505: painting process

The problem with making a lot of images to work together in one book is that they all must have a certain level of consistency. I'm finding it hard to judge whether my images work well as a series, so I'm finding myself redoing paintings when I don't really have time.  I think it's particularly hard as the book jumps around a lot of different types of imagery, with no one constant environment or character.

There was something troubling me about the paintings I was making, they just seemed a little flat. I decided to start painting without an under sketch (though they were mostly planned out as thumbs in my sketchbook) and this loosened it up and I preferred this way of working.

505: Varoom 05

I was given a copy of Varoom 05 to look at and it sort of reaffirmed what I had been thinking about the practice of children's illustration.

There was a whole section devoted to children's illustration and interviews with several artists who generally came to the same conclusion of not following pre-conceived notions of 'child-friendliness' is the best way to go about making a picture book.

For me it has been and is about balance. As much as I'd love to make something wholly abstract for maybe, my own benefit, I don't think that would suit children so well. When I think about what I liked as a child, I liked big images with lots to look at. Exciting things like tigers and forests. There's a place for more abstract books but that's not what I'm going for in this project. I think it's more than possible to create something that can be enjoyed by children and adults but I would always cater it to the children first (everything that can be enjoyed by a child can be enjoyed by an adult but maybe not the other way around). I am not fond of things that market themselves as for children when it's just a ruse to cater to adults with some sort of high-art agenda on their children. I'd rather be open and be like, hey this is an art book with some narrative that's for adults who like to look at pictures!

505: composition thumbnails + formats

By the time of Tuesday's tutorial I had already sketched out thumbnails for the book but I then had decided to change the format! It was harder than expected to translate the designs from landscape to portrait at a slightly different ratio (1:2 to 4:5) but it was ok in the end.

landscape format example of sketches

portrait versions

 I had already established the words for the book so far and they kind of rhyme so I am hoping that this will add some pacing to the book. I feel like there could be better wording choices in some but this makes it run a little smoother I think. Also the frog is a weird choice but they are sort of associated with spooky things (witches)

Do the trees grow too high?
They are home.
Does the tiger smile too wide?
He is happy.
Does the snake hiss to sharp?
He is afraid of you.
Are the owl's eyes too large?
She uses them to see in the dark.
Does the frog leap too fast?
He's late for work!
Is the ocean too vast?
Room for the whale and all his friends.
Is the night time too dark?
Take a torch.

505: group tutorial feedback / changes to format

I was incredibly relieved to hear that the printing/ production of the book is not really an important element of the project, and that it's worth doing slowly and well when I have time for it, maybe doing it for the show. In the meantime, getting the images together in a dummy book to present how it would be put together is all that is needed but this can still have care taken over it! I have now booked a print slot for May 4th and I think this is enough time to get the book done. This all also gives me more time for COP, but also to put more time into the rest of the range for 505.

I've also reconsidered the format of the book after realising that because everything was a double page spread it might get a bit tricky with gutters and aligning spreads together when not perfect bound. Ben suggested that I consider having one page of text to one page of illustration to avoid this, but it also gives the image itself space to breathe, whilst what I'm making already is maybe a little chaotic.

I made these type tests before I thought about this consideration but it was good to play with and I'll probably stick with Futura as a result. I also made this image before I redecided the book format but practice is practice

505: thinking

I had a late night panic about my project realising how much the COP and 505 deadlines clashed. I feel pretty fine in regards to making the images themselves but printing them/ getting it all made is a source of huge panic! If I was to outsource as planned I'd have to finish the book before the COP book which just isn't really feasible right now.

Printing the book at college might be difficult but I have more control over it... It might not be as well made but being able to do it quicker (eleven days quicker) and not have the anxiety of waiting for it to come by courier is also a huge weight off my shoulders and I think I might be willing to sacrifice one for the over. I'd also have control of small things such as no printing logos, and my own end papers.

I know I may not be able to print in the digital print resource BUT I have printed on my own paper in the studio printers before and know it's possible and looks ~ok~. I'm wondering at this point how much is based on the product itself and not the idea of the product- in regards to marking. Thinking about my project in terms of gaining *marks* is really not how I like to go about things but the limited time and pressure is making me consider these sorts of things.

My plan is to hand bind the book hard bound, and make a dust jacket for it also. I don't know why I didn't realise I could make a dust jacket myself! I don't like them as much as hard bound printed covers but it's really the best I can think of in this situation.

I also realised that I'm an idiot for thinking a square format book would be necessarily better than a portrait one. Landscape is maybe more traditionally associated with children's books and square might look quite nice in the spreads but I can get a bigger size with a portrait book and they're not that uncommon either. I like the 8x10" format as it's a little fatter than A4, though might scale it down a notch for printing purposes.

505: final proposal

505: a range

I had honestly forgotten that the whole point of this project was to have a range of things to apply our illustration on to! I was completely caught up in the idea of making a book. I know it's not *real* but at the same time I don't really want to "sell-out"* and plaster things on every merchandise possible. Ben suggested the idea of a little badge or something for the child to wear after reading the book, like "I AM NOT AFRAID!" with a cute illustration. I like this because it interacts with the book itself rather than just taking from it. I also thought about the idea of a book that a child can write their fears and think of an explanation/ rationalise them like in the format of the book. This would probably have to be done with the aid of a parent, but I think that's a nice thing.

 If there's a nice enough image in the book I suppose it could be translated to prints/ posters, merch like tshirts or book bags, but it's not something I'm hugely interested in. If there's a particularly significant character, maybe like if there is a spread of a nice tiger it could be translated into a plush toy/ shaped cushion- which is quite nice because children often seek comfort from cuddly toys when they are sad/ afraid.

I plan on making the book a physical object but the merchandise could be mock ups/ extensive designs I suppose! I think binding books by hand is nice but I really like the idea of having a hardcover book with an illustrated design on it (not possible with the facilities/ skills I have) so plan on getting it printed through a third party. I'm very aware that means I'll have to print it soon so I'm getting on with the project fast now! The objects that go with the book can come afterwards.





(* Honestly I think it's fine just not suitable for this project)

505: story concepts + storyboarding them

I finally got around to making some ideas. I'm not a writer so I'd mostly been avoiding it but surprise: it didn't help! I decided to write the ideas out first because it's a lot quicker than drawing and I just wanted to get ideas out. These were all vague notes and not what writing would actually be in the book, which I found to be a helpful way of working.

I had three main concepts:

1. a narrative based story about a character hiding from/  crushing fears by being really small/ really big with a vague sort of moral about how being normal sized and just facing your fears is more helpful!
2. a purely visual book of a character's / your perspective's journey through several *scary* environments but the character is always brave and happy
3. a simply written book of 'explaining' scary things to children but mostly in a fun way. The book would follow a basic formula of "is X too Y? (explanation)". Basically the same as those sketches I did before. I think this one has opportunity to have fun with type/ lettering though that's always risky

I then storyboarded them in a basic way to get my head around them visually. I couldn't see the second story being engaging so focused more on 1 and 3. I was worried because the first concept seemed to me like the one with the most opportunity to be really sophisticated in terms of children's illustration but I felt much more confidence in the third. Ben showed me Paul Rand's 'Sparkle And Spin' which too is simple in concept but has some really engaging and playful imagery. I don't want to miss out on an opportunity by not going with the first story but I can't get my head around how to make this into a beautiful narrative particularly in the time I have. Looking at Rand and others like Blexbolex I think I still have the opportunity to make the third idea something good if I get the pacing and imagery right. It too could have a subtle narrative, so i've gone for that one!

Paul Rand

505: some ideas and silly sketches

One idea re: FEARS was that I would take one thing that may be deemed too much and *scary* and explain why, whether that's a silly or real explanation.  "Is X too Y? That's because Z"

It's a really simple formula and I think it could be quite bland. I also wonder if the book should be more narrative based because I know that's what I preferred as a child. Still, I acknowledge I'm running out of time.

  I made these images really quickly after feeling a bit inspired by Jay Cover's latest book Nature Calls (the lasso tool in Photoshop is a quick way to mimic paper cut)... but I think the simplicity of the idea + images is maybe a bit boring... or not as much as I could do. It's fun though and I want to keep that playfulness in whatever image I do make.

I also learned how to bend text in Photoshop but that also needs a bit more work to look 'smooth'. Graphic design is not my passion

505: you should plan

This morning I thought about how I hadn't worked on 505 for a while so decided to paint. I put absolutely minimum thought into it and got the exact result you'd expect from that (bad) which has reinstalled the idea that I really need to make an idea before I make!! This was a mess with only the vaguest idea of fears I suppose.

bad_painting.jpeg

I read this article on The Guardian titled Can children's books help build a better world? I'm not looking to do anything world changing but I noticed this statement particularly 

"...great children’s books help them make sense of their experiences, connect them to the rest of the world, and show them they were not alone."

Making sense of experiences is what I'm trying to do I think. It's all very abstract, and at this point I think it's time to make a decision if I'm going to broach the subject in an abstract or more figurative way- not so much in imagery but in narrative. I very quickly looked up some other books on the subject, I noticed a recurring theme of embodying *fear* as monster and that instantly feels like maybe something to avoid.

505: Bruno Munari- Drawing the Sun

I saw this book when browsing in Colours May Vary the other day. I didn't buy it because it hadn't a price tag and I was afraid of the price but quickly browsed through it. It seemed interesting, a way of expressing a sort of abstract idea to children which I'm interested in. I mostly just liked its atmosphere, more than anything it was just a reminder of how you can push the genre of children's books. Still, it doesn't feel wholly like a kid's book. I do wonder how much a child would actually enjoy it. Come to think of it, is that what it's marketed as? Just because it is mostly visual and simple writing and of a -tame- subject, am I assuming too much?

On another note I quite liked the format of it. Mostly when I think of children's books I think BIG but this was cute... can a small book still be immersive?

505: sketchbook progress

I've been drawing more but not getting very far and I'm now at the point of having to really buckle down and make some ideas! This is by far the thing I have the biggest criticism I have for myself in this project, because it's so open I've just been taking it as an opportunity to mess around visually (or play rather) and whilst I think that's really important I've maybe taken it… too far. The next step is to storyboard idea(s). If I've learnt anything from this batch of sketchbook work is that I'm enjoying looser work but also that my drawings are lacking depth.