2. Does your final product reflect your
original intentions?
• I believe that my final product does reflect my original intentions as I have included elements found
through my planning and research which I believe work successfully in a children's book.
• there where several techniques that I thought worked well from the books that I looked at which I
decided to incorporate in my book. In the book the Gruffalo there where several different layout
techniques including, spaces left within the images for text, and a mixture of full page illustrations
and pages which had several small illustrations on them with text underneath. I though these these
techniques worked well as they made the book more interesting, exciting and educational for the
children to read as the text within the images helped them to associate the words of the story with
what was happening, aiding them in the understanding of the book and therefore helping them in
the learning to read process. The variety in the page styles also helped to retain the children's
interest as it provided something visually different and therefore more interesting for them to look
at meaning that they wouldn't’t get bored and would find the learning to read process more
enjoyable.
• The characters I created look similar to their initial mood boards as I have used different elements
from the mood boards and combined them together to create the exact character that I wanted, in
some cases such as with the princesses face and upper body I have used images directly from my
Moodboard to rotoscope for elements of a character.
• The style of my final book is very similar to that of my digital flat plan with only a few changes that
have been made to help my book look more aesthetically pleasing, I even used the majority of
elements created in the digital flat plan within my final book.
• I used my story board as a template for my book and stuck mostly to the layout and design decided
upon within it with only a few adjustments made relating to the placement (mostly of text) as once
the book was made it was easier to see what looked more aesthetically pleasing and less cramped
as I could see how all of the components could actually fit on the page.
• On the other hand there where a few elements of my book which didn't’t reflect my initial
intentions as I initially decided to that I would have basic characters on a more complex
background, however I decided that in the end I wanted to have more detailed characters on a
more basic background as this would make the narrative stand out more as well as providing a
plainer background for the text to sit on making it stand out more.
3. Spaces for text within the
picture
Several small illustrations
on a single page
Muted colours Generally quite
illustrations (not too
much going on)
Full page illustrations Serif font
The
Gruffalo
Were
going
on a
Bear
Hunt
Bears in
the
night
My
Book-
Georgia
and the
Dragon
6. How well have you constructed your
images?
• I have constructed my images in a way to ensure that the page style (realistic cartoon) stays
consistent throughout the book.
• I decided that I wanted to use a muted colour scheme throughout my book as I felt this
would give the book an older look which I wanted as I wanted to emphasise that the story is
set in the past, I feel that I was successful in creating the muted colour scheme and aged feel
to the book as the colours aren't particularly bright however not too dull as to make the book
look boring I was able to prevent the colours I used throughout the book from clashing by
comparing them and editing them slightly before using them on their separate pages this
ensured that the whole book looked aesthetically pleasing.
• I was able to create a setting where it looked like the characters where meant to be a part of
it I did this by creating the style of the background to contain a few more detailed elements
like the characters, such as the throne, gates, cave etc. this helped to make the character and
background look more like the same style. I was also able to help make the characters look
like they were in the setting by adding shadows to the images in some places, however I feel
that the appearance of the book could be improved slightly if I added a few more shadows in
to some of the images.
7. • The majority of the texture in my book is created through rotoscoping such as the characters
clothes I decided to create most of the texture like this as it helps to give more of a cartoon effect
as each rotoscoped shape is a single block colour meaning there is less shading than there would be
in a more realistic looking image, I feel like this style has worked well in creating the realistic
cartoon look I was aiming for. However in some places I have used the addition of an image overlay
with dropped opacity to add texture to area which are a little more complex and I am therefore
unable to rotoscope easily such as the prince’s chain mail, this helps to create a more realistic look
to the book however I feel that if I used it as the main way to add texture then the book may loose
its cartoon feel which I aimed to create.
• After constructing my images there are some weaknesses I have found in the way I constructed
them. I feel that the choice of the rotoscoping technique meant that I was unable to create book in
which the characters completely blended into the background making the image look as if the
characters where within the scene I feel that this was due to the lack of time I had to create detail
within the background as the rotoscoping process was quite time consuming if a realistic image was
going to be created. Pre existing books which I have looked as mostly tend to use an illustration
technique, where the images are painted and scanned in, this technique is less time consuming
when it comes to creating a realistic effect, meaning they are able to include more detail within
their backgrounds to help the characters blend in as well as providing the addition of extra
elements for the reader to look at. To improve the way my current images have been constructed I
could add in more shadows around objects such as the characters, by rotoscoping a shape, lowering
the opacity and softening the edges, this would help these elements to blend more into the scene
and look as if they are in the setting more than they currently look.
Rotoscoped
texture
Image overlay
texture
8. How well have you used text to anchor
your images
• I believe that I have been able to create text and images that work well together to easily tell the story I have chosen.
• The images I have created reinforce the actions and narrative being told through the text and work as a visual aid to help the reader understand what
is happening in the story this is important as the readers will be learning to read and this will hopefully make the process easier for them.
• I have emphasised the parts of text where a character is speaking by making it white, warping it, and making it flow from one character to another, I
feel this works well as it allows the reader to clearly identify when a character is speaking in contrast to narrative text, however I have had to make
the text smaller in order for it to fit within the image, this is an area I could improve as the younger readers may find it harder to read the smaller
text.
• The placement of the text on the page I believe also works particularly well as it is placed in order from the top left to the bottom right meaning
there is no confusion for the reader as to which part of the story comes next as it is placed in the natural reading direction, this is beneficial as it helps
to make the reading process as easy as possible for the reader.
• I feel that there are some improvements that could be made regarding the text which I have used in my book. Firstly I believe that when it comes to
the text I have used for speech I have written too much and I feel that this should be more brief to help the book look more aesthetically pleasing
and easier to read as the text would be less cramped, it would also allow me to use a larger text size, adding to the ease of reading. The book bears in
the night uses minimal text throughout the book, this makes the reading easier for the person reading the book.
• Another improvement I feel I could make is to add quotation marks for when a character Is speaking as although this is made obvious through the
editing of the text, the addition of quotation marks, would help the reader to learn about and understand correct grammar. The book the Gruffalo
uses quotation marks; although the speech is harder to spot as unlike my book it is in the same text style as the rest of the text, it still aids the reader
in learning about how punctuation works.
• The wording of the text is also more complex than I intended for it to be meaning that the book is more suitable for the older end of my target
audience. In order to make my book more suitable for the entirety of my target audience, some of the more complex words could be changed to less
complex words of the same meaning. The book bears in the night uses basic vocabulary, repetition, and minimal text to help appal to a younger
audience.
• In order to improve the text I have used in my book I should proof read my work, and add in any extra needed punctuation and change the wording
of the book to make the text simpler and the speech shorter. After making any changes I should then proof read my work again to ensure there are
no more mistakes etc.
9. Is your product suitable for your
audience?• In my proposal I set out to create a book for mixed gender 3-5 year olds, which
would also have to appeal to parents as they would be the ones to buy the book, I
feel that I have been able to create a book that successfully targets this audience.
• The vocabulary I have chosen for my book is fairly basic however it contains a few
slightly more complex word in order to challenge the children who are learning to
read, this I feel makes my book aimed slightly more at the older end of my target
audience, but this depends on the individual reading level of the child, so although
this is something that I may consider changing it is not a particularly important
issue. Another thing I would consider reviewing is the wording of the story as I feel
that by changing this slightly the story would flow better therefore making the
book more enjoyable to read. The book bears in the night uses less complex
vocabulary throughout the book in order to appeal to a younger audience as this
makes the book easier to read and understand.
• I believe that I have successfully been able to appeal to both genders in my book
as I haven't included anything stereotypically gender orientated for either gender
meaning that the book remains aimed at both, I think this has been helped as I
chose to choose an adventure style story as this appeals to both boys and girls,
rather than something like e.g. a fairy tale which tends to be aimed at more of a
female audience.
• As also mentioned in my proposal my book needs to be appealing towards parents
as they will be buying the book for their children I believe that I have created a
product that would appeal to this audience as I believe that I have produce a book
that looks of a good quality due to the realistic cartoon style, I feel that my book
would also appeal to parents as it could be seen as educational as it has historical
elements to it.
10. What do you like/dislike about the
techniques you have used?
• I decided to rotoscope almost the entire of my book as I felt that this was the technique that I was best at when where were practising different
styles at the start of this project, I had also decided that I like the realistic cartoon effect you could create by using this style and I thought that this
would create the best look for my book. On the other hand there where a few downsides to using this technique as I found out that it was quite time
consuming creating something to the level of detail that I wanted using the rotoscope technique, another thing was that in order to rotoscope I
needed to find images as close as possible to the things that I wanted to create online meaning that I often had to reach a compromise as I wan never
able to find the exact thing that I wanted to use however once I had completed the book I feel that I was still able to produce a piece of work that I
am happy with and I was able to create the things that I wanted to even though it did take longer than I predicted.
• The other technique that I used a couple of times within my book was an image overlay with a dropped opacity, which I placed on top of pre
rotoscoped elements of my book to help add more detailed texture, I feel that this effect worked extremely well, was easy to do and wasn't
particularly time consuming, I however wouldn't’t of wanted to use it for all of the textures within my book as I feel that if it was over used then the
book may loose some of its cartoon like feel.
• The techniques which I used are completely different to the other books I looked at whilst doing my research. All of the other books I looked at used
an illustration technique where the images where either drawn or painted; this allowed them to create the images easier as they didn’t have to work
from pre existing material. This technique would allow them to place the characters in a greater variety of positions and create more realistic texture
and detail. As they would be able to do this in the time scale as this process is less time consuming than rotoscoping. This technique would also
enable he artist to easily make the characters look as if they were in the setting as the characters and the background wouldn’t be created as
separate components in the way that rotoscoped images are.
• A weakness which I found using the rotoscope technique is that you need to ensure that a high resolution is used otherwise when the created
component is resized to a larger sized it will become pixilated, meaning the image quality decreases. When creating my dragon character I forgot to
check the resolution of the image, and I created a much smaller image meaning that when I stretched it became pixilated, I therefore had to spend
extra time trying to alter my image to improve the quality of the character I had created without completely remaking the character as I didn’t have
time to restart the character. Therefore in the future to improve the process of rotoscoping components of my book I will check the resolution
before I start creating the component.
Image overlay texture
Completely rotoscoped character
11. What do you like/dislike about how
your final product looks?
• Overall I am very pleased with the way my finished book looks as I feel that it looks
like a good quality product, I believe that I was able to create this look through my
choice of production techniques as I decided to rotoscope the images something
that I felt was one of the techniques that I was better at. I also like the way the
colour scheme I have chosen looks as I think that it is effective in creating an old
look to the book I also think that the colours all compliment each other well
resulting in an aesthetically pleasing product.
• On the other hand I am a little unsure about how the warped text looks on some
of the pages as I think that some of the words look a little too distorted this would
perhaps be something I would improve in if I where to make the book again by
spending more time warping the text to ensure the words don’t look too
distorted.
• Another thing which I feel that could be improved is the thought bubble used on
the last page, I feel that this could look better if the fade on the outside of the
shape was equal the whole way round as it would make it look more cloud like,
this could be done in the same way as the fade on the individual images, rather
than using a soft edge eraser. This would save time as well as creating a more even
blur effect
12. Why did you include the content you
used?
• I decided I wanted to create a realistic cartoon style effect for my book as I felt that
it would create a visually interesting look, which would therefore make it more
likely that my target audience would read and enjoy my book, I also chose this
style as it was easy to create using rotoscoping which was one of the Photoshop
techniques I was better at meaning that it would be easier to produce a higher
quality piece of work
• I chose to keep the setting of my book within the medieval period, as I would be
able to use historical imagery within my book which was more likely to make it
appeal to the parents of my target audience who would be buying the book as
they would see it as more of an educational book which is what they would tend
to buy over other books.
• I used the style of font that I did as it was a sans style font which is proven to be
easier for younger children to read as the letters naturally follow on to the next
letter, this helped me to target my audience as the reading experience would be
easier for them and therefore more enjoyable meaning that they were more likely
to read my book. I also chose this style of font as I believe that it fits well with the
imagery as it has a slightly old style feel. Other books I looked at such as the
Gruffalo, bears in the night and were going on a bear hunt all also use this style of
font
• The colours I chose where all muted so that the book would look aesthetically
pleasing. I decided to use muted colours as they create an old feeling for the book
reinforcing the fact that it was set in the past
13. What signs, symbols or codes have
your used in your work?
• My choice of colours for my book where used to create an old feeling and
emphasise the fact that my story was set in the past the muted and
washed out tones where used to create an aged look, which I believe look
effective, if I had decided to use overly bright colours the time of the
setting may of become less clear to the reader.
• I decided that my story should have a rural setting as as well as this being
the original setting for the folk tale I also feel like it helps to portray a
peaceful and isolated feeling this helps to add to the terror of the
character of the dragon as in contrast to the setting it is even more un-
peaceful and threatening and it makes the reader feel as if the kingdom is
helpless as it is isolated therefore making the story seem more dramatic
and exciting to read.
• I chose to make the characters in look like realistic cartoons as I feel that
this helps to create the impression to the readers that this is a real story,
therefore making it more interesting to read as you are able to connect
more with how the characters would be feeling.
14. What representations can be found in your work?
• In my work I purposefully set out to represent women in a way where they are
seen just as strong/ powerful as men, I therefore did this by adapting the story
to make the main character and heroine female and emphasising this point by
making her save the prince (a man) I decided to do this as I believe that it is
important to get children to understand and support gender role equality from
a young age so that they feel like they are able to do whatever they wish with
their life, I feel like I was successful in this representation and therefore getting
my message across in this book.
• I used the image of the crown in order to identify the king, and emphasise his
power this helps him to stand out more as his intended character as he is
meant to be seen as above/ in charge of the other characters the crown helps
with this as it is generally used to connote power.
• The representation of the cross used on the princes armour could be
interpreted in a couple of different ways people living within the united
kingdom my recognise that it is Saint Georges cross meaning they may see the
representation of the Christian religion, however people living outside of the
UK may not understand this reference and simply see it as the English flag and
as a symbol showing that the setting of the story is in England.
• Finally I feel that there is a lack of variety in representations within my book as
all of the human characters are white British adults this may come across as a
negative representation towards other groups of people due to their lack of
representation, which I consider may be a negative point within my book
however the characters looks where chosen to be more historically correct as in
medieval England royalty (what my characters are) where stereotypically white
British I therefore chose to create my characters to look like this as it would be
historically correct therefore making my book more believable. Other books
which I looked at use animals as characters to avoid the need to show diversity
within their book therefore meaning people cant be misrepresented, the
Gruffalo and bears in the night are examples of books where all of the
characters are animals. To improve my book by avoiding misrepresentation I
could consider using this approach in the future.
15. What style have you employed in your
products?
• From my research when I was looking at other
books I found several techniques which I wished
to try ad incorporate in to my book. ‘The
Gruffalo’ and ‘were going on a bear hunt’ used
different layout techniques such as, spaces left
within the images for text, and a mixture of full
page illustrations and pages which had several
small illustrations on them with text
underneath. I decided that I wanted to use
these techniques as they made the book more
interesting and exciting to read, the variety in
page styles helped to keep the readers interest
as it provided variety within the book making it
more interesting to look at meaning that the
reader wouldn't’t get bored and would find
reading more enjoyable. I found other elements
such as muted colours and quite illustrations
when researching other books I felt these
techniques worked well as the created an
emphasis on the story being told and the
learning to read process as well as emphasising
the setting of the story.
• I decided to use a realistic cartoon style for my
book as I thought that it would create a visually
interesting look, making it more likely for my
target audience to read and enjoy the book, the
realistic look that would be created also makes
the story seem like it is real yet again making it
more interesting for the children to read.
• All of the books I looked at used an illustration technique
of drawing/ painting for their images. I decided not to use
this style as I wanted to create a more cartoon like feel for
my book (I therefore decided to use the rotoscoping
technique) this however took a lot longer than it would of
if I had used an illustration style technique therefore in the
future if I need to create a book on a short timescale the
illustration technique is probably a better technique to use
as it is less time consuming.
16. What were the strengths and weaknesses
of the pre-production and planning
• I feel like the research that I undertook really helped me when it came to making my book as I was
able to know and understand what worked particularly well for the style of book I intended to make
and what my target audience would like through the research of successful existing children's books
I was also able to see what would look good within the book which helped me to decide on the
style I wanted to use (realistic cartoon). Overall from the research I carried out I was able to form a
strong idea of how I wanted my book to look and what I needed to do to achieve this.
• I feel that that when it came to planning my time for creating my book this wasn't particularly
helpful as I was unsure how long each aspect would take as a result of this I was unable to keep to
my plan as some things would take longer than expected whilst others would take less time than
expected, I particularly underestimated the time it would take to rotoscope the characters meaning
that I needed to spend more time than planned doing this meaning my book was finished later than
expected which if in a real working environment would be unacceptable, however I still managed to
complete my book to the standard and quality I set out to complete it in. In the future I will have a
better understanding of how long each process will take therefore meaning I will be able to plan
more effectively as I will know how long I should need to spend on each aspect, this will therefore
mean I can keep to my plan and therefore hopefully create a better finished product.
17. Historical and cultural context
• There have been a couple of books called George and the dragon which
have been published, however my book is quite different from these as I
have adapted the story to make the main character a girl which as far as I
can find hasn't been done before, this I believe gives my book a unique
selling point making it more appealing to the buyer making it more likely
that my book would be bought over the others.
• The other books I have found also use a different technique of illustration
as their images where not made on editing software they were either
drawn or painted, this et again makes my book stand out which may be
beneficial as people may be more likely to buy it as it is different
• Regarding other children's books such as the ones I researched during pre
production there are some similarities between the techniques used but
this is to be expected as I have gained inspiration for my book from other
books and the techniques which I though worked well within them, this
hopefully means that my book would be seen as good quality as it has
used some of these popular techniques
