, and began rubbing his elbow. His cry drew their eyes upon him for a moment; then Anderson looked at the door again. It was gone; the plaster wall of the passage stared him in the face, with a considerable gash in it where the crowbar had struck it. Number 13 had passed out of existence."

"For a brief space they stood perfectly still, gazing at the blank wall. An early cock in the yard beneath was heard to crow; and as Anderson glanced in the direction of the sound, he saw through the window at the end of the long passage that the eastern sky was paling to the dawn."

Number Plates & Retro Fonts​

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The subject of door number plates will likely feature in my illustration at some point, either in development pieces or in the final piece, so some relevant visuals will inform and authenticate any depiction I render, as long as I consider more historically plausible examples.

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As the setting for my piece is around the year 1900, fonts with a relevant aesthetic, or even fonts that would be plausible in the story's setting time will help cement my illustration into the correct time.

Initial Thumbnail Sketches

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Vignette Illustration Thumbnails

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As this illustration will be present at the beginning of the story, above the chapter, or in this case the entire story title. I am treating this illustration as an establishing shot; I've tried to focus on more setting orientated illustrations rather than ones that might betray the content of the story as a whole.
The number plates containing just the number 13 tie in well to the story title, and they might hint at the setting of a hotel if they're visually appropriate to the setting.

Full Page Illustration Thumbnails

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For the full page illustration, I intend to convey the overarching story into one image, or at least get the soul of the story into the image. There are a few key scenes within the story that either directly confront room number 13, or hint at an insidious presence yet to be revealed.
I've tried to make a door look ominous and foreboding with different perspectives and compositions.
I feel like this story hinges around transforming a mundane setting into one of psychological horror, the fear of the unknown is heavily played on in this story and the source of horror is never truly confronted or resolved.

Developed Thumbnails

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Vignette Illustration Thumbnails

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Variations on the theme of numbered door plaques. This image works well as a simple establishing element for the story. These thumbnails serve to explore the style of number & plaque.

Full Page Illustration Thumbnails

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The composition I decided to develop further emphasises the atmosphere of the story without explicitly revealing the horror elements directly. While the imagery of some of the initial thumbnails (particularly 9 & 10) was striking, I feel that the showing of the "monster" detracts from the tense build up & psychological horror.

Adjusting the levels of each image can drastically impact the atmosphere & tone that they give off. Darker shadows & greater contrasts add a sense of depth & mood to an otherwise mundane image.

Final Idea Development & Production

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Vignette Illustration

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​The focus of this piece was the texture work, trying to make it look like a worn down metal plaque with scuff marks and signs of half-hearted polishing/ cleaning. I included visible screws to add some worldly authenticity to the image & to help balance out the focus of the composition.

Full Page Illustration

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Getting the perspective down for the major elements of this illustration was integral to its effectiveness for conveying the atmosphere of dread.
From developmental thumbnailing, I knew where I wanted the main light source to be for the image, so I was able to paint in the consequences of that element without itself being present in the image yet.
Working on a relevant coloured ground for this piece helped me judge the aesthetic much better than I imagine I would have if I were working on a plain white background.

Once I added the light sources, I went around and added in coloured highlights on exposed surfaces to ground the setting in a convincing manner.
​The challenges behind the lighting and shadows in this piece were very educational. Constantly referencing the image as a whole whilst making changes helped me judge which changes to keep, and which to omit.

Rough Mock-up

I wanted to see how my illustrations would look like as an outcome in their intended location, so I created a quick mock-up of a page spread & placed them appropriately.

Contextual Mock-up