Graphic Narrative Evaluation

Does your final product reflect your original intentions?

My final product is very similar to my flat plans, i had quite a clear idea of what i wanted most of my pages to look like before i started the production. For a few i knew everything i wanted and exactly how it would look, and i feel i stuck to these very well. Pages 1 and 9 where the main tow i first thought of ideas for and these were the only one that was identical to what i first wanted it too look like.

On the rest of them i had a rough idea of what i wanted to be in the image due to the text, but wasn’t too sure on placement or if somethings would work, for example page 4 with the bed, i first though it would be side on but then when making it i thought it would be effective to have the reindeers feet out the end of the bed for more of a change in the characters positioning.

How well have you constructed your images?

When making my three reindeers i added a texture to the body, as i felt this made them look more realistic and interesting to look at. Where as if i had left them with just a plain colour overlay they would have looked quite flat and not pleasing for the reader.To make this reindeer look as if he was sleeping i made the eyes by using the shape tool, and make a circle. I then duplicated this so i had 4 circles which were all the same size, I them turn two black and two a very similar shade of the fur. By overlapping these two it gives the effect of the eyes being closed.

For the floor and walls i used a texture on both of these, i did this as i wanted it too look like a log cabin and using a real log background looked very effective. To make it look like a cartoon i then used the cutout filter which gave a really effective look which fit with the style of my book.

To create my sleigh i found a basic sleigh and used the polygon lasso tool to create a template for me to use, i then looked at my mood board for the colours of the sleighs, which i picked the gold from. I coloured this in with a pain brush. After colouring i then used the cutout filter to help it fit with my cartoon style .

How well have you used text to anchor your images

When researching existing products i looked at how they had linked what has been written in the text to what is in the image. What i found was the photo tended to match what was said in the text, for example From the book ‘the tiger who came to tea’ this page has an image of a little girl and her mum at a table eating, and the text says the exact same, the text just helps to add a few more details that the image cant always show.

I tried to do the same with my book so the images and texts helped each other. This page is a good example, it firstly says ‘brains sleigh held the presents’ and in the background you can clearly see a sleigh full of presents, and it also says that it made santa happy, and in the foreground you see a close up of santa smiling.

The font i picked was because i think it was quite simple and easy to read, using a fancy font i think would make my pages look to busy and distract from the images. Also the size i picked for my font was a big enough font to be able to read easily but not too big it takes up too much of the page.

When looking in to the front covers i looked at the three little pigs as it was what i based my book off. There were many different interpretations but i liked this cover as it didn’t just have the pigs on it, it also included an image of the wolf this gives the cover more of an appeal to the reader and also an idea of what the book will include.

I made a front cover which follows the same idea as my pages, it clearly shows you what the book is about, obviously it is called the three little reindeer, and i have put the the reindeer on the cover as these are the main characters in my book. But i have also added the sack of presents as i feel it makes the cover more interesting but also tells you a little more about what the story is about.

Is your product suitable for your audience?

The audience i originally picked out for my book was children ages 3-5, after doing more research while making my book, i have decided that the book should now be aimed at ages 4-6 due to the amount image in comparison to the amount of text.

For example in the books aged more to 7 year olds some Roald Dahl come up as recommended, but some of these books have very few images in at all, so the highest ages that my book would go up to is age 6 as i feel any older the book wouldn't interest them and they would find it too childish. Also nowadays children seem to find out that santa doesn’t exist at a younger age 7/8 for example, for the book wouldn’t be relevant to them as this book is very magical and santa related.

This is an example i found of a book which was rated as an age 5 book, so this is directly in the middle of my target audience so this is roughly the type of thing i was aiming for in terms of text amount and pictures.

This page is very similar to my book and the layout i have used. The have a couple of sentences worth of text, but this is put on top of a full page image, this showing that the image is still the main thing in the book for the child and the text is of lesser importance.

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

One technique i used a lot was putting in a texture. I did this by picking which texture i wanted and what object i wanted it to cover, then by clipping masking it over, then dragging down the opacity so i had the right colour below. I really liked this technique as it was simple and easy to do but it still gave a realistic effect. The one reason i didn’t like the texture is because sometimes it was hard to find one that fit well the object i was wanting to cover.

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

One thing i like about my book is how i made the inside of the house look realistic. I did this by using a texture which gave a nice wooden effect, this made it really look like a log cabin. I also like the detail i added to the walls in each room, this made them look more interesting and gives more of an idea of the characters, for example Brian’s room is very Christmas and he has a photo of him with santa because he is very enthusiastic about christmas, where as Steve's rooms isn’t christmasy at all showing his lack of effort.

Two books i looked at where ‘Dear Zoo’ and ‘The very hungry caterpillar’ both of these books are for ages 3-5 so they are relevant to what my book should be like, in terms of conventions. These books both use a small amount of text which is written in a simple easy to read font, this is what i did with my book, i like the text in my book alot as it is very clear and simple to read and understand, i think this fits well for the target audience i am aiming my book at.

One thing i do slightly dislike about my book is it is very simple, there isn’t a lot going on and the pictures are not very detailed, for example page 9 is just the reindeer and an arm, the background is quite plain. But i did it like this because my target audience is quite young and i feel if the pictures are overly detailed, and the pages are too full they will become distracted or confused, keeping it quite simple and easy to understand was my aim so although i don’t like how simple it is i feel my audiences will.

Why did you include the content you used?

• Images, effects,

The text i used was Shree Devanagari 714, i picked this text as it was plain, simple and very easy to read. This worked well with my book as the text wouldn’t distract from the images, but would be good for a child learning to read.

Another option i saw was Savoye LET this one was very pretty and looked quite wintery, but i didn’t feel it fit very well with one the style of my book being quite simple and child friendly and also the size i t has to be would mean it would be quite hard to read.

The colours i picked are all to do with christmas, i used reds and whites. The White is often associated with purity and peacefulness in western cultures, the snow is also very white. Red is often used a christmas, as it is to do with santa and his clothing, also thing like the sleigh, present sack, tinsel and the baubles are often red.

When making quite a lot of my things i used the comic book effect, i sed this as i thought it helped make some parts of my book like more cartoony, as it didn’t all match to begin with. But by using this effect i feel it pulls my book together and makes it all fit well.

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

The use of a christmas tree in my book helps to shows the children that my story is themed around christmas, just having a normal tree in the book wouldn’t imply anything to them, but by adding a start and baubles to it our culture instantly knows its a christmas tree.

Stockings and the tinsel also indicate christmas, these are both commonly associated with christmas in our culture.

Reindeers are known for being related to christmas, just seeing one in a filed wouldn’t really indicate it, but seen as my location was in the snow this will help make people think more about christmas. Mainly this image with the reindeer getting his red nose would be a major indication of christmas as santa, as rudolf the red nosed reindeer is what would be though of instantly.

The use of facial expressions in my book helps to show the children how my characters are feeling. As my target audience is young I've gone for very simple but obvious facial expressions to show crealy how my characters are feeling.

What representations can be found in your work?

In my book I made all the reindeers boys because the roll they had to play was more of a masculine part. They all had to build sleighs which is seen to stereotypically be a males roll as it involves more strength. I also made santa with a beard because in most traditional tales about santa although genders are rarely specified it is common to see him with a beard, resulting in him being male.The book is based around christmas which is a christian tradition based around the birth of Jesus. This means that some religions and cultures will not want to read/understand the story behind santa as they follow a different religion.

What style have you employed in your products?

In my book I decided I wanted it too look animated and cartoon like so i made it in photoshop using the tools available. By doing this i could make it look 3D or 2D depending on what i felt looked better and change characters faces/expressions easily. i didn’t hand draw it because i don't like how it looks as i think it is messy and sometimes can look unfinished.

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

Mood Boards-lots of detail helped show what you wantdeveloping ideas- came up with lots of ideas for bookgave myself enough things to do each sessions so i have plenty to do

flat plans- not enough detail so dont know what else to include on page during productiondidn’t give enough time for certain thing e.g production of santa and reindeer= not enough time the end being rushed

Historical and cultural context

My story is based off the three little pigs which is a traditional folk tale, this means that the story has been passed down from generations. Originally the story is very graphic as two pigs die and the wolf gets eaten. This is to teach the children the dangers of going into the woods. As living styles changed and people moved into other homes the story didn’t need to teach children anything so it became less graphic resulting in the story we have today.

My story is similar to a few stories such as “The three little pigs’ and ‘The three little sheep’(another adaptation of the three little pigs.) It is also similar to the story how the reindeer got its red nose as in my story one of the characters is rewarded with a red nose.My story copies the same moral to these different stories, which is about how hard work pays off.