Digital Graphic Narrative

Development

Robert Smith

Shape Task

Shape Task

Evaluation

What did you like about your image?I like the simplistic shapes and the bold colours used on the image. I thought that the beak and main head of the eagle was simple and easy to recreate. However I felt that the fur on the back of the eagle’s head was very hard to create but I feel like it has been recreated to the best of my ability. I am quite fond of the eyes. Even though they aren’t much like the original image I think that they turned out well. I didn’t think that it would be easy to recreate the eagle’s body fur. Instead I made it a block colour and added highlights. Like the eyes, the body isn’t much like the original image but it looks good nonetheless.

What would you improve if you did it again?If I was to re do this task I would spend more time refining the edges of the fur to make it look more realistic and detailed rather than a lot of small areas of block colour. I would also spend more time detailing the inside of the eagle’s mouth and the eyes. If there was more detail it would bring more depth and realism to the image. Although these areas aren’t detailed, I think they turned out well. I would also add some highlights so that there is a distinct line that separates the head and the neck of the eagle.

Rotoscope

Original Image

Rotoscoped Image

Evaluation

What did you like about your image?I like my image because it turned out quite close to the original, but in a more cartoony aspect. The image is very detailed, especially in areas such as the tea mug and his blazer. This adds some more depth to the image. The hardest part for me was defiantly the hair, even though his hair is short and has no real definition it was still difficult to get the correct shape without leaving gaps between the hair layer and the face layer. This was accomplished by placing the hair layer over the the face layer. This is so that the hair will cover up any missing gaps between the layers and there won’t be as much clean up work to do later on in the process. The face was also challenging, this is because of the heavy amount of detailing that is required. I faced the challenge of having to create the nose. I didn’t want to create a new layer and then shade the nose a different colour because then it would look out of shape. I eventually created the nose by carefully placing lines to create the illusion of a nose.

What would you improve if you did it again?I would spend more time working on the mouth. The mouth looks good but there is no teeth or inside to his mouth it is just a block colour in between his lips. I would also spend more time working on a background to add a little bit more character to the image. I would spend more time on the face, I would add more blemishes and wrinkles to his face to make it slightly more realistic

Film Quotes

Evaluation

What did you like about your images?I really like the poster because it is very simple yet it teases the show so well. Any fans of the comic book series will know the iconic item, the baseball bat: Lucille. This means that if it is used on a poster, such as mine, it gives all the necessary information. The poster has an iconic quote from the show. This also helps the viewer distinguish what the poster is about and what it is for. I chose a black background because the baseball bat carries connotations of death. Black is a colour most associated with death so it seemed perfect for the poster. The baseball bat is white so that it compliments the black background and so that it doesn’t give too much information away. This means that the audience who don’t already know the story behind the baseball bat, will be curious and want to watch the show to find out more information. The second poster is from the film legend. The two white figures are the Kray twins. Although you can’t tell that from the photo. The entire point of a poster is to get people to watch a film/ TV show. This is why the poster doesn't’t give any proper information about the film. The third poster is from the TV show Falling Skies. It is a Si-Fi thriller about aliens. This is why I have included a rotoscoped picture of planet earth. This again conveys the genre and basic feel of the show to the audience without spoiling anything. The final poster is from Forest Gump. This poster is very effective because it just shows the bench, a significant part of the film. Alongside the bench there is arguably one of the most recognisable quotes in all of film history. This is good because it means that the poster is instantly recognisable.

What would you improve if you did it again?Although I like the simplistic nature of the poster, I would have liked to include the show’s antagonist: Negan. The man who wields the baseball bat. This would have helped people distinguish what the poster is about. However I want the viewers to think about what they are seeing. I would also like to use some different types of text, for example: I would have liked to create a clipping mask using a blood stained image. This is so the words “BACK TO IT” would be covered in blood. This would add extra depth and character to the poster which would make it all round better.

Text Based

Text Based

Evaluation

What did you like about your image?I like the variations between the different text based effects. By far my favourite is the clipping mask image. This is because it is the most atheistically pleasing, it is also very simple. I have coloured in the background of the clipping image, this is so that the image can be seen clearer.

What would you improve if you did it again?If I was to do it again I would maybe experiment with leading and tracking more especially on the text with an image clipping mask to see how well it would work and how clear the overall effect is.

Comic book

Evaluation

What did you like about your image?I really like the image because I personally love the comic book effect. This is because it looks really good whilst still retaining a realistic look. I like the shading on the image, there is almost no outlines. The outlining is created out of shading. This makes it look a lot more realistic. My favourite image, out of the three I have produced is the first one. This is because it looks great, the shading is perfect which adds more character to the image. These were all created using the filter gallery and the cut-out technique.

What would you improve if you did it again?On all of my images the file simplicity is quite low. This means that the image is more complex and it will look more realistic. If the simplicity was higher I could create some more abstract images. The edge fidelity is also very low on my images. If I were to attempt this again then I would use a higher edge fidelity. This would create a more abstract and non naturalistic image.

Photo story

Evaluation

What did you like about your image?I’m very fond of this piece of work, this is because it is atheistically pleasing whilst also serving the purpose of telling a story. I added the comic book effect by clicking on Filter > Filter gallery > Cut-out. Then adjust the settings to create a great looking comic book effect. This added some much needed character to the images. I really like the background behind the images. It is the iconic Marvel comic book background. I feel like it adds a lot of character and makes it look like a real comic book.

What would you improve if you did it again?If I was to repeat this task, I would take better images. My images were of good quality and told a basic story. I feel like with a bit more creative thought I could create eight images that tell a really good story. I would have also liked to add some text to the comic. This would have helped create a better story.

Illustration

Evaluation

What did you like about your image?I like how my drawing looks and like the character and that it turned out the way it was meant to.What would you improve if you did it again?If I had to do it again I would add more colour to the image and I would draw more of the background. I like that this is my own free hand design, this means that I won’t have to worry about copyright claims, if this was a real situation.

Narrative Environment

Evaluation

What did you like about your image?My image turned out very well, not only because it is atheistically pleasing but it can also be used as a functional setting for the upcoming task. The sky turned out very well. It is a gradient turning from dark to light blue. I like ow it is also a clear representation of a particular place. It shows texture and has a few small details to make it more realistic.

What would you improve if you did it again?If I was to do this again, I would definitely add more details to make it more exciting. For example. This could be adding character or just more things to look at in the image but not too overwhelming.

Initial Ideas

Idea Generation

Mood board of chosen idea

ProposalDimensionsI want my children’s book to be A4, the dimensions for A4 are 297 x 210mm. I would also like to make the book 12 pages long. This is so that the book it isn‘t too long but it still is able to tell a good story.

Story OverviewA boy named James, lives on a farm in the forest. He is running low on food so his mum tells him to sell the family dog for money so they can grow crops. An old man offers James a giant egg for the dog. James takes the egg and puts it in his house. The egg hatches. There is a dragon inside. James befriends the dragon and they fly through the skies. The dragon lands on a cloud with a giant castle on it. A giant tries to take the dragon. James and the dragon run away and find a goose that lays solid gold eggs. They take it and run away. They find the dragon’s family.

Export FormatThe export format will be PDF and JPEG, dependent on the situation.

Advantages: An advantage of JPEG is that the file sizes are very small this means that you do not need a great deal of storage space. An advantage of PDF is that the files are interchangeable between adobe software.

Disadvantages: A disadvantage of JPEG is that they tend to lose quality with multiple edits due to compression.

Deadline

3rd of February 2017

Audience

My target audience is children of both genders, of ages between 4-9. This is because I want the book to have some text therefore I will need the children to have the ability to read, whilst the text will not be complex there still will be simple text. The audience will need a very large imagination, this is because of the fantasy/non naturalistic setting of the book. The book has no set demographic, it just has a basic age range. Another reason for the age range is the fact that the images are going to be slightly more detailed. This may be hard for children under the age of 4 to understand.

Production Methods

I am going to hand draw all of the images roughly, then they will be scanned into the computer and then they will be digitally recreated. The background will also be hand drawn separately then the characters will be added on top of the back ground. All of the images will be coloured digitally so that I can create some nice effects such as: Gradients; which I wouldn’t be able to hand draw. The reason for this method is that I feel a lot more comfortable drawing by hand than creating images using the rotoscoping method or taking photos.

What are the strengths of the proposal? What areas of the proposal need further work?

The author clearly has a strong idea of what they want to create, and how they’re going to go about producing this idea. The story is solid and even though its origins are taken from a traditional story, the author’s spin on it was unexpected and unique. The author understands the advantages and disadvantages of using different file formats and has clearly thought about how this will effect production. They understand that the audience for this book is rather broad in some senses as it caters to many different groups.

I feel the ‘Story Overview’ could use some elaboration, possibly towards the end, as it becomes slightly vague.

What are the strengths of the idea generation? What areas of idea generation could have been further developed?

The mood boards of the project I believe accurately depict the art style that the author wishes to use in their work; it helps me understand the general vibe the artwork will portray within the illustrated literature.

A mind-map of general first thoughts and ideas would have improved the idea generation section, adding the extra insight to what the author first thought of when presented with this project.

What are the strengths of the proposal? What areas of the proposal need further work?

A big strength of this proposal is the fact that you have gone into great detail. I like that fact that you have detailed the specifics of your production methods and your target audience. I also like the fact that you have taken a weird twist in a classic story. This shows creativity and if done correctly could be very good.

I feel like you could have gone into a bit more detail in the “Story Overview” section as you have a good idea and feel lie you could elaborate a bit more.

What are the strengths of the idea generation? What areas of idea generation could have been further developed?

I really like the art style and overall feel you have for your mood board. I am able to get a feel of what the finished story would look like.

You are missing a mind map. I feel like adding one into your work would allow you to explore and elaborate ideas you may have. The ideas you have may not even make it into the final version but they are worth to be seen at least as this story is pretty unique anyway.

What are the strengths of the proposal? What areas of the proposal need further work?

You have shown how you will create your story. Meaning that when you come to pitch it to someone, they will get a feel for how the story will develop. You have given a clear run down of the story. This will help when it comes to production.

Thinking of more advantages and disadvantages will make it look like you have put more time into the file format.

What are the strengths of the idea generation? What areas of idea generation could have been further developed?

You have used moodboards to clearly show your ideas. This is useful because if someone comes to view it later on, they will be able to get a clear idea of what you have in mind. It will also allow you to exchange ideas with the client in the future, if you were going to publish this book for someone.

You could use more moodboards to show more ideas. These ideas could include the different fonts you could use and different effects you could use. You could also reference other books in this. This would show your style options clearly.

Feedback SummarySum up your feedback.The feedback mostly stated that my story outline, whilst slightly vague, was a great and unexpected twist on the original story. The feedback also stated that a mind map would have made my idea generation better, this was because at the time of feedback I didn’t have a mood board. The feedback also stated that I have thought of some clear advantages and disadvantages for the file type section.

Which parts of your feedback do you agree with and why?I agree with most of the feedback because it is all constructive. I agree with the fact that a mood board would have made my idea generation more solid. I also agree with the fact that I need to add more detail to my story outline because towards the end, it becomes quite vague. I also agree that my mood boards need to show more variation and more ideas, although the art style I have picked is nice, the mood board does not show any other forms of illustration, this makes the mood board seem limited and not as creative.

Which parts of your feedback do you disagree with and why?

I do not agree with the fact that I need to add more detail to my advantages and disadvantages of the file types. I believe that I have listed the main advantages and disadvantages. I agree with everything else.

Original Script

Once upon a time there lived a poor widow and her son Jack. One day, Jack’s mother told him to sell their only cow. Jack went to the market and on the way he met a man who wanted to buy his cow. Jack asked, “What will you give me in return for my cow?” The man answered, “I will give you five magic beans!” Jack took the magic beans and gave the man the cow. But when he reached home, Jack’s mother was very angry. She said, “You fool! He took away your cow and gave you some beans!” She threw the beans out of the window. Jack was very sad and went to sleep without dinner.The next day, when Jack woke up in the morning and looked out of the window, he saw that a huge beanstalk had grown from his magic beans! He climbed up the beanstalk and reached a kingdom in the sky. There lived a giant and his wife. Jack went inside the house and found the giant’s wife in the kitchen. Jack said, “Could you please give me something to eat? I am so hungry!” The kind wife gave him bread and some milk.While he was eating, the giant came home. The giant was very big and looked very fearsome. Jack was terrified and went and hid inside. The giant cried, “Fee-fifo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he alive, or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my bread!” The wife said, “There is no boy in here!” So, the giant ate his food and then went to his room. He took out his sacks of gold coins, counted them and kept them aside. Then he went to sleep. In the night, Jack crept out of his hiding place, took one sack of gold coins and climbed down the beanstalk. At home, he gave the coins to his mother. His mother was very happy and they lived well for sometime.

Original Script

He climbed the beanstalk and went to the giant’s house again. Once again, Jack asked the giant’s wife for food, but while he was eating the giant returned. Jack leapt up in fright and went and hid under the bed. The giant cried, “Fee-fifo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he alive, or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my bread!” The wife said, “There is no boy in here!” The giant ate his food and went to his room. There, he took out a hen. He shouted, “Lay!” and the hen laid a golden egg. When the giant fell asleep, Jack took the hen and climbed down the beanstalk. Jack’s mother was very happy with him.After some days, Jack once again climbed the beanstalk and went to the giant’s castle. For the third time, Jack met the giant’s wife and asked for some food. Once again, the giant’s wife gave him bread and milk. But while Jack was eating, the giant came home. “Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he alive, or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my bread!” cried the giant. “Don’t be silly! There is no boy in here!” said his wife.The giant had a magical harp that could play beautiful songs. While the giant slept, Jack took the harp and was about to leave. Suddenly, the magic harp cried, “Help master! A boy is stealing me!” The giant woke up and saw Jack with the harp. Furious, he ran after Jack. But Jack was too fast for him. He ran down the beanstalk and reached home. The giant followed him down. Jack quickly ran inside his house and fetched an axe. He began to chop the beanstalk. The giant fell and died.Jack and his mother were now very rich and they lived happily ever after.

Story Breakdown

1. James is told to sell their family dog so they can afford to eat.2. A strange old man gives James a giant egg for his dog.3. James leaves the egg in his living room next to the fire.4. In the morning he walks downstairs to see a full grown dragon in his living room. 5. The dragon takes James into the skies to see some beautiful sights.6. The dragon lands on a cloud, the cloud has a giant castle on it7. They find a goose that lays golden eggs and a giant that tries to eat them.8. They run into the castle and find the dragon’s family. 9. James frees all of the dragons.10. They take the goose and fly away and the giant cannot follow them.11. James builds a nest for the new dragons to live in.12. They all live happily ever after.

Draft Script

Page 1) James lives in a forest with no food. His mum tells him to sell their dog for money so they can get food

Page 2) James meets an old man in town. The man offers James a giant egg for his dog.

Page 3) His mum is devastated that James did not bring back any actual food. James leaves the egg in the living room.

Page 4) In the morning James finds a dragon in the living room.

Page 5) James rides the dragon and they find a giant castle in the sky.

Page 6) They land and James walks inside. There is a goose that lays golden eggs.

Page 7) James takes it and tries to leave. A giant stops him and chases them into a room.

Page 8) There is the dragon’s family inside the room. The dragons all fly away with James and the golden goose.

Page 9) The giant tries to follow them, but he realises he can’t fly, he falls and dies.

Page 10) Once they land, James uses the golden eggs to get money for food.

Page 11) He builds a shelter for all of the new dragons to live in.

Page 12) They all live happily ever after.

Second draft

Front cover: “James and the dragon.” [The front cover shows James and the dragons flying away from the castle, the giant is stood on the castle shouting.]Page 1) James and his mother live in a cabin in the middle of a forest, it is hard for them to get food. James’ mother gets desperate and orders James to go and sell their family dog. [The images on the page are James being shouted at by his mother with his dog sat next to him. His mother has a speech bubble saying: “ Sell the dog so we can have some food” James looks sad. ]Page 2) On his way into town, James encounters an old man. The man offers James a giant egg for his dog. James, now very excited, takes the offer and brings the giant egg home for his mother. [The images on the page show James talking to an old man, there is a long path behind him to show that he has walked very far, the old man has a giant egg in his hand. James has his dog on a leash.] Page 3) She is devastated that James did not bring back any actual food. James leaves the egg in the living room. [The images on the page show James’ mum shouting at him and looking very angry, James is very sad. James is placing the egg on the floor.]Page 4) James goes to sleep and wakes up to find a fully grown dragon in his living room. The dragon runs out into the garden. [The images on the page show James standing at the top of his stairs looking down at the dragon. The dragon is looking up at him]Page 5) James gets on the dragons back and the dragon files away. They go very high and see some amazing sights. [The images on the page show James riding the dragon through the sky, with a beautiful sky view on the page] Page 6) He comes across a giant castle floating in the sky. [The image on the page show James riding the dragon, looking at a giant floating castle in the sky.]Page 7) They land and James walks inside. There is a goose that lays golden eggs. [The image shows a goose laying on the ground next to the entrance.]Page 8) James takes it and tries to leave. A giant stops him and chases them into a room.[The image shows James’ hiding with the goose with the giant’s shoes in the background.]Page 9) There is the dragon’s family inside the room. The dragons all fly away with James and the golden goose. [The images show James stood in the doorway and there is the dragon’s family in there.]Page 10) The dragons all fly away with James and the golden goose. The giant tries to follow them, but he realises he can’t fly, he falls and dies. [The image shows the castle with all of the dragons flying away with the giant jumping off after them. The giant falls.]Page 11) Once they land, James uses the golden eggs to get money for food. [The image shows James giving someone a golden egg and they hand James a big stack of money]Page 12) He builds a shelter for all of the new dragons to live in. [The image shows James finishing off building a shelter for all of the dragons. The dragons are all sat around their house. James’ mother is very happy because she has a wheelbarrow full of food. There is a dog kennel with James’ old dog in it. The words “THE END” are written in big letters in the corner.]

Storyline Images

Third draft

PAGE 1James and his mother live in the middle of a forest. It is hard for them to get food and their crops won’t grow. James’ mother becomes very desperate and tells James to sell their family dog. PAGE 2This causes James to get very upset. James sets off into town. He encounters an old man who offers James a giant egg for the dog. James becomes very excited and takes the old man’s offer. PAGE 3He rushes home to show his mother. His mother gets very angry and begins to shout. She tells James to leave the egg in the living room and they will get rid of it in the morning. James and his mother go to sleep. PAGE 4James is awoken by a loud crash early in the morning. James rushes downstairs to find a fully grown dragon has been hatched. The dragon rushes outside and James follows it, James gets on the dragon’s back and the dragon flies off. PAGE 5They soar through the skies to see some amazing sights. They come across a castle floating on a cloud. PAGE 6They land and go inside. There is a goose that lays golden eggs.PAGE 7James takes the goose and tries to leave but he is stopped by a giant. PAGE 8The giant chases him into a small room. All of the dragon’s family are in the room. PAGE 9All of the dragons fly away with James and the goose. PAGE 10The giant tries to chase the dragons but he falls of the edge and falls to his doom. PAGE 11Once they land, James uses the golden eggs to buy food for him and his mother. PAGE 12He builds a shelter for all of the dragons. They all lived happily ever after. THE END.

Final script

PAGE 1James and his mother live in the middle of a forest. It is hard for them to get food and their crops won’t grow. James’ mother becomes very desperate and tells James to sell their family dog. PAGE 2This causes James to get very upset. James sets off into town. He encounters an old man who offers James a giant egg for the dog. James becomes very excited and takes the old man’s offer. PAGE 3He rushes home to show his mother. His mother gets very angry and begins to shout. She tells James to leave the egg in the living room and they will get rid of it in the morning. James and his mother go to sleep. PAGE 4James is awoken by a loud crash early in the morning. James rushes downstairs to find a fully grown dragon has been hatched. The dragon rushes outside and James follows it, James gets on the dragon’s back and the dragon flies off. PAGE 5They soar through the skies to see some amazing sights. They come across a castle floating on a cloud. PAGE 6They land and go inside. There is a goose that lays golden eggs.PAGE 7James takes the goose and tries to leave but he is stopped by a giant. PAGE 8The giant chases him out of the castle. PAGE 9James jumps onto the dragon with the goose and they escape.PAGE 10The giant tries to chase the dragon but he falls off the edge and falls to his doom. PAGE 11Once they land, James uses the golden eggs to buy food for him and his mother. PAGE 12He builds a shelter for the dragon. They all lived happily ever after. THE END.

Digital Flat Plans

Test Page

This is a test page designed for me to see how the page would look and how things would look on the page and where everything would fit. The characters and backgrounds are only created roughly. This is because I did not need to make it perfect. I did change a few things when I created the first page, for instance I changed the colors from a dark tone to a slightly lighter color. Also I changed the main character’s hair from ginger to brown and his trousers from Blue to brown.