media

1. Graphic Narrative
Evaluation

2. Use this template to help you evaluate your project.
You should give specific details about your work.
You should provide both written and visual examples to explain your project.
You should find areas to praise in your work. Be specific about why you think they are
good or why you are proud of them.
You should also find areas that could be improved. Look for areas that you could make
better if you went back to them. Be specific about what you would improve.
Add additional slides as you need to. Don’t be restricted by what is here.
Any blank slides should be deleted before submission.

3. Does your final product reflect your
original intentions?
My final product is very similar to what my original intentions were but there were a few changes I made along
the way. For my illustrations I originally said I was going to rotoscope along with using the comic book
effect but when it came to creating the children's book I decided that a comic book effect wouldn’t go well
with the rotoscope illustrations so I decided to switch to using shapes instead.
The layout of the pages turned out the same from my flat plans apart from on some of the pages I had to
reposition the text a little bit to fit onto the page better and make sure the pages didn’t look too over
crowded. I also had to move the characters around to makes sure that they all fitted on the page well and
made sure the pages didn’t have too much going on that it made the story/illustrations distracting.

4. The outcome of the book didn’t change much from my original idea because I wanted to keep the book simple
for my younger audience and that’s what I have drawn and thought about in my story board. On my story
board I wrote a little bit about what the story/script is about and I kept that exactly the same because I think
the script and storyline was a really good idea but I feel like I could have tried to keep the same amount of text
on each page.
Overall the outcome of my final product from my original idea was very similar with a few changes to make sure
everything worked well together and in my opinion I think it could have been a good idea to have made the pages a
bit bigger to make sure the text and illustrations on some of the pages fitted on better to make it look less crowded
and distracting.

5. How well have you constructed your
images?
In my opinion the images I created were all consistence by all having the same style and colour scheme throughout the
book. On most of the pages I used bright colours to make the pages look eye catching and it also made it have a more
happy and fun look to it but, on the pages in the forest I used slightly darker colours to make the forest feel like more of
a spooky place rather than it being bright and cheerful. This also made sure the book had a variation of images and
colours used.
I decided to rotoscope parts of the characters because I found this was the easiest technique earlier on in the project and I
found out that using shapes for animals/characters was a lot harder because I found it difficult to warp the shape to
exactly what I wanted it to look like whereas, I had more control in rotoscope and could add smaller details when
rotoscoping.
I created this using
different shapes and
this is when I realised
it was difficult to add
detail to the elephant
and new I wasn’t going
to use it for the
characters in my book.
I created this image
by rotoscope and it
was a longer
process but I found
that you could add
more detail and the
outcome looked
more professional
so I new it would
be the best
technique to use
for my characters.

6. For simple images like the backgrounds, parts of the tree and the house (1) is when I used shapes to create them because
most of them were created using very simple shapes like rectangles and circles but when I stated to create the characters
(2) I wanted to add more detail so I rotoscoped them which in my opinion is an easier technique. Once I had created the
backgrounds I added a gradient to the shapes to make them look more interesting and stand out a little more but I feel like
instead of just adding a gradient I could have added some texture to the grass and sky to make them more realistic.
(1) (2)
I added texture to a few of the images I created like the house and tree trunks(3) to make them look more interesting and a
little bit more realistic. This also helped them to stand out from the background whereas if I left it as one block of colour I
feel like it wouldn’t have stood out from the background and would have blended in with the background instead.
I feel like I created all of the images to a good standard but if I had more time I would have gone back to add some more
detail and texture to certain parts of the backgrounds.
(3)

7. How well have you used text to anchor
your images
On every page I put the text in a box and then changed the opacity of it so it shows part of the background through the box
to show all of the images on that page. I added a drop shadow to the box as well to make it stand out a bit from the
background and makes it more interesting and unique. Some of the pages looked a bit crowded because I had a lot of
different images on one pages but I also left a gap on each page to add the text in. (4)
(4)
The text was the last thing I added to all of my pages and
the language I used I kept simple since it is a children's
book. I looked at the original scrip then put a twist onto
the story to make it more unique but I made sure that I
could create images related to the script.
When I had all the text on every page I then changed the
distance between the sentences and letters by going into
the windows setting on Photoshop and clicking on
characters, and the character setting allows me to
change the distance between letters, sentences and
words. The font I used was called American Typewriter
and I used this font because it is very simple and easy for
children to read.

8. Is your product suitable for your
audience?
In my proposal I said that my audience was children aged 6-9 but I feel like I could make this audience wider
and have the book appeal to 4-9 year olds instead because in my opinion the illustrations in my book
would appeal to a younger audience but the story would appeal more to children that have just learnt to
read since on some pages there is a lot of text.
The audience for my children’s book would be for children aged 4-8 and it would be targeted at both males
and females because the two main characters (Hansel and Gretel) are male and female so both genders
can relate to one of the two main characters along with the other two characters (Hansel and Gretel's
father and mother) in the book who are also male and female. Since the original book was from
Germany this could be a good way to expand my audience and target children and parents in Germany
along side targeting children and parents in the UK. It could also appeal to parents who have children
because they will be the ones buying the book so the social grade would be ABC1 so parents that have a
family and a stable job so they have a good income and they would be able to afford the book. In my
opinion I think my book is suitable for the audience I am targeting it at because of the characters in it
and the good story line.

9. What do you like/dislike about the techniques
you have used?
When creating the backgrounds these are the shapes/tools I used. I like doing
the backgrounds this way because it was really quick and easy because all I
had to do was create the shape and then pick the colour I wanted but I
disliked that if I was warping one of the shapes a lot of the time it wouldn’t
create the right shape I wanted and took too long.
The polygonal lasso was my favourite tool to use when creating my characters
because it allowed be to be very precise with certain aspects like facial features
or adding bits of detail. I didn’t like that sometimes if I was making a selection it
would create the selection half way through but it was easy to fix by adding a
new section to it. The only thing I found really difficult with this told is creating
the hands for all of the characters because I could never get the right shape or
angle of them.

10. If I wanted to add texture to some of my illustration I would
use this tool to help me because it allows me to select certain
parts/texture of an image and then use that texture on my
own illustrations which made the illustrations more
interesting and realistic. I really liked this tool to add all of the
texture onto the tree trunks because I added more colour to
them and made sure the trunk wasn’t just one block of colour
but I disliked that sometimes if I wanted to get a texture of an
image it wouldn’t work because there wasn’t enough
contrast/texture on the original image for the tool to pick it
up and select.
I got lots of different ideas for my illustration in my book by creating different mood boards earlier on in the project and
looking at existing products showed me how to make the illustrations look professional. One book the inspired me was
Elmer because the artwork was very simple and used loads of bright colours which made the book eye catching so when it
came to create my illustrations instead of drawing them like the artwork in Elmer I used shapes and rotoscope but also used
bright colours which I feel like made my books stand out and all of these tool helped me achieve what I wanted.

11. What do you like/dislike about how your
final product looks?
There is many different aspects of my work that I like and dislike. The first aspect I really like is the box (5) I put my
text in because it made sure that my text stood out from the background and was easy for the children to
read it and I liked that I lowered the opacity on it so you could see part of the background through it. The text
also inside the box I also like because it easy for children to read and is a simple font. The backgrounds I
created I liked because they are really simple and I used lots of bright colours which made the pages stand
out but I disliked that I didn’t add any texture into the background because I feel like it could have made the
backgrounds more realistic and it could have made the backgrounds look a little more professional. I add
texture to the tree trunks(6) which at first I thought wouldn’t work out well but ones I added texture to most
of the tree trunks I really liked it because it added some more colour to the tree and made them look a bit
more realistic.
(5)
(6)

12. There are both things I like and dislike about the characters I created. I liked how all of the
characters were all in different positions(7) but I didn’t like that they never changed positions
throughout the book and if I had more time I would have changed them to have more variation.
The colours I used were mostly bright which I liked because it made them stand out from the
darker background. The main part of the characters I dislike are the hands because I found them
really difficult to create because I had to make sure I got the right angle for them and I feel like
they could have turned out a lot better than how they are now.
(7)
In my opinion if I had more time on the project there
could be some things that could be improved to
make my children's book look more professional but
overall I am happy with the outcome and feel like
this book can entertain children.

13. Why did you include the content you
used?
There are different reasons why I included all the content I did. The colours I used in my book were mostly very
bright colours because it made the book stand out and look eye catching but on a few pages I used darker
colours to create a different feel to the page and add different emotions. The font I used was really simple
so it was easy for the children to read it and by keeping it simple it made the pages look a bit more
professional. I added a gradient to a lot of the backgrounds to give them more depth and it allows makes
sure that the backgrounds weren't just one block of colour, this also helped add a variation of colour. I
added a lot of different images like trees, characters, houses and I included all of this in the book to create
my pages and I used different colour trees to make the forest look more realistic because not every tree is.
On most pages I included the characters because the book revolves around them but I didn’t include
different positions of them which could have made my book look more realistic and it could have made
the characters be more realistic.

14. What signs, symbols or codes have
your used in your work?
In the book there will be different signs and symbols that can all represent something.
The colours used in my book can all show different emotions, so where I have used brighter colours like green
and blue they can make you feel calm and gives that page a happier feel to it but when I used darker
colours like brown this made the pages feel more spooky and not calm and happy anymore. When looking
at existing children's books the colours sometimes change to associate it with different thing and create
different emotions and that is why I used both bright and dark colours on different pages in my book.
When creating my book I went for a very simple and eye catching style because this made the book stand out
and by having a simple layout with bright colourful images it attracts children more than having a dull and
very confusing layout.
My book is set either in a house, forest our next to the forest near the family house and all of these locations
can show children different things like the forest shows Hansel and Gretel like nature and are willing to
explore the forest. The family house at the start and end of the book change dramatically and can
symbolise how you can change they way you live depending on what you do. Then inside the tree house in
the book shows a calm and relaxing home which shows children and even parents to have a calm
environment around you.
With the characters I created the males are females are symbolised in different ways. The two females in the
book are both holding an object throughout the book Gretel has a basket to symbolise going to collect
something and the mother has a dog with her to symbolise her lover for animals. Hansel is never holding
an object in the book he just symbolises that brotherly figure to Gretel but the father is holding an axe
which symbolises the type of job he does on a day to day basis. Different people can interpret the
characters in different ways some people might see the females as being very girly and the men doing all
the work and being the main characters in the book where as other people might see the female
characters as doing all tasks and being the main part of the book.

15. What representations can be found in
your work?
There are only four different characters in my book but they are different ages and all represent something.
The female characters in my book are stereotypically shown is being girly because they are wearing skirts and
have long hair but they are both very different. Hansel and Gretel's mother is represented as being
independent and loves animals, nature and her family where as Gretel is shown as being shy and need
relies on her brother Hansel.
The males in the book are represented in a very different way, Hansel is shown is being more confident than
Gretel and can be seen as a caring older brother. Hansel and Gretel's father is represented in a more
stereotypical way by having the axe it shows him as being strong and more of the physical tasks.
My book features different ages because we have Hansel and Gretel who are teenager and their parents who
are adults. This can show children the difference between adults and teenagers and by having a rang of
characters it would appeal to a wider audience.
In my opinion I think there is a little bit of representation in my book but I feel like I could have added more
variation by how the characters are shown throughout the book and could have shown how they change
from the beginning to the end.

16. What style have you employed in your
products?
The style of my work is a very simple layout with cartoon artwork. There were a few books that influenced me on
what style I wanted my book to look like.
The first book the influenced me was Elmer because the layout in the book is really simple and has very bright bold
artwork which I wanted in my own book to make it eye catching(8). Each page in this book was covered with
artwork with the story/text on the same page and this then gave me different ideas of how I could incorporate
the text over my artwork.
The second book that was a big influence on my book was Harry and the bucketful of dinosaurs(9), because I really
liked how the artwork had been done. On each page there was a lot of detail in the artwork and it really showed
how to think about the perspective of the artwork. This book also added the text over the artwork which again
influenced me to put the text on the same page as the artwork.
(8)
(9)

17. The visual style of my work is very bright and colourful artwork which makes the book stand out and become more
eye catching for children. I made my book like this because I feel if I used dull colours then children would find it
boring and wouldn't appeal to them so by using bright colours(10) it would attract them because it would look fun
to read along with looking at all the different illustrations. The reason I went for this style was because all of the
books I research were well known and when I was looking through them they didn’t use dark colours they were all
bright and simple(11) which in my opinion is a good reason why children love them so I added them same style to
my own book to make sure children would be interested in it and would want to read it.
(10)
(11)

18. What were the strengths and weaknesses
of the pre-production and planning
Throughout my work there were many strengths and weaknesses.
The strengths of my planning are my mood boards(12) because they
helped me to think about different ways I could create some of
the artwork in my book and gave me a lot of inspiration on how
the forest should look and the way the characters are presented
but I feel like I could have added some more annotations to the
mood board so when I looked back at them I would have more to
read about my thought and ideas on the images.
(12)
I also created a mood board with different fonts(13) I could
have used but when I started creating my book I never used
any of the fonts so I feel like I could have explored more fonts
and had a variation and then I would have more likely used
one of the fonts I looked at earlier on in the project.
(13)

19. All of the planning I did for the book was useful in someway but when it came to writing the proposal(15) in my
opinion I feel like I should have added more detail so I new exactly what my story was, who it was aimed at and added
more detail into how different production methods could help when creating the artwork for the book. If I added
more detail I could have then looked back at it when creating my book to see who exactly my book was targeted at
but I think I didn’t give myself enough time on this task and that is why there isn't lots of detail.
(15)
I created two mind maps(14) to help me generate ideas and explore different story lines and ways of creating the
artwork for my book etc. The first mine map was to just show a variation of ideas and technique and the second mind
map was to generate ideas for my actually book I would be doing. These mind maps were a strength of the planning
because it helped me have all my ideas in one place but a weakness is that I could have expanded my first mind map
more to help explore different ideas.
(14)

20. I feel like the main strength of my pre-production was looking at the original Hansel and Gretel book then coming up
with a scrip from it and also drawing the story board and flat plans. The script helped me get an idea of the original
story and this then allowed me to put a twist on it to create my own story line but was still connected to the original
story line. The main strength throughout my pre-production is the story board(16) and flat plans(17) because they
helped me draw out my ideas that were I my head and see what they would look like and how everything would be
laid out on the pages. In this section on planning the only weakness was I didn’t have enough variation on my flat
plans and they all looked very similar.
(16)
(17)
Throughout the pre-production/planning I think I
managed my time really well because I gave myself a set
amount of time for each section so I was able to
complete it all and if I didn’t us all of the time for one of
the sections I would go back and improve other tasks but
I think that I would have benefited from having extra
time on some of the tasks like the proposal just to add
some more detail in. Overall every section of pre-
production/planning helped for when I started creating
the pages for my children's book.

21. Historical and cultural context
I think my work is very unique from previous Hansel and Gretel stories because I put a twist on it from the original
story line.
The original story came from Germany in 1812 where Hansel and Gretel get abandoned by their father and step
mother after struggling to have enough food to feed everyone and is then later on threatened by a witch that
lives in the forest in a house made up of cakes. Hansel and Gretel escape by outwitting the witch and make it
back home to their father. Since this fairy tale was first released, the story has changed over the years so I made
my book about this story line but added a twist to it so instead of finding a witch in the forest Hansel and Gretel
found their real mother and their mother and father got reunited instead of Hansel and Gretel getting reunited
with their father, which happens in the original story, so I feel like my book is similar to the original story but with
a twist.
Since 1812 there have been loads of different versions of Hansel and Gretel and has also been made into stop-motion
animation in the 1950s but recently it has been made into a popular film Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters(18)
and this film puts a more modern twist onto the original story. This film shows that the original story can be
changed in many different ways like I have done with my book. This film is a continuation on from the original
story which is what I have done for my book as well, I tried to continue on from the original story by getting rid of
the step mother and Hansel and Gretel are older.
(18)
This 2013 film focuses on 15 years after they got abandoned by
their father and they are now witch hunters and go around
destroying witches but find they are immune to the witches
spells and they get hired by a town mayor to rescue children
from the witches. Hansel and Gretel find out the witches are
planning something dangerous and have to stop them and along
the way find out the truth about there childhood. This is a very
good twist on the story because it still has witches as characters
which can be a big part of some fairy tales but this is a great
product too look at for in inspiration on putting a twist onto a
story.

22. 1842
illustration
1909
illustration
This illustration is from a Hansel and Gretel book that
was released in 1842. By looking at this artwork it shows
how much it has changed over the years and how
different this style of work is compared to mine. This
style of artwork has been drawn with lots detail which is
very different from the style I have in my own work
because I used different techniques on Photoshop to
create my style of work that is seen in my children’s
book.
This is a different illustration from the first one
because this is from a Hansel and Gretel book that
was released in 1909. Compared to my work this art
style is very different but very similar to the first
style of artwork because they have both been
drawn with lots of detail where as mine has all been
created on the computer and doesn’t have as much
detail as original artwork.
Looking at the different types of artwork that has been created for many versions of Hansel and Gretel shows that the story
is always changing and new storylines are being made from the original script, like my children’s book, and the artwork/style
is changing with it.

23. Peer Feedback
• Summarise peer feedback and discuss
– Responses you agree with
– Responses you disagree with