When it comes to "Narrative", my first reaction is always "picture book" and "comic book". In fact, the definition of narrative is inseparable from story, so the article illustrations are also part of the narrative.

"I've always had readers ask me how to create the 'cinematic feel' of an illustration, but actually I'm just capturing the most subtle frame of the story in my head, like a casual pause, so the actions of the protagonists are in the 'progressive tense'." (From Highkun_2022's personal blog)

Highkun_, an illustrator from the United States. She created many original stories. I think it is a worthwhile training for an illustrator, which can not only exercise the narrative ability, but also liberate the natural imagination of an illustrator.

Highkun_ works as an original illustrator. She doesn't work to meet commercial needs. Instead, she focuses on telling the stories she wants to tell and turning them into "postcards", "posters" and "illustrations".

Djamila Knopf, from Germany, is also an excellent illustrator. In this video, she teaches a specific way to tell a story with illustrations.

Of course, in addition to practitioners like Highkun_ and Djamila Knopf, there are many illustrators who illustrate other people's novels, articles, even games, movies, etc. But whatever the purpose, the methods used to create narrative illustrations are always the same -- the story is at the heart of these creations.

I think the point of creating narrative illustration is to understand the story. It's not just about visualizing, it's about understanding the context, the environment, the character of the protagonist, their core needs, their past experiences, their dreams. And always treat these characters as if they had a full life.

These things come together to make sense of their feelings and why they acted the way they did in the story that was only told. The illustration is to better express the picture sense of the story, so only by understanding these can we accurately grasp the core and details of our drawing.