development

Digital Graphic Narrative

Development

Amy Addison

Shape Task

EvaluationWhat did you like about your image?The thing I liked most about my image of the puppy is the background including the sky, grass and clouds as well as the shading (stroke) used to create a sense of lighting.

I prefer the clouds in my background as I used a tool called drop shadow which essentially creates shadows behind the cloud making them appear as 3D instead of being a 2D image and looking as if they are coming off the paper/screen.

I quite like the way I used the stroke tool which creates two or more different colours within a shape. I used this subtly on the dog with two colours to create shading to give an idea where the light source is coming from.

I think my skills have improved a lot on the image of the guinea pig using the shapes. It’s a lot better than the puppy as this is a full body shot and includes all the detail. I quite like how the two different body colours are blended in together/don’t have any gaps and it looks as realistic as a cartoon animal can get. I quite like how well the colour range works to create detail making the animal look as if it has fur.

What would you improve if you did it again?For the image of the puppy I would improve the outline of the animal due to it only being a medium close up image therefore having no legs, paws or a tail. Although the animal looks like a dog it would look better if the whole subject was there creating a better overall picture.

I would also try to improve on the way I used the stroke tool to create the shading on the dog. I quite liked the way I did it but if I were to do it again it could be in to a lot more depth and detail creating a more realistic look.

The detail on the face, mainly the eyes could have had a lot more detail added to them. This would include some lines to create definition.

If I were to re do the guinea pig image I would change the ears especially the one towards the top of the image simply because it looks out of place, as if it shouldn’t be there. I would change the way it’s feet/claws are placed as they look out of place also. I would like to improve on the colour overlay that I used as this makes it all one colour and next time us the gradient overlay which blends two colours as one so a light brown to a darker brown vice versa to create a more realistic look.

Rotoscope

Evaluation

What did you like about your image?I slowly started using the magnetic lasso tool on the image of the love bird. I used this on the beak as it was an awkward shape therefore this tool made it a lot easier to complete. I quite like how easy it goes around shapes and is a fast method.

I have created another picture using the magnetic lasso tool (rotoscoping) of a cat. I like how well and easy it was to go around and create the outline of the animal and how simple it was to create the detail on the face e.g. the eyes, nose, mouse and whisker spots.

What would you improve if you did it again?As much as I think this is a really quick method to complete work faster I find it quite difficult to use. Instead of creating an animal with different shapes, warping them together and making sure they all match, this magnetic lasso tool is complicated. I find that going around different areas of an animal and trying to get them all to fit together and blend without creating any gaps and obvious use of this tool is quite challenging.

I find that when using the magnetic lasso tool it creates sharp edges which creates a harsh look and doesn’t blend in well where as the shapes are smooth and create a kind look blending in nicely with the other shape, this can be seen in the image of the love bird.

The picture of the cat that I have rotoscoped was quite simple apart from trying to create the different shading and texture on the animal. If I were to do this next time I would add some texture from the original picture.

Text Based

EvaluationWhat did you like about your image?I like how simple it is to create some complex pieces of work. An example of this is crating the name with a picture inside it. It looks confusing but it’s relatively simple to do. There are a lot of different settings/tools that are used when creating these different types of text but when knowing where they are and what they do helps create the style you want quicker.

I like how the character tool works with how spacious or how cramped the text can go. This helps a lot instead of messing about with different fonts and trying to get the correct size.

The things I liked most about exploring through these different tools were the layers and the clipping mask.

I found the layers quite interesting as you can do so much to a piece of text to make it interesting by simply looking through the options available on the layer styles.

I also found the clipping mask fascinating as I didn’t know it was so simple to complete and it looks good.

What would you improve if you did it again?I think the only thing I would improve on would be to take more time messing around with settings to find the certain text I’m wanting to use, an example would be the layer styles as there are so many different things we can do to change the overall text.

I would also look for a more visual image to use when creating a clipping mask as the one I used didn’t really fill up a lot of the text.

Comic Book

Evaluation

What did you like about your image?After the first image I realised it was quite an easy/simple task to do. I create four different images but In my opinion the first image of Cara Delevigne the model looks better than the rest. I think this is due to the fact that this image is a lot lighter than the rest therefore being able to see more definition. I also changed around the cut-out in the filter gallery more that I had with the rest of the images. As this was my first image I didn’t want to go too abstract with this so it is very in the middle, quitecomic yet at the same time very realistic. This is a god mixture. The last image I did of the band ‘Catfish and the bottlemen’ also went really well and as I’ve had a look around at the different styles I could use e.g. in the filter gallery and the layer pallet I decided to make the picture look very unrealistic and abstract. I think it gives it an eyrie look yet at the same time quite extraordinary.

What would you improve if you did it again?The only thing I wasn’t too keen on when dong this task was the threshold. I understood that it made the image have more or less shadows, creating a darker or lighter image but I think the image looked just fine without this. I think the filter gallery using the cut-out and the different styles on the layer pallet were enough. It creates just enough of a comic look without the threshold. The second image I did which is of the chart singer Ed Sheeran Has a very light threshold and I think this makes the over all picture look a little displeasing and not as good as the others I have created. I didn’t want to have a really dark threshold as there would be limited detail on his face.

Photography

Happy Excitement

Lonely Sad

Evaluation

What did you like about your image?This project took a while to start as we were struggling to find anyone who would model the four different emotions as non of us were too keen on doing this. Eventually I asked a friend if she would and she agreed. We got more photographs than what we wanted which was great. After seeing the photographs we had on the camera we decided we would take a few more just to be safe and have a range on different types of pictures. A friend in the group had a great idea to take a picture of a picture through the application Snapchat on phones. We thought this as the majority of people use this now and it seemed like a great idea, would appeal to people and is quite artistic. I prefer the the idea of the Snapchat as it’s artistic but I think the emotions my friend used worked really well therefore I have used three images of my friend and the one using Snapchat.

What would you improve if you did it again?If I were to do this again I think we should have planned out previous to taking the photographs who would like to model the four emotions as we figured out 5 minutes in to the project that no one in the group wanted to be in the photographs. I would try and improve how the focus was in the first few photos. The first few of my friend were very blurry and I couldn’t seem to focus on her very well but the Snapchat ones are much better. The pictures that are blurry are also quite bright and I think we should have taken the In a lower lit part of the building.

Illustration

Evaluation

What did you like about your image?To find inspiration and ideas of what I could draw I searched on Google drawings of animals and came across a cat. I thought this would have been quite a simple image to draw. I realised that I could not copy an exact cat so I gathered detail and facialfeatures from a handful of other images and created my own drawing of a cats face. I quite like how well I drew the eyes and the outline of the face including the ears has gone quite well. I think the eyes, ears and nose are my favourite aspects of the cats face. I quite like that the drawing is in black and white helping it stand out due to shading but In my opinion the shadingcould have one a lot better.

What would you improve if you did it again?If I were to redraw my picture I would change the way I did the shading. It can look good on parts but certain pieces of the face look a little dull and don’t have much detail due to the shading being poor. I think I would add the body of the cat to make it a full body image instead of just the head. The whole image looks a little boring just because of this fact of the cat nothaving a body and if it did have a body it would add much more interest to it.

Initial Ideas

I have chosen these two images from Google to show the writing on the pictures/scenes as this is what I am going to do. I think this is a great idea as I will have many pages if I was to double the amount and I think it would look a lot better with writing over the top. I will not make the text too big as the whole page will have too much information on it.

I found this text and thought it would look great as the title on the front cover as it is really eye catching. The words are quite well spaced out and the letters are clear to read which would be great for children who are learning to read or don’t do too well with small print text. It has really good shapes and bends to it as well as the old style it has been wrote which helps with the eye catching. I think it would be a great font to use due to all the above I have stated, that it looks like quite an old font and the fairytale/book it quite old itself. It has been around for many years so the combination of the two would work quite well. I think the only improvement here would be to add colour just like the other two fonts I have shown.

ProposalDimensions

Number of pages: 12. Dimension of pages: 24 X 27 cm

Story Overview

The boy who cried wolf.This story is about a mischievous young Sheppard who looks after the sheep on a farm. Being bored one day he decided to his amusement to cry out to all the villagers that a wolf is chasing the sheep. He repeats this three times but when a wolf actually does show up and chases the sheep nobody believes him. The moral of the story is to be honest and not tell lies.

Export Format

PDF

Advantages: It is viewable on nearly any device.

Disadvantages: Takes up a lot of space. Big file.

Deadline

18/12/14

Audience

I will aim my book to the audience of children being around the age of 6-7. I will do this as at that age their imagination is very wide. This can lead to a lot of fibbing/lying and the moral of this story is to prevent people telling lies as it can get them in to trouble. The story is for both male and females and any class e.g. working, middle, upper class. I will be writing the story in English therefore aimed at a British audience and any other country who speaks the English language.

Production Methods

As this task will take place on Photoshop I have decided to look at the four types of methods we have previously done. I will pick out the ones I am best at to give myself a better chance at creating a better book. The two methods I prefer are Photography and Shape task. I’ve been thinking that photography could be a really good way of creating the background for the book e.g. the fields, trees, hills etc. I would then upload the images taken on to the computer and change them via filter gallery to create a more unrealistic, cartoon affect. For the animals, people and props I would like to create these using the shape task we have undertaken and warping. I find this a little more simple than rotoscoping but if anything becomes difficult on these three subjects I will use rotoscoping to create the best cartoon people, animals and props I possibly can.

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

There is clear understanding as to what you’re

wanting to create, the explanations helping create

a clearer picture in the brain to understand what

you want your final product to look like. You have

gone into great detail into what and what wont

work for you, showing a clear understanding in

what you work best at and what is going to help

you create something you’re happy with.

Make sure to really explain what the storyline is

about.

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

further developed?

The mind map is strong and detailed, showing you

have thought about everything you would want to

include and the different options you would

perhaps use that would help you create your book.

The mood board is showing you have thought

about exactly what different designs there are that

could work for you, showing detailed annotations

at the side with what different techniques there are

and different appearances.

The mind map could go onto having more different

idea’s on, perhaps going on to talking about the level

of language and how much text you are wanting on

each page and what amount of text would fit with

what age group.

The mood board could go on to talking about what

you could change, adding ideas from one picture

into another combining the two. Also talk about what

you wouldn’t use and why, this helping to cancel out

certain elements of image. For example you perhaps

not liking the specific features on some parts of the

background.


Great production method analysis that goes into

vast detail. Its good because having various

production ideas is a great way to decipher which

one is best.

Could be more surer of the target audience it is

going to be aimed at. Could have giving a better

explanation of the story plot with detail etc…


further developed?

A lot of thought went into the ideas. Even mention

how you are going to make the production. Also, all

content is clearly layout in a tidy fashion.

Perhaps find some more fonts. One that stands out

more and people are going to notice.


You have detailed and explained most of your

writing really well, especially your production

methods section.

You have talked about morals in your story

overview which is good.

You could add advantages and disadvantages in

the export format section.


further developed?

You have mentioned a lot of font types and styles,

stories and illustration techniques, some of them

are well detailed in your mind map.

Your mood board has great examples, especially

your pictures.

Your analysis on the text mood board is great as

well.

You could maybe talk more about the stories or the

font types more, and maybe talk about how the

different parts of your mind map go together.

There is not much improvement to be done for your

mood boards, maybe talk about the other photos a

bit.

Feedback Summary

Sum up your feedback.

I think a lot of this is really good information. I agree with a lot of it and if I am going to undertake/carry out these improvements and consider all the feedback I think I might end up with a really good proposal, mid map and mood board.

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

I agree with a lot of the feedback I have been given. Now it has been told to me I can see what I could improve on and what I can leave due to it being up to standard. I agree that I could extend my mind map to add more ideas, although pieces link together and create and understanding of what I am aiming for I could still put a lot more information on there. I could also add a little bit more detail to my story outline but at the same time I don’t want it to be too long and become boring to read.

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

I don’t really disagree with much of the feedback I have been given. If I were to pick something out though it would be that I wouldn’t have to put any more advantages and disadvantages in the file format section. Apart from this I wouldn’t disagree with anything. I think all the feedback is fair and I could improve a lot if I were to consider and undertake these actions.

1 –There was once a Sheppard boy who was bored as he stood on the hillside looking after the village sheep.

2 – He had the idea to entertain himself.

3 – He took a great big breath and sang out “Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is chasing the sheep!

4 –The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy scare the wolf away. To their surprise their was no wolf. “Don’t cry wolf Sheppard boy, when there is no wolf.” Shouted one of the villagers. The boy laughed.

5 – The villagers went back down the hill and back to work, but the boy again had the same idea to yell out loud to amuse himself.

6 – “Wolf! Wolf! It’s chasing the sheep”

7 –He laughed as he saw the villagers come running up the hill. Again they saw there was no wolf. “Save your frightened song for when there really is something wrong.’ A villager sternly said.

8 – The villagers once again went down the hill and back to work. The boy turned to check on the sheep but to his surprise saw a real wolf.

9 – He cried out to the villagers for help. “A wolf! A wolf! There really is a wolf!

10 –The villagers thought he was trying to fool them. “He’s just playing silly tricks again.” said a villager. So they didn’t come.

11 – At sunset everyone wondered why the Sheppard hadn’t returned to the village with the sheep. “Where is Sheppard boy?” They all questioned.

12 – They went up the hill to find the boy. “Here, here. I found him.” shouted one of the villagers. They found him crying.

13

13 – “There really was a wolf” wept the boy. “Why didn’t you come?” An old man tried to cheer the boy up. “Nobody believes a liar...even when they are telling the truth.” He said.

Script in storyboard

Page 1 - There was once a Sheppard boy who was bored as he stood on the hillside looking after the village sheep. Page 2 - He had the idea to entertain himself. Page 3 - He took a great big breath and sang out “Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is chasing the sheep!Page 4 - The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy scare the wolf away. To their surprise their was no wolf. “Don’t cry wolf Sheppard boy, when there is no wolf.” Shouted one of the villagers. The boy laughed.Page 5 - The villagers went back down the hill and back to work, but the boy again had the same idea to yell out loud to amuse himself.Page 6 - “Wolf! Wolf! It’s chasing the sheep” Page 7 - He laughed as he saw the villagers come running up the hill. Again they saw there was no wolf. “Save your frightened song for when there really is something wrong.’ A villager sternly said.Page 8 - The villagers once again went down the hill and back to work. The boy turned to check on the sheep but to his surprise saw a real wolf.Page 9 - He cried out to the villagers for help. “A wolf! A wolf! There really is a wolf!Page 10 - The villagers thought he was trying to fool them. “He’s just playing silly tricks again.” said a villager. So they didn’t come. Page 11 - At sunset everyone wondered why the Sheppard hadn’t returned to the village with the sheep. “Where is Sheppard boy?” They all questioned.Page 12 - They went up the hill to find the boy. “Here, here. I found him.” shouted one of the villagers. They found him crying.Page 13 - “There really was a wolf” wept the boy. “Why didn’t you come?” An old man tried to cheer the boy up. “Nobody believes a liar...even when they are telling the truth.” He said.

Final script

Page 1 – There once was a shepherd boy who was bored as he stood on the hillside looking after the village sheep. Page 2 - He had the idea to make himself laugh by playing a trick on the villagers.Page 3 - He took a great big breath and sang out “Wolf! Wolf! A wolf is chasing the sheep!”Page 4 - The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy scare the wolf away. They were surprised when they didn’t see a wolf. “Don’t cry wolf shepherd boy, when there is no wolf.” Shouted one of the villagers. The boy laughed “I tricked you”.Page 5 - The villagers went back down the hill and back to work, but the boy again had the same idea to yell out loud to amuse himself.Page 6 - “Wolf! Wolf! It’s chasing the sheep”. He laughed as he saw the villagers come running up the hill. Page 7 - Again they saw there was no wolf. “Save your frightened song for when there really is something wrong.’ A villager said angrily. “I fooled you”. The boy laughed again.Page 8 - The villagers once again went down the hill and back to work. The boy turned to check on the sheep but saw a real wolf.Page 9 - He cried out to the villagers for help. “A wolf! A wolf! There really is a wolf!Page 10 – Everyone thought he was playing silly tricks again. “He’s just trying to fool us.” said a villager. So they didn’t come. Page 11 - At sunset everyone wondered why the shepherd didn’t return to the village with the sheep. “Where is shepherd boy?” They all questioned.Page 12 - They went up the hill to find the boy. “Here, here. I found him.” shouted one of the villagers. They found him crying.Page 13 - “There really was a wolf, it’s scared the sheep away.” cried the boy. “Why didn’t you come?” An old man tried to cheer the boy up. “Nobody believes a liar...even when they are telling the truth.” He said.

https://www.storyarts.org/library/aesops/stories/boy.html

This is the original script I found on Google. I used a lot of this in my storyboard but improvised a little to change certain parts to speech boxes in the storyboard instead of in written text boxes underneath. I will follow this when writing the actual book.

Digital Flat Plans