Posted on April 22, 2016
Book Mock Up
Here are a few mock ups I done to visualise what the book could potentially look like.
Posted on April 22, 2016
Injecting Colour
As children’s books are filled with bright and bold colours in order to gain their attention, I felt that this element was what my current illustrations were lacking. However as my illustrations are primarily there to be ‘coloured in’, incorporating colour into my pages was difficult to overcome. After experimenting with colour and space, I decided to apply little pieces of bright colour to the pages, that bled onto both sides. So as the dot to dot illustration was on one side of the page and the colouring page was on the opposite side, I chose a primary colour that would be used upon both pages.
As a way of maintaining a blank space for the child to colour in, I chose to create a background for which the illustration will foreground upon the page;
As shown within this image above I have used a circular shape to surround the illustration, I also deliberated colour choice; the illustrations reflect the colours chosen. So for the eagle I chose blue to mirror the sky…
To mirror and bleed the element of colour onto the dot to dot page however I chose a different direction and instead created a sense of landscape and background that is highlighted and the bottom of the page. I achieved this by layering 3 slightly differing layers that are all shades of the original colour blue.
The light shades give the illustration a sense of depth, creating more of a foreground and background. It also blends and connects the corresponding pages together.
Posted on April 22, 2016
Colouring books as an educational device
Having instead diverted my original idea of having a colouring book alongside a narrative, I have instead chosen to include pages that convert my illustrations of animals into both a dot to dot page and also a colouring page. This still links to the initial brief of having to tackle and visualize a difficult topic; having researched into it, interactive books improve young children’s motor skills. They are also an important educational tool; it sparks their imagination and gives them an opportunity to express themselves .
Posted on April 18, 2016
Dot to Dot
As a way of making the children’s book more engaging, I’ve chosen to include dot to dot images alongside the colouring in outline images. As most of my vector drawings are quite intricate and detailed it was difficult for me to create the whole image in dot to dot without it becoming overcrowded and difficult to read. So to overcome this I decided to remove the exterior outline of the drawing and convert it into a text along path, this allowed me to number points along the outline of the animals shape.
Here’s an example of the eagle image converted to a dot to dot:
Posted on April 17, 2016
Different direction to brief
Having looked back at my current work development and research I’ve decided that my current storyline isn’t as exciting as i was hoping, I was also finding it really difficult to link the concept of a colouring book to a narrative. So after brainstorming some more and talking to my tutor, I’ve decided to put a spin on the brief, and look at it from a different perspective.
As the brief states: “The book is intended to deal with a contentious subject matter of your choosing” and is also “Taking complex multi tiered concepts and translating them through text and image in a way that engages a young audience.”
As a result I have chosen to continue the root of a colouring/more engaging book that consists of dot to dot pages and clouring pages. Colouring books are currently a massive phase for now both adults and children as a way of relieving stress whilst having therapeutic qualities. I felt that what colouring books are now used for for adults could be used in a similar perspective for a younger audience.
This article explores into more detail the science behind the therapeutic properties of colouring books.
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