I've been thinking: Many novel fans are also comic/manga fans, but I haven't seen many novels that combine text with a visual element. I know some readers dislike images since they prefer to imagine a scene from text, but I'm somewhat surprised that I haven't seen a bunch of illustrated novels around. Do people just not like them? What do you like about different story formats? Edit: Clarification, I'm specifically asking about web novels published by independent authors, not light novels produced by big publishers. Apologies for any confusion
As long as the concept match with the story.. Some "traditional" fantasy novel do have illustration on their novel.. i think it might help for some novel genre like fantasy, thriller, horror, etc
Not to the full on visual novel level, but a couple images to introduce a character, or after some surprising event. Sometimes an author or a translator will choose some obscure terms when describing what's happening, and my imagination will fail.
I have limited interaction with illustrated novel.. but illustration about place, city, home, character is always a welcome for fantasy novel. Or like horror, it would help to know how haunting the place is.. But there is a concern.. ITS a given that illustration take more time than just a novel
I guess it depends on how the author would put the illustrations as; I don't particularly mind if the illustrations only serve as "pictures" (as in JP LN or typical picture books for children). Sometimes it helps imagining the characters' physical features, sometimes it ruins any imagination I originally have of the characters or the places/buildings (making the characters have more erotic features than how it's portrayed in the text etc) While we're on this topic, you shouls check out books by Brian Selznick such as "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" (adapted to movie titled "Hugo", starred by Asa Butterfield). The author literally "tells his story through the illustrations", so if you just skim the illustrations thinking they might be just pics like in any other picture books, you'll miss the story. A very fresh and interesting reading experience I tell you Oh, and the illustrations are chef kiss —the details in every image, how the illustrations actually move the sequence of the story... Sometimes I wish I could save them as my wallpaper Another author noteworthy for illustrated novels is Cressida Cowell, the author of "How to Train Your Dragon". Mind you, her drawing style is... pretty "childlike"(?) (imagine ONE, the mangaka of Mob Psycho and OPM, making a novel AND put his illustrations on it... yep her style is one or two level higher than him). Unlike Selznick, her illustrations mostly serve as mere pics accompanying the wall of texts, but in some parts she puts a part of the character's speech inside the illustration(s), so it brings another level of reading enjoyment. Also, while I did mention her art style is "unique", it actually fits her stories very well I can't imagine the same stories using a "better" art style will do as well.
? That's literally what every light novel does. Some of the popular KR authors will also commission illustrations.
Sorry, I should have clarified that I'm specifically referring to online web novels created by independent writers. I know a lot of the ones in physical print have illustrations, but if I'm not wrong, they tend to come from big publishers. I remember reading Hugo Cabret! Really liked it, lovely art. Also, I've never read the HTTYD novels, but it's one of my favorite movies.
simple~ money~ if you want good enuf illustration, show da money baby~ yes author can create their own illustration, how many brave enuf to use it tho?
I actually find that most LN illustrations don't add much to the novels themselves. They honestly feel super extraneous most of the time, and I prefer looking at them when collected into an artbook rather than interrupting my reading experience LOL. I enjoy manga because of the dynamic nature of the art, with the flow of the panels and the screentones and the like, all of which is absent from LN illustrations. They look nice as still images, but that's not what I want when I'm reading something.
Not a big fan but it mostly it depends on how they’re presented - I hate when the art is added in between the actual story, and not simply at the end of the chapter. The novel I’m currently reading does this and I don’t like it, it breaks my immersion. Especially since the art is accompanied with the translators comments on how hot they find the characters. I also think the art style is very ugly Ultimately I find that the illustrations add nothing to the story but it’s fine added in the end of a chapter (mostly do I have the option to ignore), as I never quite get right imagining the characters how the author does or love the art.
I came across this example with art sprinkled within each chapter: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/54085/the-armorer-and-the-infinite-dungeon-progression
It depends on the art. If it's crooked faces and unproportional body ratio then probably no. But if it's official art then maybe
If authors can draw well enough to illustrate their webnovels they'll usually just go straight to making webcomics, same with authors who pair up with artists. At most I've seen some authors draw quick portraits of some of their characters or use an Illusion Soft game engine to reproduce them on a character introduction page. I wouldn't be surprise if some of them use AI "art" in the future for important scenes, but I haven't seen that yet.