PROJECT: CHILDRENS' BOOK

“Writing for children means thinking about your own past.” Michael Rosen

This is the start of a new project: researching, writing, drawing and creating a childrens' book using print-based media. 

Task 1: Research

You will need to provide extensive research of children’s books, target markets, print finishing, printing costs, pre-printing preparation, legal and ethical issues and your child survey. You will also need to research: Narrative structure; types of structure, eg open, closed, single strand, multi-strand, linear, non-linear, realist, anti-realist, non-narrative; components, eg opening, conflict, resolution, cause and effect, enigma, equilibrium, climax, motivations, manipulation of time and space. Also, Image construction; eg form, texture, shape, pattern, line, tone, colour; anchorage, eg captions, slogan, combination of words-images-text; signification, eg technical codes, symbolic codes, cultural codes, connotation; representation, eg gender, race, age, sexuality, class, social groups, societies, cultures and religions.

Task 2: Development of Idea

You will need to include all of your printing techniques and digital techniques with annotation of its suitability for your book. You will also need to show your character development through sketches, storyboards, feedback and the narrative development.

Task 3: Producing a Childrens' Book

You will need to produce a book for a child between the ages of 0-5 years. Your book will need to be 12 pages plus front and back covers (both inside and out). That is 16 pages in total. The book can either be 14cm x14cm or A5 portrait. Your book will need to submitted ready to print before the project deadline. Therefore your book needs to be submitted digitally by Friday 14^th March 2014

Task 4: Evaluation

Submit a project evaluation that considers the following: realisation of intentions; fitness for purpose; responding to feedback; technical qualities; aesthetic qualities; skills, knowledge and understanding gained; technical competencies; creative ability; time management Criteria: - The target audience must be within the age range of 0-5 years - Must be characters, narrative and drawings of your own making - Must explain reasoning behind choices of narrative structure, components etc So, that is my project brief. I have already started compiling ideas of what children like, and started researching what makes a childrens' book successful. Amy

Project Proposal: Children's Book

Project Title - Graphic Narrative

Your personal interpretation of the project:

I’m going to do a story about a girl who is unable to go out and play with her friends due to her asthma. As a result, she imagines wild and wacky stories about far away places and impossible adventures. It will have a basic storyline and only involve at maximum 10-15 characters, as for a young child there should not be too many characters for them to remember. 

The inspiration you intend to research:

A main source of inspiration for me are the works of Lauren Child for the artistic illustrations in the Charlie and Lola books. These books are very insular yet due to the use of the imagination of the characters, the possibilities are endless.

I am also inspired by a number of young children I have encountered at a local primary school who have disabilities and some form of limiting illness which renders them unable to play like the other children. Instead of focusing on something that is uncommon such as cerebral palsy, I decided to address an illness that is very common in young children, and create a world in which it wasn't a problem. This led me to realise that the majority of children I knew who were physically limited suffered from asthma, and thus that became Pippa's Achilles heel.

The context of the work:

The work will be a children's book of twelve pages in lengthm with four extra pages for front and back covers. The target audience is children under five years, however studies show that development years 0-5 is so rapid that this cannot accurately be described as one age group, but rather 0-1, 2-3 and 4-5. My target audience the eldest age range. However, the book will introduce slightly more complex ideas into the book such as illness and geography. This is also because I hope to introduce an educational element; using famous locations like the Eiffel Tower, the Amazon and the Moon. My hope is that this will help children get a basic grasp on learning before, or as they start, their primary education.

Using a printed children's book instead of another form of media (e.g magazine or website) means that the material is much more accessible to children of this age. Many children are still read to by their parents who tend to buy books, which use both narrative and graphics to help encourage the interest of their children. 

Intended techniques/resources/equipment/software:

I have researched different paper types - silk, cold-pressed etc, in order to determine which one will be the best for drawing and then printing onto. 

I will be drawing the characters and scenes by hand, and then possibly scanning them in to draw over the top in illustrator so that the colours are smoother and the lines more confident. I will be able to layer the characters over the backgrounds and not have a variation in the way they are drawn.

How realistic is your idea?

FINANCES - I will not be using live action scenes, instead I will be sketching and digitally creating my scenes and characters, meaning that on this front, expenses will be minimal. 
- The RRP for a children's book of a size 12"x12", 16    page print, is on average £6.99-£7.99.
- The printing cost, on a small-run print of 100 books, is roughly £3.61 depending on the printing company. 
- 32 pages is the average for a children's book, excluding the covers but including the title page, dedications etc, bringing working pages (the story) down to roughly 28 pages.

PRACTICALITIES - the project is not difficult to put together due to the fact that everything can be done from home or the college. The most difficult part will be factoring in the age of the child and remembering that not every 4-5 year old is as intelligent as the others, and thus cannot be subjected to too complex a concept.
TIME - The project is quick to plan, the most time consuming of the stages of production will be printing. Therefore I will need to start printing, or formatting it to print, by mid-February, meaning that the plot, characters and scenes will have to be finished by then.

Your idea:

A Book called 'Where In The World"

Pippa, a four year old, has asthma and so cannot play out with her friends. Instead she has wild adventures around the world using her imagination! 

I really like my idea as it ensures that the concept of an illness or disability is not synonymous with loneliness or an inability to have fun. It also introduces locations like the Eiffel Tower, the Amazon and the Moon to a small child, with pictures. I will be using animals as secondary characters (such as an elephant) in geographically accurate situations - I have ensured that the Lion Tamarin Monkey is native to the Amazon before including it. 

I have also included 'Buzz and Neil, two space-men!' in the story, adding to the subtle educational arc to the plot (as obviously Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong were the first two men to land on the moon) in the form of some historical relevance. 

Final format:

I intend to do a 28 page story book (including the title pages, acknowledgements etc but excluding covers) with a closed, linear narrative.

The scenes will be landscape and fill the 140mmX140mm pages. I will use a basic font such as Helvetica, Veranda or Tahoma, as the sans serif will make it easier for a child to read the words and understand. I will be using a soft cover, saddle stitched binding which is the standard for a children's book, due to the durability of the binding stitch and the cheap cost of the cover. The paper will be 300lb cold pressed paper due to the flexibility of the paper, and the fact that it scans well. It is not too rough that it will cast shadows when scanning, but will be more forgiving to mistakes and more durable than the lighter, finer, or more textured, papers. 

Printing Techniques: Batik and Wax Resistance.

Batik is a manual wax-resistant dyeing technique most commonly used on material. The traditional Javanese batik technique was centred, particularly in the regions of Yogyakata and Surakata, on the Javanese conceptualization of the universe. The three most pronounced colours are indigo, dark brown and white as a representation of the three major Hindu gods due to the availability of the colours in natural dyes. Certain lines and patterns, such as extensive waves or wider stripes, are used to represent nobility and were easy to identify in ceremonies and the like. Other areas of Indonesia also employ the art of batik in everyday life, meaning that consequently UNESCO designated Indonesian Batik a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

We did the batik printing using hot wax and tjanting tools. A tjanting tool enables the artist to control the pattern laid down by the hot wax with a great deal of precision.

This was my first attempt at actual Batik using the tjanting tool. I found it difficult to control when the tool dripped, as you can see by the splashes around the lines. There was no real intention behind the design, other than to experiment with an unfamiliar technique. 

I drew this design using the blunt end of a wax crayon, meaning that the illustration was, at times, childlike and inaccurate. I was inspired by traditional Javanese batik such as the following:

The wax in this illustration was thinner in an attempt to keep control over the wax. It resulted in a lack of clarity once painted over. I also feel that I should have used a more contrasting colour, as I chose a pink crayon then used colours close to it in the paint. 

I like the batik technique, however in retrospect it was not a reliable 

Research: Narrative Structures

Linear Narrative

A linear narrative is a story told in chronological order. This means that a story is told from plot point A to B, without skipping or revisiting anything. This suits stories to build tension to culminate in a climactic ending. This also eliminates the element in story-telling of different outcomes, as made popular as a sub-genre of 'choose your fate' books. Linear narratives are the most popular with books written for children under 5 years of age due to their inherent simplicity.

An example of a linear children's book is We're Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen.

Non-Linear Narrative

A non-linear narrative is one with multiple choices which can result in different outcomes, or a non-chronological story. This is not as popular for a children's book due to the need to avoid complexity, however certain books use a non-linear narrative to incite curiosity. There are also books that lean towards an educative concept which use non-linear narrative to challenge the memory of the child, such as 'where was ___?' etc.

An example of a non-linear children's book is Black and White by David Macaulay.

Open Narrative

An open narrative structure is a book or plotline that does not resolve itself by the end of the story. It is usually open-ended at at least one, if not both, ends, and can be used in a series. This is a very popular narrative structure as it allows the author to retain a sense of mystery and delay the climax of the plot, as well as enabling an easy opening for sequels. 

An example of a children's book with an open narrative structure is the Magic School Bus series, by Joanna Cole.

Closed Narrative

A closed narrative structure is one in which all plot elements are resolved before the end of the medium, in this case, the book. There is no room for an alternate ending and the climax of the plot happens within the story. This means that the story is insular and easier to keep track of, especially for young children. However there can be series' which employ closed narrative structures for each of their stories, yet have an overarching plot line or recurrent theme which links them.

Dogger, by Shirley Hughes, is an example of a closed narrative storyline, however there are more books in the Alfie series than this one, each of which are closed narrative. 

An example of a stand-alone closed narrative is that of the children's book, The Jolly Postman (or, Other People's Letters) by Janet and Allan Ahlberg.

Evaluation

I must take into consideration which narrative structures I wish to employ in my children's book, and which is the best for the plot I have in mind. On a hand out given to us it stated:

"Proceed with your narrative in the manner that best suits the story. This means that you should give some thought to where the most compelling elements lie."

Having an in-depth understanding of my plot, my characters, and where I want the story to go, I have decided to use the traditional linear, closed narrative plot structures. This is because my plot is more abstract than a normal linear narrative, however it is not as free-formed as a non-linear narrative. 

Furthermore although the plot allows for a series and expansion on the original concept, it is a concise and insular storyline which does not warrant an open narrative structure.

Key Points: How to Write a Children's Picture Book

(From the Howcast website)

1. Research structural concepts e.g linear, abstract, closed and open narratives
2. Write 25-28 pages on a universal theme to suit the age group (0-5 years). This theme can be built upon and have added complexity later on. 
3. Make the words vivid - describe what the pictures show. 
4. Develop the characters, setting, plot, conflict and reaction - make the story incite curiosity. 
5. Make sure to include alliteration, rhyme, wordplay and repetition. 
6. Look at illustrators and decide which style is best fitting to the story you're telling and the age you're targeting
7. Read the story aloud, making sure the rhythm and pace is suitable for your story.

The video gave clear instructions in even more detail than this, ensuring that there is no issue with the creation of a children's book. 

Signifiers - Tools to use when creating a children's book

Signifiers: identifying marks and features that resonate within a developing child's memory. These are employed by children's illustrators in order to connect as fast as possible with the young reader, and convey the message of the story without overcomplicating the scenery and therefore losing the child's interest in the plot.

For young children, detail is often lost in favour of bolder, more obvious illustrations. Complex animals are reduced to simplistic concepts with strong features that are most commonly identified with by the general population.

In class, we formed a list of signifiers for 10 animals, before sketching them onto ellipses'.
1. Dog - tail/legs/ears/nose/muzzle/tongue/fur
2. Cat - tail/whiskers/ears/cat eyes/fur
3. Penguin - black/white/beak/egg/webbed feet/flippers
4. Elephant - tusks/trunk/ears/grey/fat/short legs/wrinkles
5. Parrot - beak/colour/claws/wings/tail/perch
6. Lion - mane/teeth/nose/tail/fur/paws/jaws
7. Fish - scales/gills/fins/lips/colour/pattern/eyes
8. Frog - tongue/feet/legs/green/eyes/wide mouth
9. Panda - black/white/bamboo/fluffy/fat/claws/ears
10. Crab - pincers/6 legs/small eyes/shells

These ideas were all put into play when we created our animals. Here are mine.

I have to say, my ability to look past my drawing skills (or lack thereof) improved on the second page.I decided to enhance these by scanning them into the computer and edit them on Illustrator, though I left out the crab.

This exercise meant that we all focussed our attention on drawing the signifiers, instead of the quality of the sketches. I realised that I had no problem with drawing signifiers on animals, and that if I chose to stylise my images and characters, that it wouldn't be a difficult task to use animal characters.

Creating Characters

This morning, we focused on creating a simple, appealing character using a tutorial on Adobe Illustrator.

The main tools we used were Pen, Intersect, Gradient, Ellipse and Paintbrush.

On a simple A4 page, we created the colourful snail, using shading, transparency and a gradient effect to make it a recognisable character.

This is William, a sea-faring snail.

My end result isn't perfect, as I feel the outline of the body could be smoother and more rounded, but I am very pleased with the progress I made.

The tutorial was created by Iaroslav Lazunov on 'Vector Tuts' (click here to be taken to the tutorial)

This tutorial has given me new ideas about the ways in which I can publish the book I intend to make. It has inspired different approaches to characters and has honed my illustrator skills.

PROJECT: CHILDRENS' BOOK

What do children look for in a childrens' book?
This is a question that I had to ask when considering ideas for a book. I created a mind map which encompasses just a few of the possibilities to include in my project.

Mind Map: What do Children Like?

In order to have some form of organisation amongst my thoughts I decided to split the audience, 0-5 years, into the main educational stages - Early, 1-3 years and 4-5 years. I also added the common likes as a fourth strain, in order to allow the possibility of a transitory book.

 This mind mapping exercise enabled me to start planning some of the research that I would then do in order to expand my thought processes and understanding of children's authors.