Digital graphics evaluation pro forma

Graphic Narrative Evaluation

Does your final product reflect your original intentions?

• I believe that my final product does reflect my original intentions as I have included elements found through my planning and research which I believe work successfully in a children's book.

• there where several techniques that I thought worked well from the books that I looked at which I decided to incorporate in my book. In the book the Gruffalo there where several different layout techniques including, spaces left within the images for text, and a mixture of full page illustrations and pages which had several small illustrations on them with text underneath. I though these these techniques worked well as they made the book more interesting, exciting and educational for the children to read as the text within the images helped them to associate the words of the story with what was happening, aiding them in the understanding of the book and therefore helping them in the learning to read process. The variety in the page styles also helped to retain the children's interest as it provided something visually different and therefore more interesting for them to look at meaning that they wouldn't’t get bored and would find the learning to read process more enjoyable.

• The characters I created look similar to their initial mood boards as I have used different elements from the mood boards and combined them together to create the exact character that I wanted, in some cases such as with the princesses face and upper body I have used images directly from my Moodboard to rotoscope for elements of a character.

• The style of my final book is very similar to that of my digital flat plan with only a few changes that have been made to help my book look more aesthetically pleasing, I even used the majority of elements created in the digital flat plan within my final book.

• I used my story board as a template for my book and stuck mostly to the layout and design decided upon within it with only a few adjustments made relating to the placement (mostly of text) as once the book was made it was easier to see what looked more aesthetically pleasing and less cramped as I could see how all of the components could actually fit on the page.

• On the other hand there where a few elements of my book which didn't’t reflect my initial intentions as I initially decided to that I would have basic characters on a more complex background, however I decided that in the end I wanted to have more detailed characters on a more basic background as this would make the narrative stand out more as well as providing a plainer background for the text to sit on making it stand out more.

Spaces for text within the picture

Several small illustrations on a single page

Muted colours Generally quite illustrations (not too much going on)

Full page illustrations Serif font

The Gruffalo

Were going on a Bear Hunt

Bears in the night

My Book-Georgia and the Dragon

The Princess (Georgia)

The Prince

Horses

The Dragon

The King

Text

How well have you constructed your images?• I have constructed my images in a way to ensure that the page style (realistic cartoon) stays

consistent throughout the book.• I decided that I wanted to use a muted colour scheme throughout my book as I felt this

would give the book an older look which I wanted as I wanted to emphasise that the story is set in the past, I feel that I was successful in creating the muted colour scheme and aged feel to the book as the colours aren't particularly bright however not too dull as to make the book look boring I was able to prevent the colours I used throughout the book from clashing by comparing them and editing them slightly before using them on their separate pages this ensured that the whole book looked aesthetically pleasing.

• I was able to create a setting where it looked like the characters where meant to be a part of it I did this by creating the style of the background to contain a few more detailed elements like the characters, such as the throne, gates, cave etc. this helped to make the character and background look more like the same style. I was also able to help make the characters look like they were in the setting by adding shadows to the images in some places, however I feel that the appearance of the book could be improved slightly if I added a few more shadows in to some of the images.

• The majority of the texture in my book is created through rotoscoping such as the characters clothes I decided to create most of the texture like this as it helps to give more of a cartoon effect as each rotoscoped shape is a single block colour meaning there is less shading than there would be in a more realistic looking image, I feel like this style has worked well in creating the realistic cartoon look I was aiming for. However in some places I have used the addition of an image overlay with dropped opacity to add texture to area which are a little more complex and I am therefore unable to rotoscope easily such as the prince’s chain mail, this helps to create a more realistic look to the book however I feel that if I used it as the main way to add texture then the book may loose its cartoon feel which I aimed to create.

Rotoscoped texture

Image overlay texture

How well have you used text to anchor your images

• I believe that I have been able to create text and images that work well together to easily tell the story I have chosen.

• The images I have created reinforce the actions and narrative being told through the text and work as a visual aid to help the reader understand what is happening in the story this is important as the readers will be learning to read and this will hopefully make the process easier for them.

• I have emphasised the parts of text where a character is speaking by making it white, warping it, and making it flow from one character to another, I feel this works well as it allows the reader to clearly identify when a character is speaking in contrast to narrative text, however I have had to make the text smaller in order for it to fit within the image, this is an area I could improve as the younger readers may find it harder to read the smaller text.

• The placement of the text on the page I believe also works particularly well as it is placed in order from the top left to the bottom right meaning there is no confusion for the reader as to which part of the story comes next as it is placed in the natural reading direction, this is beneficial as it helps to make the reading process as easy as possible for the reader.

Is your product suitable for your audience? • In my proposal I set out to create a book for mixed gender 3-5 year olds, which would

also have to appeal to parents as they would be the ones to buy the book, I feel that I have been able to create a book that successfully targets this audience.

• The vocabulary I have chosen for my book is fairly basic however it contains a few slightly more complex word in order to challenge the children who are learning to read, this I feel makes my book aimed slightly more at the older end of my target audience, but this depends on the individual reading level of the child, so although this is something that I may consider changing it is not a particularly important issue. Another thing I would consider reviewing is the wording of the story as I feel that by changing this slightly the story would flow better therefore making the book more enjoyable to read.

• I believe that I have successfully been able to appeal to both genders in my book as I haven't included anything stereotypically gender orientated for either gender meaning that the book remains aimed at both, I think this has been helped as I chose to choose an adventure style story as this appeals to both boys and girls, rather than something like e.g. a fairy tale which tends to be aimed at more of a female audience.

• as also mentioned in my proposal my book needs to be appealing towards parents as they will be buying the book for their children I believe that I have created a product that would appeal to this audience as I believe that I have produce a book that looks of a good quality due to the realistic cartoon style, I feel that my book would also appeal to parents as it could be seen as educational as it has historical elements to it.

What do you like/dislike about the techniques you have used?

• I decided to rotoscope almost the entire of my book as I felt that this was the technique that I was best at when where were practising different styles at the start of this project, I had also decided that I like the realistic cartoon effect you could create by using this style and I thought that this would create the best look for my book. On the other hand there where a few downsides to using this technique as I found out that it was quite time consuming creating something to the level of detail that I wanted using the rotoscope technique, another thing was that in order to rotoscope I needed to find images as close as possible to the things that I wanted to create online meaning that I often had to reach a compromise as I wan never able to find the exact thing that I wanted to use however once I had completed the book I feel that I was still able to produce a piece of work that I am happy with and I was able to create the things that I wanted to even though it did take longer than I predicted.

• The other technique that I used a couple of times within my book was an image overlay with a dropped opacity, which I placed on top of pre rotoscoped elements of my book to help add more detailed texture, I feel that this effect worked extremely well, was easy to do and wasn't particularly time consuming, I however wouldn't’t of wanted to use it for all of the textures within my book as I feel that if it was over used then the book may loose some of its cartoon like feel

Image overlay texture

Completely rotoscoped character

What do you like/dislike about how your final product looks?

• Overall I am very pleased with the way my finished book looks as I feel that it looks like a good quality product, I believe that I was able to create this look through my choice of production techniques as I decided to rotoscope the images something that I felt was one of the techniques that I was better at. I also like the way the colour scheme I have chosen looks as I think that it is effective in creating an old look to the book I also think that the colours all compliment each other well resulting in an aesthetically pleasing product.

• On the other hand I am a little unsure about how the warped text looks on some of the pages as I think that some of the words look a little too distorted this would perhaps be something I would improve in if I where to make the book again.

Why did you include the content you used?

• I decided I wanted to create a realistic cartoon style effect for my book as I felt that it would create a visually interesting look, which would therefore make it more likely that my target audience would read and enjoy my book, I also chose this style as it was easy to create using rotoscoping which was one of the Photoshop techniques I was better at meaning that it would be easier to produce a higher quality piece of work

• I chose to keep the setting of my book within the medieval period, as I would be able to use historical imagery within my book which was more likely to make it appeal to the parents of my target audience who would be buying the book as they would see it as more of an educational book which is what they would tend to buy over other books.

• I used the style of font that I did as it was a sans style font which is proven to be easier for younger children to read as the letters naturally follow on to the next letter, this helped me to target my audience as the reading experience would be easier for them and therefore more enjoyable meaning that they were more likely to read my book. I also chose this style of font as I believe that it fits well with the imagery as it has a slightly old style feel.

• The colours I chose where all muted so that the book would look aesthetically pleasing. I decided to use muted colours as they create an old feeling for the book reinforcing the fact that it was set in the past

What signs, symbols or codes have your used in your work?

• My choice of colours for my book where used to create an old feeling and emphasise the fact that my story was set in the past the muted and washed out tones where used to create an aged look, which I believe look effective, if I had decided to use overly bright colours the time of the setting may of become less clear to the reader.

• I decided that my story should have a rural setting as as well as this being the original setting for the folk tale I also feel like it helps to portray a peaceful and isolated feeling this helps to add to the terror of the character of the dragon as in contrast to the setting it is even more un-peaceful and threatening and it makes the reader feel as if the kingdom is helpless as it is isolated therefore making the story seem more dramatic and exciting to read.

• I chose to make the characters in look like realistic cartoons as I feel that this helps to create the impression to the readers that this is a real story, therefore making it more interesting to read as you are able to connect more with how the characters would be feeling.

What representations can be found in your work?

• In my work I purposefully set out to represent women in a way where they are seen just as strong/ powerful as men, I therefore did this by adapting the story to make the main character and heroine female and emphasising this point by making her save the prince (a man) I decided to do this as I believe that it is important to get children to understand and support gender role equality from a young age so that they feel like they are able to do whatever they wish with their life, I feel like I was successful in this representation and therefore getting my message across in this book.

• I used the image of the crown in order to identify the king, and emphasise his power this helps him to stand out more as his intended character as he is meant to be seen as above/ in charge of the other characters the crown helps with this as it is generally used to connote power.

• The representation of the cross used on the princes armour could be interpreted in a couple of different ways people living within the united kingdom my recognise that it is Saint Georges cross meaning they may see the representation of the Christian religion, however people living outside of the UK may not understand this reference and simply see it as the English flag and as a symbol showing that the setting of the story is in England.

• Finally I feel that there is a lack of variety in representations within my book as all of the human characters are white British adults this may come across as a negative representation towards other groups of people due to their lack of representation, which I consider may be a negative point within my book however the characters looks where chosen to be more historically correct as in medieval England royalty (what my characters are) where stereotypically white British I therefore chose to create my characters to look like this as it would be historically correct therefore making my book more believable.

What style have you employed in your products?

• From my research when I was looking at other books I found several techniques which I wished to try ad incorporate in to my book. ‘The Gruffalo’ and ‘were going on a bear hunt’ used different layout techniques such as, spaces left within the images for text, and a mixture of full page illustrations and pages which had several small illustrations on them with text underneath. I decided that I wanted to use these techniques as they made the book more interesting and exciting to read, the variety in page styles helped to keep the readers interest as it provided variety within the book making it more interesting to look at meaning that the reader wouldn't’t get bored and would find reading more enjoyable. I found other elements such as muted colours and quite illustrations when researching other books I felt these techniques worked well as the created an emphasis on the story being told and the learning to read process as well as emphasising the setting of the story.

• I decided to use a realistic cartoon style for my book as I thought that it would create a visually interesting look, making it more likely for my target audience to read and enjoy the book, the realistic look that would be created also makes the story seem like it is real yet again making it more interesting for the children to read.

What were the strengths and weaknesses of the pre-production and planning

• I feel like the research that I undertook really helped me when it came to making my book as I was able to know and understand what worked particularly well for the style of book I intended to make and what my target audience would like through the research of successful existing children's books I was also able to see what would look good within the book which helped me to decide on the style I wanted to use (realistic cartoon). Overall from the research I carried out I was able to form a strong idea of how I wanted my book to look and what I needed to do to achieve this.

• I feel that that when it came to planning my time for creating my book this wasn't particularly helpful as I was unsure how long each aspect would take as a result of this I was unable to keep to my plan as some things would take longer than expected whilst others would take less time than expected, I particularly underestimated the time it would take to rotoscope the characters meaning that I needed to spend more time than planned doing this meaning my book was finished later than expected which if in a real working environment would be unacceptable, however I still managed to complete my book to the standard and quality I set out to complete it in.

Historical and cultural context• There have been a couple of books called George and the dragon which have been

published, however my book is quite different from these as I have adapted the story to make the main character a girl which as far as I can find hasn't been done before, this I believe gives my book a unique selling point making it more appealing to the buyer making it more likely that my book would be bought over the others.

• The other books I have found also use a different technique of illustration as their images where not made on editing software they were either drawn or painted, this et again makes my book stand out which may be beneficial as people may be more likely to buy it as it is different

• Regarding other children's books such as the ones I researched during pre production there are some similarities between the techniques used but this is to be expected as I have gained inspiration for my book from other books and the techniques which I though worked well within them, this hopefully means that my book would be seen as good quality as it has used some of these popular techniques