2. Does your final product reflect your original intentions?
• My final product shows a few changes than originally planned in my storyboard. In my storyboard I had
originally planned for Goldilocks to enter a house that she had found on her travels on a planet called
Zogg. But I changed it to a spaceship as I wanted it to fit in with the theme of going to space, also it
would be completely unrealistic to find a house on a different planet, even though finding a spaceship
on a planet called Zogg is also completely unrealistic, I still wanted to make it something they could
believe and find interesting. I had planned to have a really dark and morbid looking house, with the
plants blocking strangers entering, however the ending product turned out to be a dark spaceship with
a ladder coming down, still keeping the plants going round it to protect it from strangers entering as I
still wanted the spaceship to have that forbidden feel to it and make it shock the children when
goldilocks enters. On the right is the storyboard version that I had created with what I wanted my final
product to include, however the example on the right didn’t make it into the final product.
• Another change I made was changing the name of the planet and just calling it the Moon. My thought
process with this change was that it would be exciting for younger kids as they see the moon most
nights, so they are able to use their imagination and picture a little girl running around up there and
going into peoples spaceships. Its just a storyline that has familiar elements for their little minds. I
didn’t change anything else about the way I had planned to present the ‘planet’.
• I wasn’t overly happy with the way the story board had been planned as I had more ideas and
changes even though it was already made. I originally didn’t want the ending to be unhappy and for
Goldilocks not to have made friends with everyone however with the way the story was going, I felt it
best that I changed the last 2 pages of the book. Instead of the aliens chasing after her and the baby
alien persuading her to come back in, Goldilocks leaves the moon and never comes back. So the final
page shows Goldilocks upset and wanting to go home, so she is created to be crying and running out
of the spaceship, while the aliens remain inside and confused about what has just happened with the
strange person in their home. The hidden meaning to this book was that I wanted children to realise
that doing things like going into strangers homes and eating strange food that they haven’t been given
by a responsible adult isn’t the correct thing to do and can end badly. So her not returning was her
accepting that she shouldn’t of gone into their home as all that came out of it was sadness that she
had caused for her and the alien characters by something that didn’t need to be done. However if I had
enough time to add them two pages then I perhaps would of added them, but I wanted the story to
have an accurate ending with the amount of time I had left to create something and this ending
seemed appropriate. These two images show how I originally had planned the ending to go and how it
ended up. As you can see I had originally planned for her to go back in and play with the little baby
alien and become the best of friends, but that was so unrealistic and completely represented the
wrong way of life and showing something that just wouldn’t happen. So presenting it this way just adds
a twist without confusing the readers and causing upset.
3. • The same changes from in the storyboard have been made to the digital flat plans. The layout and the
way I wanted to present the book has stayed the same as I believe having the image on the left and the
text on the right helps split the book up. I also thought having the text on the right would make it stand off
the page more and make it more clear for the young readers to be able to read and understand. The
main reason for this is because there is so much going on in my images and so much colour that
appears, I wouldn’t be happy to place the text onto the page where the image is as you wouldn’t be able
to understand it at all. On the right hand page is an example of one of my pages that has so much going
on, the readers eyes wouldn’t automatically direct themselves to the text, or even be able to see it as it
would have to be so small to be able to fit onto the page.
•For the planning of this book there was a lot of research that was done to help me choose what
characters I wanted to create, what backgrounds I thought suited the theme I was going with, along with
the different variety of effects that were looking into that I thought might make my book have an edge.
For example to start with I wanted to include three robots as I thought they were exciting and would be
fun to create, so I researched into different robots that have originally stared in films and storybooks.
However further into the planning process of this book I changed the three characters to be aliens as I
realised there was more I could to do create them to be my own, for example adding certain effects to
create slime on their skin. Where as with robots they just have metal and they only have one colour and
one texture. The characters wouldn’t of been fun to create and not much of a challenge for me. I
researched into aliens and found that I wanted my characters to be created around the look of Mike out
of Monsters Inc. However with this thought in mind I wanted to make these aliens my own so I created
them to have 3 eye’s, but then the body shape from Mike as I wanted it to be simple and not over
complicated as it wouldn’t fit in with the rest of the book otherwise. Throughout my research, I was
looking into certain themes I wanted to flow throughout my book as I just wanted one look. I researched
into variety of techniques and ‘looks’, for example a complete book of illustrations or using the comic
book effect. So I considered every option, but I wanted it to be simple and I wanted the modern look of
smooth textures and simple block colours. My planning of this is reflected into my book as everything is
kept simple and easy to understand what each object is. I didn’t want to edge too far away from what
was originally planned for each page decided. On the right hand side is a screen shot of the planning
and comparisons I made between text, visual styles and characters.
•So overall there were a handful of changes made throughout the process of planning this book, but the
changes were made to improve the book and were much better than the ideas I had originally thought
of.
4. How well have you constructed your images?
• Throughout putting together my book there were a variety of different techniques that had to be
used, however there was a large amount of different layers that were needed to be created to put
together each part of my different objects. My main character has a large amount of layers added
to it, however to look at her she just simple and smooth. My character doesn’t appear to be overly
crowded with different parts to her. But because of the accessories and the different angles there
are around her the different parts couldn’t be done in one, but in many parts. For example her
oxygen tank was to be done in 8 different parts due to her arms been in the way, and also adding
the curves and straight lines of black to the box for it to appear 3d and not flat. However some
parts of her didn’t need to include so many layers, it was just due to lack of skills at the start of the
project and not wanting to waste time by re doing the layer before, So just creating another layer
for perhaps a little bit of paint or Rotoscoping part of the arm that could of been included in layers
before if there wasn’t a rush to finishing. With other parts of my product the amount of work done
varied. For example there is a lot of repetition in my book, so there wasn’t as many new layers
that was needed to be added as I wasn’t creating something new. So for this to ‘copied’ over, I
created a folder that was then carried over onto another page that copied the layers that provided
you with what you needed. On the right hand side I have provided two examples of the
construction process. As you can see there is a folder, showing just three options to choose from,
but then that folder can then be opened. The second example is showing the folder when it is
open, showing exactly how the work was put together and how many layers have been created to
be able to create Goldilocks. An example of character copying would be Goldilocks. Once she
had been copied over, it allowed me to start adapting her and changing her to fit for that certain
page I was working on. Her facial expressions were changed and certain colours on her were
changed, just due to showing the lighting hitting her at different angles. I believe that there were
certain parts of my product that could of been constructed better and it would have saved more
time, leaving me to work on improving other parts of my book. However the first few days of
creating things were slow just due to having to get used to the tools that were provided and what I
could do with each of them. The visual appearance of my book looks smooth and well joined
together, not visually showing the amount of parts and layers each page/object. I am so happy
with the way each page looks and comes across visually as there are no gaps or sharp edges
that are meant to be smooth, the different techniques and effects helps bring together each layer
and gel them together to become one final piece. I haven’t used huge amounts of effects, but I’ve
done little things to add texture and bulk to each objects. For example to make the moon look
more realistic, I added a texture that shows grain, holes etc that would appear on the moon. This
just adds more depth to the objects and provides more shape for them. On the right is an
example if the texture added to the moon, adding more depth and realism to the object. If I were
to do this again, I would work on lowering the amount of layers used for each object and just slow
things down and make sure things work the first time, instead of messing up but fixing it with
another layer instead of deleting things and starting again.
5. How well have you used text to anchor your images
• On each text page I didn’t want to overcrowd the page by filling it with large amount of words so
that it intimidated the children and scared them into thinking that there was too much writing and
they wouldn’t be able to read it all. When it came to writing the text I had the thought of my five
year old sister in my head, thinking about what she would be able to understand and what she
couldn’t. Because she is in my target audience, it helped to focus on just how simple to make
the books and the variety of language that could be included. However there are some pages
that have a few more sentences than the rest, but that’s just due to the amount of different things
going on in the image page. On the right hand side is an example of one of the pages that has
more sentences on than a few of the others. However you are able to see that I have split up so
that its not all squashed together and not clear to read.
• Throughout the entire book there are clear explanations on the text page explaining what
exactly is happening on the image page to make sure the reader knows exactly what is going on
and what the main point of the image page is about. For example just in case the reader didn’t
understand that Goldilocks was tired from the image on the right hand side, then on the text
page it is explained exactly why I’ve created her to look like that on that particular page.
• The language used throughout the book is very simple and basic to try stay with the chosen
target audience. I didn’t want to over complicate the words but I also didn’t want to make it seem
boring and un interesting just by using the simpler words. So I have tried making up for that with
things such as exclamation marks to really emphasise the shock or the taste of the food. Or by
making the text bigger in certain places, or in capitals. This way it really gets across the emotion
from the characters, instead of over complicating things for the readers and then having to
change my target audience.
• In my opinion I think that the text pages work well with the image pages and explain very clearly
what is going on and the direction the storyline is heading. None of the text pages include things
that isn’t happening in the image or things that aren’t relevant. So the text used anchor all my
images correctly. But if I were to do this project again, I might choose an older target audience
so that there is more of a variety with the language used and it gives me more of a wider pool of
words that I can use to describe certain situations or feelings and emotions. Not too much older,
but just for example between the ages of 8 and 11, so that longer words are able to be used and
have more of an effect with the readers understanding the emotions from the characters.
6. Is your product suitable for your audience?
• In my proposal I wrote about the chosen target audience, which was the ages of between 5 to 7 and targeted
towards both genders, however that I wish to target more towards the female gender due to just been able to
add feminine touches. However that slightly changed throughout the planning process and creation. I believe
that I have achieved what I wanted to achieve with my final product regarding my target audience. When
choosing the storyline the age range is the first thing is needed to be thought about. There are lots of do’s and
don'ts that comes with the different age ranges, such as the language used and the imagery that appears along
with it, as well as the amount. When choosing which age range to target I had to think which writing style would
suit each age range the best, along with which one I would be able to write best in. I chose to target the age
range of between 5 to 7 year old children as that’s the age children are classed as early readers and are
challenging themselves to read ‘bigger’ and ‘longer’ words, that allows them to learn their language as they grow
and go further up in school years as the language level increases and becomes harder to understand. With this
age range I am able to include a large amount of imagery, however also a larger amount of text than I would be
able to for younger years, explaining the image content. When I was thinking about this age range I was thinking
of the amount of detail that I could include when creating the images that I wouldn’t be able to add if I was
aiming to target younger years. However the language still has to be kept simple as it is still for young children
who are still learning to read and might be intimidated by long length words or paragraphs. The profile I created
in my head to target my book towards was generally both boys and girls as I have included a variety of different
things and objects that could interest both genders into reading. However I know because the main character is
a girl and its reflecting parts of the original storyline, that the target audience gender perhaps might not be both,
but more towards the female gender. The reason for this is because of the main character choice, the emotions
through it and the ending. But also because there isn’t really ‘manly’ objects included such as cars, explosions,
superheroes etc. When I was creating this book I tried not making the colours really girly as I wanted it to be kept
equal, for example the colours are quite dark throughout the entire book, but with a hint of brightness and pattern
to include a feminine touch to still include the female gender likes and dislikes. I think my final product is suitable
for my chosen age range of 5-7 year olds in both imagery content and text. The reason for this is because I was
really careful when writing the script for the final pages, making sure that the sentences weren’t too long and
didn’t include hard words that would intimate the children and edging them away from wanting to read my
product. For example on every page there are very short sentences and are spaced out so that each word can
be read clearly. There are only 2 pages that have more text on but there aren’t any words that the children
wouldn’t understand or struggle with, as the words are words they would speak everyday and know what they
mean.
7. •On the right are two examples of the text pages. The top one is the amount that is general length
throughout, but the bottom one is one of the longer pages. But its showing for the text to be
spaced out and readable. The imagery content that is included in my product is suitable for the
chosen age range because certain objects are young and childlike so that my book isn’t too
simple and average for them. For example there are paint splatters on the carpet, a big moon on
the children’s wall along with the actual theme which is space. At that age children find space
exciting. The reason I know this is because I asked my sister and a few of her friends, who are
exactly in my chosen target audience, about my chosen theme and they were intrigued. Overall I
think that this would sell well with my chosen target audience due to the exciting colours, storyline
and the short length of the story, along with the short length of writing to be read. If I were to do
this project again I would perhaps choose the next age range up to challenge myself and see what
ideas I could come up with when it involves more writing instead of imagery.
8. What do you like/dislike about the techniques you have used?
• The first technique I used, which is the one that has been used to create most of the book, is called
Rotoscoping. What Rotoscoping allows you to do is to go around certain parts of an image and copy it,
then allowing you to work on what you have rotoscoped, meaning adding colour, outer glows etc. So for
example I was able to retrieve a cartoon astronaut which had the basic outlining of the body/outfit that I
was able to go around with the Rotoscoping tool. This tool was really helpful throughout creating my
entire book as I was able to create all my of characters with smooth edges and looking how I wanted
them. I found Goldilocks the hardest character to create with this tool. The reason for this is because
there many different parts to the costume that I wanted to appear 3d that I found hard to create such as
the tube holes in the costume. Other parts were hard such as creating the head gear for her, with the
tubes going inside and creating the glass casing at the front so she is able to see. But I was able to
create all of these things, patience was the key to be able to create this character. The slight problem
with using this tool is that if you were to double click, or click over the part you had just clicked on then it
would clear everything you have gone around, so you would have to start again. This happened quite a
few times with me when I was trying to create large items such as the chair’s for the living room, which
needed lots of long but slim parts to it, which were tricky to create as there could be a slight overlap,
which means you would need to start again and make sure the overlap isn’t obvious. Little things like this
can ruin an object or characters look, so I had to make sure everything looked realistic but had my own
interpretation on it.
• The second technique I have used within my final product was the shaping tool, however this was only
done for a handful of little things that have appeared in the book. For example I used the Elipse tool to
create the planet shapes as I wanted the perfect circle as they are only small due to them been far away
from the moon. On the right hand side is my first page, showing the use of the Elipse tool with the planets
and the moon, which goldilocks is stood on. What I really like about this tool is that it such smooth edges
and with added effects it can appear to be really realistic and creates the perfect background. What else I
really like is with my planets I was able to add a blur so it makes it look further away and it adds a certain
texture which is nice and glossy, which is something I think makes it more realistic to the distance of the
planets from the moon. I also used the Elipse tool to create the spaceship, however I also used the
warping tool as this allowed you to stretch the shape more and also stretch it out in certain places to
create the look I wanted to make sure it appeared to be in the shape of a simple cartoon spaceship. As
you can see on the right there is the spaceship, which couldn’t be created just by using an Elipse tool
which is just a circle shaping. The warping tool is helpful with the shaping tool as you can stretch shapes,
but not stretch the whole shape, along with also making it smaller in certain places etc. However this tool
can sometimes not exactly make your shape turn out how you want it, because as it stretches it makes
the image appear flatter than wanted.
9. •The third technique I used for the backgrounds of the first few pages was the brush tool, which I then
changed to using the star’s as I wanted stars to be scattered throughout the background to make the
atmosphere of been in space more special. With the brush tool I changed the effects that came with it, I
selected for it to be scattered and also for it to be smooth. The reason for the scattering was due to the
fact of the sizes changed each time you clicked. I chose to single click as I didn’t like the look of the
scattering that appeared when you held the mouse down and went from left to right with the tool. What I
really like about the brush tool is that there are so many different effects that can be used with the
brushes, also there are different shapes that can be used. For example another time I have used the
brush tool is the draw on Goldilocks’ facial expressions. You can change the smoothness of the way the
brush colour appears, along with the inner depth of it. I used the brush tool to fill in little parts with the
doors and also for the bowls of porridge that appear. On the right hand side is the options that Photoshop
gives you with what you can use to change the way your brush tool is used. The only thing I dislike about
this tool though is that when your hand shakes from going slowly to make it accurate and stay in a
straight line, is that it shakes with you and you can have to go and erase it out as there are tiny bumps
across the line.
•Another technique I used throughout my book was to double click on the layers created to then add block
colours or different effects on the selected layer. Doing this was a quicker way to change the colour of the
Rotoscoped shape etc, or add an outer glow along with the effect stroke which I used on most things I
created. The effect of the stroke was to give it a simple black outline which made the colours used stand
out more and give the shapes more structure.
•If I were to create a children’s book again, these techniques would be the ones I would feel most
confident using to help me create something interesting and good to look at. However if I were to do this
again there are many other techniques that I would like to learn to use to show that I can work with
multiple techniques and show a variety of skills.
10. What do you like/dislike about how your final product looks?
• I wanted to create a book that had traditional well known characters included that all children know
about, but with an added twist that would be easy to work with and that inspired me to have a
variety of different ideas for. There are always likes and dislikes with everything that Is done in life,
which is why there are many likes with my final product but also dislikes that I think could be
improved in some way if this book was to be created again.
• What I like about the visual appearance of my book is that the theme is clearly shown in the first
two pages, making it well known to readers about where she is and what her surroundings look
like. The background that has been created for the first page is my favourite page, due to the
mixture of colours for the night sky been as realistic as possible, without been too dull and boring.
Another thing that I really like about the first page is the scattering of the stars. Even though they
are small they really bring the background together and make it look complete, adding a touch of
imagination to the page as the starts would be able to be seen like that if it were to be ‘real life’. My
final product follows a certain theme due to the visual appearances of objects and characters.
What I like about this is that nothing is out of the ordinary or looks out of place as everything
created in the book was done in the same way and it all clearly links together. The reason for this
is because its such a make believe story, there has to be elements in the book that match and fit
well otherwise the theme along with the story just wouldn’t work or be understood.
• Secondly I really like the simplicity of the text pages and how it calms the book down. The text
pages are just plain backgrounds with simple black text, with a hint of colour due to adding the
scattered stars at the top and bottom of the page. Because there is so much going on everywhere
else in the book, it’s the texts job to bring it down and not let it go too crazy with colour, but also
helps the picture pages stand out more and really highlights the colours used well.
• I really enjoyed creating my Goldilocks character and I am so happy with the way she has turned
out, baring in mind that she has so many emotions included in this book so there were so many
little changes that needed to be made, but became big changes as sometime her posture didn’t fit
the way she was feeling and the way her face was putting across emotion. However I am so
pleased that her costume looks realistic in a way that a child would understand what she is trying
to be. My Goldilocks character has turned out better than imagined, but as times gone on my
confidence in Photoshop has improved and its really shown with my Goldilocks character as there
were so many different layers that needed to be created to make her look like she does.
• With most things in the book I am overly happy with the way things turned out and proud that I was
able to create it with little skill, showing progression throughout the entire book and learning new
things along the way. However there are still some things that I aren’t happy about with the book.
11. What I really dislike about the way my final product looks Is the kitchen setting. It just looks dull and it
brings your emotions down completely as everything is just too dark about it. Because it is set in space I
wanted everything to be out there and wild, but I was worried with doing that, that my book would look
modern it would just look tacky. So with that in mind I tried toning it down, but doing that has just ruined
the atmosphere I wanted to create once Goldilocks had stepped onto the spaceship. If I was to create
this page again, the back wall colour would be changed to something bright, but not to hurt the eye. I
think what really changes the way I feel about this page is that the chairs are bright and just stand out too
much against the rest of the page. The whole layout just doesn’t look like it fits space and aliens.
Even though I wanted the colours to be dark to get her emotions across, it hasn’t created the correct
atmosphere I wanted and just looks out of place for space.
If I were to do anything else again, I would change the look of the spaceship as I would want it to be a lot
bigger and have a slight texture to it that would be noticeable to the eye. I think having a texture to it such
as something grainy would make it look different and out there, compared to just another living
arrangement for someone. Another thing I would change with the spaceship would be the way you enter
it. I think if Goldilocks was to stand underneath it and then be transported into the spaceship, it would add
more excitement to the fact she is doing something she shouldn’t.
12. Why did you include the content you used?
• To highlight the theme chosen I wanted all content to be bold. But with the text, I wanted it to be simple
and understandable due to learning readers been my target audience. I chose a large text size, with a
really simple font which was in the serif group, due to there been links from one letter to another, showing
a flow of the way the children had to read from one letter to the next to be able to know what the word was
spelling out. With the colour scheme of the text pages I also wanted to keep that simple. With young
readers anything is a distraction and if a bright coloured background was to be behind the text, then they
wouldn’t be able to focus or take anything in, so I wanted there to be no excuse for them not to read the
text and understand clearly what is going on. But regarding the language used and the script, I didn’t want
to put too big of words in there so that the children would struggle, but I wanted there to be a slight
challenge to be included so that the children were pushing themselves to learn new words. I tried keeping
it as simple as possible, trying to keep out of the same routine of typing how I would expect to read a
book. I included some parts of the traditional scripting, but due to the location been completely different
from the original, there were a few changes that had to be made to make it my own and unique.
• Each page was thoroughly planned out with what content I wanted to include on my image pages. I
wanted the text and the image pages to link correctly and make sure that all the little details were included
to bring the images together. Each page has a human input and link towards it, for example in the
spaceship the kitchen scene is set out more or less how a house would be. This was just so that the
children would understand what everything was, also due to the skills and techniques I was using and
what I was able to easily create with the time that was allocated. Other ‘human’ objects that have been
included are toys that are found in the baby’s room. I wanted to show that he still is a child just because he
is a alien and the links that could bring him and Goldilocks together. Through images I wanted to show
that Goldilocks is always drawn to everything that the baby owns, just showing that all children are the
same whether they are alien or human and shouldn’t be judged on the appearance of him and the objects
he calls his own. So I really wanted to show human influences to the aliens life and living arrangements.
Throughout the book there are a variety of different emotions and they were the main things I wanted to
show throughout the book, so the chosen images were based around the emotions that each character
was feeling. For example the kitchen scene has a lot of sad emotions, so the colour scheme reflects off of
that and creates a sad atmosphere, so that the readers are to feel sorry for Goldilocks and just wish her
happiness, not judging her for the bad actions she is taking. With my images there is a lot of repetition with
backgrounds, but throughout every single page there has been something that has changed with the
background as I didn’t want it all looking the same throughout. I put a lot of thought about the images I
wanted to include because with children the images are the most important part as they are the things that
lure the children into reading the book. Especially the first page, because if the first page is on point and
includes lots of exciting and new objects, they want to see the rest of the book. I have had a few
comments about the planets and starts that have been included in the background, the comments been
that realistically the two objects wouldn’t be seen. But I wanted to create something that was slightly
unrealistic and also had links to space so that the children would understand the location.
13. Even though my book has been made for children I still wanted it to have a sophisticated and modern look. This
was to be monitored by the appropriate colour schemes been chosen when creating backgrounds and objects.
When I think of space I think of bright and vibrant colours due to there been so many different planets, star’s,
the sun and the moon etc. That’s a wide variety of different coloured objects to include. But when it came to
choosing colours for my book I had a different look on things depending on it been outside or inside the
spaceship. For outside the spaceship I wanted a clash of light and dark colours. I wanted to sky to be dark but
to lighten out to create a contrast. To make the ‘moon’ my own I changed the colour, just so then it would show
the textures better. I think the outside contrast of colour works well. Because Goldilocks really stands out from
the rest of the background with her pinks and purples that are on outfit. It works well with the darkness behind
her, to give her the invisible spotlight that she is the main character. For the inside colour scheme I have
darkened it out in some places, due to the reflection of the emotions carried around the kitchen as that’s where
most of the ‘sadness’ occurs from the aliens and Goldilocks. However as you make your way through the
spaceship that colours change in the different rooms. The reason for the change of colours is because I wanted
to show the mature modern look in the parents room, not including a lot as I didn’t want to overcrowd the room.
But then in the baby’s room there was a variety of colours. I darkened the walls so that other objects would
stand out well. The reason for this is because in the baby’s room is where the collide is between goldilocks and
the aliens, so you want all the characters to be stand out against the room. Also I wanted the toys to be bright
and bold so that they stood out against the dark flooring, making the readers well aware of the baby aliens age
and that he is to link in with the readers as he is set to be around there age. I am happy with the way all the
colours in my book work with each other as the stroke technique used for most things bring the brightness down
a bit. The colours of everything in the book sets the tone of the book to be leaning towards the cartoon category.
14. What signs, symbols or codes have your used in your work?
• Everything has significant meaning when it comes to creative ideas and production. However there aren’t that many double
meanings that come with the creations in my book, there are just a limited few. In my book I have made Goldilocks to be
quite ‘big’ meaning I have enlarged her character to show independence and maturity even though she is still a child. The
bottom left image is an example of her largeness in the book, even though she is only a child. I wanted to show this because
children in this day and age feel pressured into doing well and competing with everyone else to look the better and smarter
person in everything, even if that is with reading a book the quickest or completing a video game the fastest. But everything
in life has become a big competition between everyone that no one just appreciates when someone does a good job in
something, as there are always things you can do to improve yourself. So I wanted to show that Goldilocks has taken an
adventure by herself, made mistakes and then gone on to learn from them.
• Space is impossible to travel to as a child, or mainly as a adult also. But I wanted to choose an impossible location for
Goldilocks to travel to, to show that nothing is impossible in life and if you really want something then you have to work for it
and know that in the end you will always succeed if its something you truly want and believe you can get. I think this is the
true meaning I wanted to flow throughout this book. I know a child wouldn’t be able to understand the meaning coming
through but I still wanted that to be put across just to show that not everything has to be impossible in life, even from a young
age.
• In the scenes where things aren’t going right for goldilocks I have used darker colours to show her sad and angry emotion. In
the bottom right hand corner is an example of the darkness that appears in the book when she is upset. I have done this just
to change the atmosphere of the book, but also to show that even though things go dark and gloomy sometimes, not
everything has to go right the first time and that things can always be improved if you just pick yourself up and carry on.
15. What representations can be found in your work?
• This story shows there to be a man women and children all included throughout. However the gender selection is evened out
as the baby alien has been created to be a little boy. But because there are only two character types, there is lack of variety
of character types leaving the four characters to create their own representation. I wanted there to be an even amount of
children, adults and gender types. I didn’t want one to be overpowering the other because to this day and age everyone is as
independent and equal as they wish to be between men and women.
• Both children in this story are seen to be brave and daring, as Goldilocks enters someone’s home without knowing who or
what is inside, then daring to eat their food and sleep In their bed without thinking of the consequences. The baby alien is
seen to be daring because he doesn’t know who goldilocks is or even what she is, but still gets really close to her because
she is invading something that is his own and very important to him. I wanted to show the children to be this way because I
wanted people to see that children do have a strong mind and can do little things for themselves even from a young age. Its
just about giving them a bit of space and allowing them to make a few mistakes. But still shadowing them and been there for
them when need be. However Goldilocks is just seen to be a little girl alone doing these things by herself as her parents
aren’t mentioned and aren’t there to watch over her in the story.
• I have shown the mum to be quite bold and loud, showing her angry side when needed to get her emotions across. I’ve
shown her like this because women don’t always need a man to speak for her or to defend her when need by, women are as
equal to men and can do things for themselves. In this story that’s getting angry about her own porridge and own belongings,
her bed. With the way I have created her to look her emotions are made quite clear throughout the entire book, not being
afraid of things that invade what is hers.
• I have shown the dad to be equally as loud and bold, but I’ve also shown him to have a weaker side. This is shown when
they go into the babies room and he stays back and lets his family do their own thing and stick up for what’s theirs. He is
showing a more upset emotion rather than angry because he is he showing genuine concern and confusion as to what Is
happening.
• I really wanted to show a close family bond in the book, the traditional way a family is viewed and is seen to be complete.
However there are no social groups or religions or races shown throughout this book as the aliens aren’t humans and I set
goldilocks’ skin to be a happy medium, with a bit of colour flowing through.
• If I were to do a project like this I would pick a storyline that had more characters allowing me to expand with the way the
characters are shown, along with the ages and races of these people. Because even though its for a children’s book,
everybody should be seen as equal and there shouldn’t be a chosen amount more towards one religion or race than the
other.
16. What style have you employed in your products?
• At the start of the project I researched into various different children’s books that had a variety of
different techniques used to create them. There were around 3 or 4 different books that really
stood out to me whether that was through the way the product look, the words used, the styles of
writing or the techniques used for the images. There were so many books that helped me
throughout the making of this book. However there were also one or two films that helped me
create my characters. The books that really stood out to me technique wise and visual appearance
wise were the books called The Stick Man, The Hungry Caterpillar and Zachary Quack MiniMonster.
These were the three main books that I had researched into and that had influenced my book in
one way or another. What appealed to me about the Stick Man was the style used in the book
regarding the colours, the human features given to the stick and the way the objects were
drawn/created. However the way that the stick had been made to be given feelings and human
features such as eyes, legs and arms etc really intrigued me, but I didn’t want to create something
such as a stick. I wanted to adapt an already made creature and make it something I thought it
would look like if it were to be real. The colours used in the stick man vary from dark colours to light
colours but have a nice contrast against each other and they are used to represent different seasons
that happen throughout the book. So this use of colour influenced the way I used colours in my
book to represent emotions and the location of where Goldilocks landed. The influence for my alien
characters was the film Monsters Inc. On that film there are so many different creatures and like the
look of some and wanted to combine the different characters features and make my own alien. For
the creation of my characters I researched into similar characters that looked similar and worked
over them changing features and putting my own spin on things, making it my own. This really
helped with the difficult characters such as Goldilocks. For example having a basic outline to work
over of the costume helped me so then I was able to add my own adaptations such as the colours
and the patterns added, along with the way her body is placed and standing posture. For example
on the right is the template character I worked over to create Goldilocks as it was in the correct
position for how I wanted Goldilocks, along with the correct costume I needed.
17. I have chosen to follow the visual style of the cartoon effect. Throughout my research I came across lots of different visual styles that all
had different skills and techniques that were needed to be able to complete a great looking product. But looking through books that had
the cartoon style occurring throughout their book is just something that stood out to me and something I believed I had the skill and
technique to be able to pull of and work well with. To start with this particular style wasn’t exactly chosen to be the style that was to be
regularly repeated, it’s just something that happened throughout the making of the product. This is because I liked the smooth textures
and the bright vibrant colours that appeared when choosing the colours for my objects and characters. Personally I think that this visual
style suits my storyline perfectly just due to the chosen location and the weird objects and characters that appear in my book. Another
reason it suits is because with cartoons you can odd textures that stand off the smooth block colours well. For example with my aliens I
created slime that appeared and added scaly skin which really suited the characters look, however that version of the character due to
me not thinking it was acceptable for children as it could be taken to be a bad version of what aliens were to look like.
If I were to do this project again I would pick the exact same visual style again just due to the fact that I think it looks simple and
modern, without looking tacky and cheap. It’s a style that I can work really well with and know I have the skill and technique in me to
create something with this style again.
18. What were the strengths and weaknesses of the pre-production and planning
• Planning things before hand has always been a weakness of mine as normally I have just improvised and gone along with
the ideas along the way and then researched into them to see if they were reliable and realistic to create, but with this project
there was so much research and planning that needed to be done before anything was able to be started. Creating a mind
map was the first step to planning the children’s book, it was all about coming up with a variety of different storylines, then
different age groups, language style, techniques used etc and then it was all about which one fit which right and which one
would be the best to create. But this was something that I struggled with and took up time because I just couldn’t think of a
storyline I wanted to go with and put my own twist on. I didn’t want to go with an original storyline and just change the
animations etc and create my own, I wanted to create my own storyline with my own thought out location. But I originally was
just going to go with the storyline of Goldilocks but change the bears to robots as I thought they would be a fun character to
make. But then I thought of putting her in space and using aliens instead as there would be so much more freedom with
trying to create an alien character as there was a variety of different colours, skin textures, shapes and sizes etc. So once
that idea came to me, that’s when the planning became easy because I just started researching into different space objects,
along with the relevant colour schemes and backgrounds that would fit with a book linked to space. The actual research into
different styles of characters really helped me because it helped me eliminate the styles that I thought would work but didn’t
actually fit into the thought I had that my book would look like, and help pick styles that I wanted to try out and see if were
realistically possible for me to do in the time I had. So over all there were many points were I struggled but then there were
other times were it was my strong point and I got it done quickly and moved onto planning the next thing and then the next.
• Managing my time was more difficult than I thought because I planned all the production out into different sessions but things
took longer than I thought, but then some other things took quicker so my plan and production schedule just confused me so
I just went along with each page at the quickest pace I could but still slow enough to really look at what I’m doing and keep
the quality up high. But I had to cut a page out due to the time limit I was given, so that resulted in the change of an ending,
but it worked out better as I would of just been rushing the last page if I didn’t cut it out and then it wouldn’t match with the
quality of the rest of the pages.
• When it came to being creative, this is where I have always thrived. However with this certain project I think there are some
parts that are really detailed and I have really thought about what little things can bring my characters and backgrounds
together, but then there are others that aren’t and are lacking attention to detail. Such as the kitchen background, it is just
block colours and if I were to have more time I would of added more kitchen equipment and essentials. The characters and
the outside backgrounds are where my creative mind came a light and I worked really hard to make them picture perfect.
The reason for this is because there are only two character types and I wanted them to stand out since there weren’t a large
number of them. But the outside backgrounds are what represents the location that the book is set in, and the space
background appears on the first few pages which are the pages the child is going to look at first and take an interest in. But
another reason was because it was my chance to really go to town with the wackiness and vibrant colours since it was in
space and anything Is possible there.
• If I were to do this project again I would have a better understanding about timing, so I would be able to accurately set a
schedule for how long things were going to take. Also I would know my limit with pages, trying to lower the pages to what I
can realistically achieve to create.
19. Historical and cultural context
• The original tale of Goldilocks was first published in 1837 by the British Author and Poet
Robert Southey. But then George Nicol published a rhyme version based upon Roberts tale.
In Roberts tale there is a little bear, a middle sized bear and a huge bear who are described
to be good natured, trusting, harmless, tidy and hospitable. Each bear has their own porridge
bowl, chair and bed. One day they go on a walk in the woods when an old woman, who is
described to be foul mouthed, bad and dirty, discovers the house and goes on to let herself
into the house. She then eats the little bears porridge, breaks his chair and sleeps in his bed.
Further into the story the bears return finding the old women in the bed sleeping, in which
she jumps out of the window and runs away never to be seen again. Twelve years later this
story was adapted by Joseph Cundall who changed the old woman character to a little girl.
The reason for this was because he believed children would prefer a pretty child, rather than
an ugly old woman. Over the years the original story has been adapted in so many ways.
For example the characters have changed from been father, mother and baby to then been
brother and sister with a tag along friend. Also the names of each character have changed a
handful of times. There are so many adaptations to the story, that been suitable for children
and also not been suitable. For example there is an adult version of this story where
goldilocks is in her 20’s and breaks into the house to have sex and eat the food with her
boyfriend. However her boyfriend is attacked, where as she escapes. My final product
compares to the modern versions that has been made of the story Goldilocks. I have kept
with the well known story that people have known for the past 20 years, where there are no
brutal attacks or ugly old woman. Just a suitable children’s story that is representing the fact
that people make mistakes but learn from them and make the right choice in the end by just
walking away from the situation. However there are many different adaptations to the book
imagery wise. There are drawn out versions, versions that are created on Photoshop that
are similar to mine, however there are also painted versions along with many different
versions done by many different art techniques. However my storyline takes a twist as I’ve
changed the theme which hasn’t been done before in the Goldilocks series. On the right
hand side are examples of the first version of the story of the three bear’s, showing the
technique and visual style that it was first published in. This is accurately drawn and shows
high level of detail to everything to make it as realistic as possible.
