The document provides planning details for a digital graphic narrative project to create a children's book. It includes sections on costs, available resources, quantity, audience/target market, quality factors, codes of practice, regulation, copyright, ethical issues, resources, and a production schedule. The production schedule outlines the tasks to be completed in each half-day college session over 10 sessions to develop the story, characters, and illustrations through Photoshop. Health and safety considerations are also addressed.
1. Digital Graphic Narrative Planning
Use this booklet to help structure your planning and collate your planning documents.
Considerations:
There are lots of things to consider in this project. Fill out each section in detail to show you have thought about each one. You
should imagine that this is a live project, so considerations like cost, quantity and codes of practice must be thought about in that
context rather than just as a college project.
Costs:
The cost of creating and producing my children’s book will be very minimal due to the fact that the college will
provide all of the resources I will need for already. Because I will also be doing everything digitally means that
it won’t be costing me anything to produce it unless you count the cost of travelling to and from college, which
will enable me to use all of these resources.
Available resources:
I have multiple resources that are available for me to use, all of which are provided for by the college. These
resources include a Mac computer, which is fully equipped with Photoshop, PowerPoint, Microsoft word and
so on. I will also have access too the internet which will enable me to research different children’s books and
different types of images which I may need to help me in creating my book. If required I will also be able to
use a graphics tablet which could help me in creating the cartoon images to fit along with my storyline.
2. Quantity:
My storybook will be open to a wide audience all around the United Kingdom first and depending on the
success of it in the UK I would then begin to think about producing it to a wider audience all around Europe
meaning that I will have to produce thousands of copies in order for it to be easily available for everybody. My
aim would be to produce around 3,000 copies to begin with and depending on how successful the book is I
would bring out more accordingly.
Audience and Target Market:
My audience for my product is toddlers-young children who are aged between 3 & 6 years old. It doesn’t have
a prominent gender that it is specifically for, as this fairy tale doesn’t include any of the stereotypical girl/ boy
characteristics such as princesses and monsters, it instead is about normal everyday animals, which both
boys and girls like. My book is for children who are English or English speaking as this is the only language I
will be producing my book in to begin with.
Quality Factors:
To ensure that my children’s book is made to the best ability it possibly can be I will try to get 100%
attendance so that I have much time as I possibly can to create my book to a good enough standard and so
that none of it has to be rushed. I can also compare my book to some versions that are already produced to
see how I can improve parts of it so that it appeals as much as possible as it can to children. Another factor is
that I can get constant feedback from members of my class so that they can also give me advice as to which
parts of my book are good and which parts could be changed/ improved upon. Another factor which I find
helps me to concentrate fully on my work is listening to music, whilst I am producing my storybook I will listen
to music to block out all other distractions surrounding me meaning that I can fully concentrate on my work.
Codes of Practice:
Within the Codes of practice there is a publishers association section which entails how publishers should act
and interact with other authors. This section talks a lot about legal and financial topics as well as issues like
time, standard of work, illegality and defamation. These codes of practice mean that if you give a publisher or
the certain company a test page which gives them an example of the type of product you are going to produce
but don't however hand this in on time it means that the company has the right to drop you and not pay you for
your time seeing as you’ve missed the deadline. drop you and not pay you anything as you will be delaying
the production process and schedule. They can also do the same with standard and quality of the work, if you
show them something as part of your test page and the actual work you give them, the publishers as a final
3. product isn’t as near the good quality or standard that you agreed as part of a verbal or even written contract
then again they can drop your contract, or they could just not pay you as much as you had both originally
agreed or they might just not print as much as they agreed to. However it works both ways if you produce
good quality work and hand it in on time then the publishers have to pay you what they agreed too and on
time.
Regulation:
The Obscene Publications Act 1959 is an act in terms of regulation that sets out guidelines and rules for what
you shouldn't be allowed to publish, for example if you were to publish and then go on to market and sell a
book it shouldn't have any swearing in it unless it is marketed as an adult book. This is something that will
relate with my book that I am going to make because of the fact that it is aimed for a young audience of 3-6
then no swearing will be within the text. Again something else that will relate with this book and also is apart of
the Obscene Publications Act illustration, due to the target audience that the book will be marketed and
promoted at there will be no graphic material, any drugs, violence or any obscene material that will not be
suitable for a young audience. Not only when looking at regulation do you need to refer to the Obscene
publications act but you can also refer to the Equality Act 2010 (the updated version of the current act). The
Equality act is there to protect people, for example discrimination against gender, ethnic groups, age and
disability.
Copyright:
Due to the fact that I am using a fairy tale that is very old and has no particular authors name attached to it
means that the story will be out of copyright issues which then gives me the freedom to use it however I wish
without having to get permission from anybody and without having to split any profits. I will also be creating
my own artwork for my book meaning that I also won’t have to check with the copyright law here either as this
will be my own work that I will have created myself. One factor that may affect the copyright law is if I were to
use a font that was restricted for me to use. If I was to download a font and use this within my book I would
first need permission of the creator of the font so that I can use it and I would also need to share some of the
profits that I make with the creator of this phone and give them credit for their work.
4. Ethical Issues:
When looking at the tale I have chosen there is nothing that includes any specific cultural or ethical issues
which may make it seem insensitive to readers. My story also has no offence/ discriminative illustrations or
text as well as their being no cultural representation meaning that I have nothing to worry about within this
category when it comes to publishing.
Resources:
A successful project relies on good planning. Considering all the resources you will need for a project and then assessing which
you already have and which you need will help ensure you are ready to start your project.
If there is a resource you don’t currently have, then consider how you are going to get it before you go in to production.
Resource:
Do you have
it? What do you need to do to get it?
Apple Mac Yes
Photoshop Yes
5. Internet Yes
PowerPoint Yes
Word Yes
Production Schedule:
Delivering your project on time is vital. In order to do this, you need a solid plan of action. This will help you divide up your work in
to manageable chunks to be tackled one at a time. It will also allow you to plan which tasks need to be done in which order. It will
also allow you to track your progress each day. If you are falling behind, you will need to modify the way you work. If you work
faster than expected, you can clearly see what the next steps you need to take are.
Each session is a half day of college.
Session 1: Monday Morning
6. Open photoshop and create a new blank page ( 21x21cm), download fonts from Dafont.com and begin
to create the background location for the first page of my book (this background will most likely be used
several times throughout the book.
Continue to create the background for the first couple pages of the book (Create it using a template of
another image to guide you through it)
Session 2:Monday Afternoon
Finish off elements of the background and make it as detailed as possible
Start creating the mother duck character
Continue to make the mother duck character
Session 3:Tuesday Morning
7. Create the 3 ducklings hatching out of they're eggs with one egg still unhatched
Create the Ugly duckling hatching ready for the second page
Place all the characters in the right area and add in the text to finalise the first page
Session 4:Thursday Afternoon
Create the ducklings again this time out of their shells and swimming on water
Continue to create the ducklings and when finished take the mother duckling character from the
previous page and add it to the 2nd one.
Create another ugly duckling character that is swimming on water with its siblings, Zoom in on the
background slightly so that more of the pond is showing as this is where the ducks will be based.
Session 5:Friday Morning
8. Once all of the characters and the background has been finished for the second page again get the
correct font style and add in the next bit of the story.
Using the previous background (zoomed in slightly so it is mainly the pond) and the previous duckling
and ugly duckling characters have the ugly duckling swimming over to the other ducklings and
attempting to join in with them.
Add in the text for the third page and begin to create the fourth page.
Using the previous background that was on the second page and all of the previous characters add
them together and add in a couple of speech bubbles for the ducklings and write inside them insults to
the ugly duckling such as 'You're ugly' and 'Go away'. Change the position of where the ugly duckling
was sat so that he is facing away from the other ducklings. Alter the ugly ducklings expression so that he
looks sad.
Session 6: Monday Morning
Add in the text for the fourth page and begin to create a new background for the fifth page
Create a new background that just includes trees and bushes and a zoomed in version of the mother
duck character with an angry facial expression. Add in a speech bubblr that says 'Stop being so cruel,
say sorry now'
Session 7:Monday Afternoon
9. Add in the duckling characters from the previous page and add a speech bubble of them all saying
sorry.
Begin to create the sixth page using the background from the first page of the book, have the original
mother duckling character sat on the grass whilst the ducklings are in the water.
Create a frog character and swan characters that will also join in making fun of the ugly duckling
Session 8:Tuesday Morning
Add in speech bubbles for the new characters insulting the ugly duckling saying 'You don't fit in here'
and 'why are you so ugly'
Place the ugly duckling character in a corner far away from everyone else then add in the text for the
sixth page
Start creating the background for the 7th page, to do this split the page into four equal sections. For the
backgrounds of each 4 sections keep them simple by only having a field of grass and the sky with a little
tree to the left hand side.
Session 9:Thursday Afternoon
10. In each of the different sections add in a different weather condition ( sun, snow, rain, and normal) to
represent how long the duckling has been away for. Add in the ugly duckling character from the first
couple of pages and sit him in the first section.
Slowly alter the duckling so that he eventually turns into a swan in the fourth section.
Add in the text for this page and begin creating the eighth page using the original background again.
Add in the mother duck, the ducklings the frog and the swan characters, and add speech bubble coming
from the mother saying to the ugly duckling 'Wow, you look beautiful'
Session 10: Friday Morning
Add the text and then have a zoomed in version of the ugly duckling looking into his reflection of the
pond for the ninth page, in his reflection must be a swan.
Continue to create this page and add in the text.
Finally to create the tenth page use the background from the third page and add in all of the characters
surrounding the now beautiful swan and smiling with him. Then add in the text for this final page
11. Health and safety:
Your health and safety and that of those around you is very important. Just like in industry, an accident could prevent you from
working. Whilst we don’t work in a highly dangerous environment, there are still risks. Some are short term, such as trips and
spillages whilst others, such as long term damage to eyesight or back problems, may affect you much later in life.
Consider the risks based on the activities you will be undertaking during the project. Explain how you could prevent them from
happening.
Ensure you reference appropriate pieces of legislation, design to protect people at work.
Health and Safety Issue How can you prevent it?
Could damage your eyesight for staring at a computer
screen for long periods of time
Make sure to take regular 5 minute breaks every hour
from the computer screen so that it does not damage your
eyesight.
Trip over bags and chairs.
Make sure that all bags are tucked safely away under the
desks and make sure all chairs are tucked in so that the
chance of tripping up is decreased.
12. Spillage of a bottle/drink
Make sure that you only drink water within the room,
when drinking your water make sure you are away from
the computers so you don't spill any and damage the
computers.
Discomfort
Make sure that you're sat straight in the chair with both
feet firmly on the ground. Also ensure that your monitor
and keyboard are at a comfortable distance for you.