Illustrations in novels?

[fishidish]

I’m currently working on adding illustrations to my novel and it got me curious, what do people think of illustrations in novels? Do you like them? Is it distracting? Does it make the novel more unique?

Personally, I do it because I’m an artist too and I like drawing my characters. And I’m better at conveying emotion visually instead of through words.

Why don’t I just make it a comic, then? Because I think this story works better as an illustrated novel. It’s a lot of just characters talking to each other which in comic format would turn into pages and pages of just talking heads with dialogue, which wouldn’t really add anything to the story.

What are your thoughts on this?

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[cgiverny]

Personally, I actually enjoy illustrations in novels, especially character and scene designs. The only thing that would annoy me is if there were illustrations on every chapter. Once every 5-10 chapters is fine and will not be distracting (for me personally).

I do know that some people add photos to add to their story (mostly popular on Wattpad), but if I'm being honest, I'd rather have illustrations. Maybe I'm just old school or my love for classics is influencing me , but I hope this helps anyway.

[redfish]

I definitely love illustrations in novels! I want to make a fully illustrated webnovel~~

[truck-kun]

As long as they don't take centre stage, I think illustrations in books can be quite enhancing. Especially in cases where visual data conveys the point better. I'd love to add some to mine but I really lack the skills for it~~

[Lady_T_Musings]

I freaking love Illustrated prose so totally a fan! Sometimes I'm reading and there's a scene playing out that I can't stop thinking about how it would be so cool to see a snapshot of it in the form of a picture. Insert fanart when the urge is supper strong.

[fishidish]

The amount of illustrations I'm putting in would definitely be too much for your taste then , but thanks for sharing your opinion!

[fishidish]

Yea, I'm more of a visual thinker, so for me it's easier to get the emotion of the character across visually.

[fsarbolaez]

I don't get to read many non-graphic novels with illustrations in them, but it's a pleasant surprise when I do.

I'm currently doing something that is going to be more of a cross between an anthology and an art book, but presented in the form of a history textbook. Trying to get folks to help out with the illustration funding on Ko-fi with limited results so far

[bulgariansumo]

Yeah, I put illustrations in my novels for the exact same reasons you listed. I feel confident conveying certain things visually, and while I don't know if I worry as much about talking heads (I feel like there's ways around it even in a slower story), it would be more of a concern if I were doing webcomics.

My dream would be to have my stories illustrated as much as possible, preferably animated, but it would take unfathomably long. I'd rather have story out there in written form than not at all. Right now, I'm borrowing a computer, and if I were doing webcomics, I would be completely unable to draw more for the story. I work slow enough without setbacks like that.

[Spectorium_1]

Yeah, I like novels with illustrations that help the reader imagine the world.

[Spectorium_1]

Not too much though. At least for me, I would like to imagine parts of the world myself. That's most of the fun of reading for me, so maybe a map, some of the important characters, and parts of major places , in my opinion, is perfect. Feel free to disagree. Lots of people like comics and shows too for the opposite reason.

[Enthriex]

I really like seeing illustrations! I plan on adding one every chapter maybe xD or when I see the need! But seeing pictures made my reading of re:zero's webnovel way more immersive c:

[system]

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