In the 1980s there was a change in the style of children’s book illustration. Illustrators like Janet Ahlberg, Nick Butterworth, and Jill Barklem, began to move away from the romantic cuteness which was popularised by Walt Disney. Large eyes and long eyelashes on little characters no longer seemed modern. Instead, eyes on animals or humans were drawn as small dots with little expression. Profiles became less idealised, but down to earth in appearance, with large noses. The painting remained detailed, and the ink lines stayed delicate and expressive. But the overall effect was very different from the 1930s to 1970s period in children’s illustration. (See Alex Brychta, , for an example of the 1980s style.)
Moving into the 1980s Style
Because of this, the author/illustrator of ‘The Snippets‘ wanted to move away from traditional and idealised sweetness. She had the idea for the Snippets story, and wanted a more robust look for the characters in the illustrations. So she made the real Snippets family out of pipe cleaners, just as Marianne did in the book. The dolls had quirky faces, small eyes and plain pipe cleaner legs and arms. Their hair was made of coarse wool, and their noses were pearl beads. The author/illustrator then used these tiny dolls as models for the paintings in the book. Thus the fashioning of the characters into a more modern 1980s style was effectively already done.
Of course, that was about thirty-five years ago, and now all ‘The Snippets’ illustrations have a vintage look! The handpainted detail that was so popular then (see illustrators like Lesley Anne Ivory) has been superseded by smooth, flat digital images. Hand-drawn ink and watercolour illustrations by artists such as Axel Scheffler, have heavier lines, and the characters have larger eyes which, however, still eschew any trace of the limpid Disney quality. So ‘The Snippets’ book now has a retrospective cuteness after all. But the dolls were made deliberately to look a little plain and avoid a sentimental sweetness, and this rather homely effect has survived to the present day.
Making Pipe Cleaner Dolls
It is simple to make pipe cleaner dolls! Satin was used for the heads and bodies, which were stuffed with cotton wool. The pipe cleaner arms and legs were then threaded through and sewn in place. Knitting wool was glued on to make hair, and the Snippets’ bead noses were sewn on once their faces had been painted with acrylics. The dolls were dressed in character, using a mixture of cotton fabric pieces and felt. In the story, Marianne’s mother had a very large box of fabric scraps, copied from the author/illustrator’s own identical box!
Why not have a go at making your own dolls or characters to use as inspiration for a story? The results may be surprisingly good!