Graphic Narrative Evaluation

Use this template to help you evaluate your project.

You should give specific details about your work.

You should provide both written and visual examples to explain your project.

You should find areas to praise in your work. Be specific about why you think they are good or why you are proud of them.

You should also find areas that could be improved. Look for areas that you could make better if you went back to them. Be specific about what you would improve.

Add additional slides as you need to. Don’t be restricted by what is here.

Any blank slides should be deleted before submission.

Does your final product reflect your original intentions?

• For the most part, I’d say my final product reflects my original intentions pretty well. The positioning of my characters throughout the planning (storyboards, flat plans) and production has been consistent. (look on next slide for comparison).

• However, my original idea was to rotoscope already existing images. When it came to production, I found that this would be a problem for a few reasons. First, I didn’t find any images suitable for rotoscoping, that would give me a clear and concise outline of either animal. And secondly, I wanted the images to be more original; I wasn’t comfortable with rotoscoping already existing images, as I felt it was a cop out to making my characters.

• Displayed below are the three stages of Page 3 of my book, from storyboarding, to digital flat planning, to the final product. I think it’s very consistent throughout, with only minor changes made at the end. The storyboarding stage did not include any text, this is because I chose from the start to have a separate page for the text. I therefore felt it unnecessary to include it at this stage, and concentrate on the characters, character placement etc. Little details like the clouds and sun did not make it into the final product, because I thought since its in a jungle/forestry kind of scenery, it should be closed off, deep in the trees, as opposed to out in the open.

• I thought more about the text when it came to the digital flat plan, as this was where my book began to take shape. The text stayed consistent through to the final product, because I liked the handwritten style, and it reminded of books I used to read in primary school, so I decided early on that that was the font I wanted to use. For this stage I used clipart/stock images to display the positioning of the characters, as well as adding the grass using the photoshop brush, to add some texture. Before this stage I wasn’t sure how I was going to put grass into my pages, and it turned out that the grass brush fit in well with the style of my book, so I used it in the final product.

How well have you constructed your images?

• I feel my images, although simple, have been constructed well. They were constructed from scratch, using the shaping method. Although they are original, I did take some inspiration for the shaping and colouring of them from images I found on the internet (displayed below).

• The use of the shapes was something I wanted to do early, as I feel it works best for a cartoon style. The main inspiration was the image in the middle, as this seemed to completely encompass what kind of style I was imagining. The shading on the belly of the lion was inspired also by images on the internet, I found that this kind of shading is a widely used interpretation for a cartoon lion.

• I also think the construction of the other aspects of my book have been done well, and they were very simple to do. The trees for example, I did the initial outline by rotoscoping an existing stock image of a tree, and used colour overlay to get the colour of the main stump and foliage. I then copied the foliage layer and pasted on top of one another, making them slightly smaller each time, and using slightly darker shades of green each time.

• The mouse was very simply made, but again, it fits in well with the style of my book. I made it using shape warping method, and took inspiration from a cartoon mice I found on the internet. The image below was the primary inspiration, as this was the kind of simple shape I wanted to use. I imagined what the image would look like from a side on view, and that gave me the mouse I produced

• One of my favourite aspects of my book is the grass used throughout. It was done by simply using the grass brush tool, layered to look full and vast. I also sorted the layers so the characters looked in the grass, as opposed to just floating on top.

How well have you used text to anchor your images?

• I believe the text throughout my book anchors the images very well. The text throughout perfectly illustrates whats happening on the page next to it. I based the composition of the illustrations on the text for that page, so it fits perfectly for each page. On the example below, the image shows the fact the lion is angry, and this is backed up by the lion roaring in the text, and the onomatopoeic annotations.

• Compare my work with a page from ‘The Selfish Crocodile’, which does a great job of using text to anchor the images. In the example above, it says the crocodile lies on his back, picking his big sharp teeth with a stick, and the picture illustrates this perfectly, making sure there’s no confusion. Since my page has done similar to this page from ‘The Selfish Crocodile’, I believe I’ve used the text to anchor my image very well.

Is your product suitable for your audience?

• In reference to my original proposal for my book, I believe my book is as suitable for the demographic I was aiming for, children aged 5 – 8 of any class/gender. The story hasn’t been changed at all since the proposal, so it still has that positive moral that everyone of every age should follow, making it child-friendly. I also intended from the start to use a small range of vibrant colours throughout the book, for the characters and surrounding scenery. I wanted to do this so it would be eye catching for children when they read it, but not so distracting that they only focus on the colours, hence the small range of colours. The colours used in my final product are bright and simple, fitting in perfectly with my proposal.

• The images themselves are simple for children to clearly perceive and associate with the animals they’re supposed to represent. Even when the lion is angry, the obvious cartoon likeness makes it more fun and childish, reinforcing the friendliness of it all, making it easier for the child to comprehend.

What do you like about the techniques you have used?

• I really like the shaping technique I used for the characters. I followed no specific outline for either animal, however I did have a kind of template I was working to, using the ellipse tool and warp effect, to get all the body parts for the animals.

• I also like the trees in my book. I did the initial outline by rotoscoping an existing image of a tree, and used colour overlay to get the colour of the main stump and foliage. I then copied the foliage layer, and pasted, using slightly darker shades of green each time. I liked this technique because it gives a nice depth to the image, and its just so simple to do.

• One of my favourite aspects of my book is the grass used throughout. It was done simply by using the grass brush tool, layered to look full and vast. I also sorted the layers so the characters looked in the grass, as opposed to just floating on top.

What do you dislike about the techniques you have used?

• One thing I don’t like about the technique I used is the background. It’s essentially the trees I made originally, layered up and positioned to give a vast jungle feeling. Although I think it does look ok, even after using shading to give it some more depth, I would’ve liked to add more elements such bits of light poking through, or even just other kinds of shrubbery, just to make it that bit more interesting, maybe adding a few more colours would also make it more eye catching.

Why did you include the content you used?

• There were many reason why I chose to produce the content I used. It started with the story. The brief was to create a childrens book, so I decided I wanted to recreate one Aesops Fables, known widely for being short stories that have a moral at the end, something there to make you think about how you go about your life, or even as simply as teaching you right from wrong. I thought this kind of theme would be perfect for a childrens book, so I searched and found The Lion and The Mouse. A short story with a nice moral, that everyone of any age should follow. Choosing this kind of content for my book seemed apt, because especially in todays society, the younger generation lack manners, and sometimes, just basic human decency.

• Once I’d made a final decision on the story I wanted for my book, I thought about the demographic and decided all children aged 5 – 8. It was at this stage I started thinking about the graphics. To be suitable for the demographic, I felt the graphics needed to be bright, eye catching and simple. For me, the decision to make the characters out of shapes was the most logical and suitable option. You get a very cartoony effect, which looks friendly and easy to comprehend for young children.

• The final colours were chosen fairly last minute. I envisaged the basic idea of what colours I wanted, and when it came to production, it was a case of translating my thoughts onto my book. The colours are generally quite eye catching, from the vibrant green of the grass and trees, to the deep brown of the trunk, to the interesting almost gold colour of the lion.

• After looking at other childrens books, I discovered that a lot of the older ones used very plain, boring, straight, serif fonts. Easy to read yes, but not very interesting. I noticed a trend amongst more modern childrens book; the fonts used are a lot more interesting. They are still serif and easy to read, but they have more of a handwritten style to them, making them look more eye catching. I scoured dafont.com in search of the perfect font.

• I found a font called ABC Marker, and I felt it was perfect for the style I was going for. It looked child like, it was serif, and therefore easy to read. I tested other fonts as well, but some only had capital letters, and others just weren’t as suitable.

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

• Some signs/symbols used in book include the text used. Firstly, I chose that style of text because it’s child like and in a handwritten serif style, so children are more likely to recognise it and find it easier to understand. Another symbol to do with the text is the colours used. In the scene where the lion is roaring and angry, the text is black, to represent the anger. Whereas when the lion is in distress after being caught, the text is in white, to represent the lion is now sad, in distress.

• Another symbol used in my work also the question marks above the mouse's head. The question marks represent confusion clearly to children.

• The colours used throughout are generally quite eye catching, from the vibrant green of the grass and trees, to the deep brown of the trunk, to the interesting almost gold colour of the lion.

What representations can be found in your work?

• There are no obvious representations of people of any gender or any kind of political or religious standing, and this was intentional. Because it is a childrens book, including politics and religion could be a bit controversial, unless the book was aimed at Christian children for example, which this book isn’t. The only possible representation of gender in my book is the fact that the mouse is referred to as ‘he’. Admittedly, this was a purely sub-conscious decision. The other possible gender representation is the fact the lion is a lion. There’s no reference to the lions gender whatsoever, but the fact that it has a mane shows that it’s male. Again this was a sub-conscious decision, as the traditional view of a lion has a mane, so I felt it made sense to include the mane.

• This being said, the animals are represented in a stereotypical way of sorts. The mouse is small and timid, whilst the lion starts off angry and mighty. These representations are shifted throughout, as the mouse turns out to be very brave and kind, and the lion turns out to be kind and forgiving. It’s represents the fact that it’s better to be kind and forgiving than to be mean.

What style have you employed in your products?

• I have employed different styles for the different elements in my book. The trees for example, I did the initial outline by rotoscoping an existing stock image of a tree, and used colour overlay to get the colour of the main stump and foliage. I then copied the foliage layer and pasted on top of one another, making them slightly smaller each time, and using slightly darker shades of green each time.

• One of my favourite aspects of my book is the grass used throughout. It was done by simply using the grass brush tool, layered to look full and vast. I also sorted the layers so the characters looked in the grass, as opposed to just floating on top.

• The mouse was very simply made, but again, it fits in well with the style of my book. I made it using shape warping method, and took inspiration from a cartoon mice I found on the internet. The image of the mouse on the next page was the primary inspiration, as this was the kind of simple shape I wanted to use. I imagined what the image would look like from a side on view, and that gave me the mouse I produced.

Discuss influences/ existing productsWhat visual style does your work have and why did you choose it?

• For my animals, I used the shaping technique, manipulating a shape to make it look like something else; in the case of my book, I used the ellipse shape, then warped it to get the shape of my mouse and lion. The lion is made of different shapes for the body, legs, tail and head. The main inspiration for my lion came from the picture below, a graphic which looks like it has been designed using shapes. I knew I wanted a similar style for my book because it looks perfect for my chose demographic. It was designed by someone who submitted the graphic to a stock image website, and I found it whilst doing research for the book.

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

• I think the planning and research stage helped dramatically. Without meticulous research into childrens book, I would’ve struggled to encompass what I wanted my book to look like. This research helped me determine exactly what kind of book I wanted to produce. The digital flat plans were especially helpful in the production of the book. I could produce a draft of my book with the exact specifications of my final product; the size, where my characters would go, where the text would go etc.

• I feel I managed my time well. I kept to my planning booklet and my book was completed with time to spare. The digital flat plan helped me finish it quickly, as I already had drafts for each page, as well as text already being in place.

Historical and cultural context

• In comparison to old versions of The Lion and The Mouse, my story is slightly different. Although to my knowledge there are no book adaptations of Aesops fable, written between 620 and 560 BC, the original story is hard to find because of all the adaptations over the years. One of the oldest versions includes the fact that when the lion captures the mouse, the mouse makes the point that he would not be worthy prey, and would bring the lion no honour. The moral of the story is that “mercy brings its reward and that there is no being so small that it cannot help a greater”. There is a possible cynical and selfish side to this, in the fact that people do nice things so they can be rewarded later, whereas kind acts should be selfless. This being said, I believe the traditional moral of honour and giving mercy were big things at the time; to uphold honour, pride, integrity and honesty were important things for people of the time. Though those attributes are worded differently now, the message is still the same. People should care for one another, no matter how strong are weak the other person may be.

How does your work compare to what has come before? What other similar products have existed in the past? What current products exist?

• There were also many Eastern variants of the story. There’s a twist of it in Egyptian mythology, where the story starts off with a lion “previously unacquainted with man comes across examples of his cruelty and exploitation of other animals and decides to hunt him down”, and meets a mouse along the way. The story is similar from here, but the fact that the lion is trapped by mankind and the mouse saves him is emphasised. This could be to do with the fact the Egyptians found animals to be sacred. It also could be to do with the fact that Pharaohs would often hunt lions, to feel superior to kings of the animal kingdom. It could be argued that this story was told by someone who was against this, and wanted to emphasise the need for power by people in high places. This is still relevant in todays society, with big corporations buying power in governments, and controlling most of the worlds media, for example.

• There are also an Indian variant of the story in the Panchatantra, an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in verse and prose, arranged within a frame story. The story swaps lions for elephants, and this could be because Elephants were widely used for transportation uses, so the ancient Indian readers would probably be more familiar with them. The moral doesn’t differ too much from the originals. 'Make friends, however strong or weak they be'. It’s more centered around friendship, as opposed to doing a good deed for reward, which is arguably more honourable.