The Versatile Master Artist

The blonde girl’s gaze was immediately drawn to the illustration ”Snake Swallowing Beast” created by Detective Cat for this section of text on the right side of the page.

Kelly stared at this massive snake coiled like a snail shell.

Under the advanced printing lines of the Scholastic Group, even the tiny scale marks pressed onto the green snake skin by the painting knife were incredibly clear.

”It’s not a single art style.”

Kelly sniffed.

She looked at the illustration on the second page, then flipped the book to glance at the cover again.

Both illustrations were so beautifully detailed.

However, the illustration ”Snake Swallowing Beast” presents a completely different visual impression compared to the cover art.

Its technique was equally exquisite, but not overly showy.

In contrast to the cover’s extremely ornate expression and complex technique, the second page’s illustration exuded a naive and unpretentious charm.

It possessed the wild vitality of forest creatures while masterfully showcasing the theme ”a work by a six-year-old child” to the fullest.

No child in the world could create such a beautiful painting knife painting.

Detective Cat’s painting knife paintings give the first impression that they were drawn by a child.

This sounds difficult to comprehend — but it’s this blurry boundary between can and can’t, is and isn’t.

That is precisely the subtle difference between a master and an ordinary person.

”It’s truly amazing.”

Kelly couldn’t remember how many times she had praised Detective Cat today.

Beyond disbelief, she found it hard to think of a more accurate adjective to describe her feelings.

The illustrator did not disappoint her.

Just the first illustration in the main text already showcased Detective Cat’s technique, skillful and versatile control.

Especially the precise grasp of the artwork’s theme.

Without a deep understanding and insight into the imagery of ”The Little Prince,” such fitting works couldn’t be created.

Kelly’s interest was piqued, and she turned the pages faster.

”Snake Swallowing Beast,” ”The Hat-Wearing Astronomer,” ”Growing Baobabs,” ”The King on the Asteroid”... one illustration after another flowed past her eyes.

When Saint-Exupéry created this fairy tale, he also created many draft illustrations, some of which were chosen by the publisher for printing, and some were not.

These existing drafts are currently in the hands of national art collectors around the world and are considered top-tier collectibles like Dragon Balls in the illustration world.

The largest collector is the French National Government, which has collected 60 of these drafts over the past twenty years.

The Thomson Man Group’s old edition of ”The Little Prince” included 39 of them.

When the Scholastic Group conceived this book project, they wanted to increase the proportion of color illustrations as a selling point to attract children and literary youth.

So, after various discussions and communications.

Including the cover.

The fairy tale book in Kelly’s hands contains a total of 56 illustrations.

About two-thirds of the illustrations, along with the cover and ”Snake Swallowing Beast,” were redrawn using painting knife techniques based on Saint-Exupéry’s original compositions.

There are also more than a dozen illustrations, original works inspired by Mr. Tree Sloth reading to Gu Weijing.

Each one left Kelly extremely satisfied.

”Even without reading the text, just taking out these illustrations as a comic would already be a highly exciting and seamless story. Relying on their painting skills and deep understanding of Saint-Exupéry’s fairy tale characters, Detective Cat elevated the aesthetic significance of this fairy tale book through color.”

Kelly glanced up at the eloquent translating master on the podium and pursed her lips: ”It’s a pity that the signature isn’t from the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Oxford but from Detective Cat Sister.”

Indeed.

This remark somewhat undervalues the translator’s painstaking efforts over the years.

Dean Charlie Hawke’s translation level is excellent, preserving the French article’s delicate and precise wording characteristics in the process of making the English text more accessible to its native speakers.

It captures the essence of faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance.

Even the real selling point of the Scholastic Group this time is the dean’s profound writing skill.

Detective Cat’s illustrations are merely the supplements to the original text.

But from a reading experience perspective.

Kelly felt that, with the seamless integration of Detective Cat and Saint-Exupéry’s illustrations, Dean Hawke’s text became less significant despite his years of painstaking work.

The illustrations seem more like the actual framework of the new edition of ”The Little Prince,” while the text is the flesh attached to this framework.

Initially, the blonde girl would still glance briefly at the content of the text, but soon, Kelly felt it was too inefficient and began to focus solely on the illustrations.

However, just like the illustrator is telling the story for Saint-Exupéry through pictures.

Even though she paid little attention to the words, as she looked at Detective Cat’s illustrations, the classic accompanying sentences seemed to naturally flow into her heart effortlessly.

”People have forgotten this truth. But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose.”

”Just sit down in the grass, slightly away from me. I will watch you from the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings. But you will sit a little closer to me every day...”

”At night, I love listening to the stars, they are like five hundred million little bells.”