I was commissioned by Rupa Publications to illustrate and design the cover of ‘School’s Out!’, a collection of short stories by reputed Indian author and poet Ruskin Bond.
The brief was: “The book contains stories about adventures during summer vacations from school, and the illustration needs to reflect that liveliness and childlike joy. The setting can be the last day before vacations start, with a scene depicting the students’ joy as they are about to go home from school. Use bright colours and quirky elements to depict the usual chaos one can expect outside a school on the day before summer break.”
I began by collecting a few image references that conveyed a sense of childhood joy and excitement, as well as references for children’s uniforms, typical expressions, and movements.
I then sketched out a few ideas based on the concept of children celebrating their last day of school:
The finalised sketches for the front and back cover:
This sketch was inspired by my memories of class parties that we would have on the last day of school. Every child was responsible for bringing snacks/beverages. I used to bring jam tarts! We used to spend the day chatting, snacking, and playing games. Our classroom would be decorated with handmade paper decor and streamers. In this sketch, the students are engrossed in conversations and various actions, creating the natural chaos that we see in a classroom. This illustration captures some final moments of enjoyment, mischief, and conversations before the summer holidays begin.
The back cover features some of the special side characters from the front cover: the luscious jam tarts, chocolate chip cookies, and golden, glittery cut-out stars; intended to capture the essence of child-like enjoyment and celebration. The illustration features an easter egg, a note that reads “Happy Holidays, <3 R.B”, which is meant to be a message from the author Ruskin Bond to his young fans.
For the final cover art, I worked with a cinematic illustration style. I used colours that are warm and vivid to create a friendly, nostalgic atmosphere:
The rough sketches and the final rendering of the illustration were completed on Procreate. The colour correction was completed in Adobe Photoshop, and the final typesetting was done in Adobe Illustrator.
