Visual Interpretation of the Cat in The Hat

Visual Element Literary Effect

Line The wavy lines of the illustrations are thick
black, making every object and character pop!

Color The first time you flip through the pages, your
eyes are instantly hooked because of the
choice of colors: all are complementary. This
visual quality of the illustrations, overall,
makes it look neat yet playful.
Shape The nature of the illustrations’ shape in Cat in
the Hat appears to be cartoonish and vastly
different from realism. The irregularity of
shapes is supposed to give off a comedic
effect and entertain the young readers.
Texture The Cat in the Hat followed the 3D texture—
it has an evident length, height and width.
Three dimensional illustrations are often used
to liken properties between reality and fiction.
At times, it can also be a tool to introduce and
emphasize realistic properties.
Composition With the siblings: Sally and her brother, they
would always stick together, which signifies
their bond and being on the same team. Also,
the four characters: the siblings, the Cat in
The Hat and fish are consistently included in
the pages for they are all integral characters to
the plot.

The lines and color choice for the illustrations are bold, peculiar and fun. In artistic
connotations, thick lines mean power and boldness. The characters and objects in The Cat in the
Hat exactly portray that. Boldness resides in the characters and in the illustration style.
Additionally, the curved lines that trace each image are very easy on the eyes and are interesting
to follow. Children often pay attention to images traced this way as they model things ‘naturally’
and give the illusion of motion with broken strokes.
Images above are to be used as reference on the first and second paragraph

Meanwhile, askew lines make the shapes in the picture book irregular. Irregular or
disproportioned shapes actually give a comic effect that enhances the mood and interest of young
readers in comparison to shapes rigidly drawn. These manifest “freedom of the hand” which is
visible in the exaggerated anatomy of the Cat. The events that take place in the story are
indicatively preposterous, which matches well its artistic representation.

The tactile surface in The Cat in the Hat is in 3D. Three-dimensional properties of the
images in the story are enhanced with the use of decorative lines to add something to an element:
texture, depth, shading, function or any other decorative embellishment. A variety of
perspectives is pursued in the story as visual materials of a book influence the artistic
development of children. If they get accustomed to illustrations like these, they might draw in the
same manner or habit.
 Regarding color choice, Denim Blue (close to Blue Green) and Tomato Red (a variation
of Red Orange) are complementary with each other, according to the color wheel complementary
colors contribute to its aesthetic value. The Cat in the Hat illustration looks pleasing and fresh
for this reason. (Use the picture below as reference).