DGEPF

1. Graphic Narrative
Evaluation

2. Does your final product reflect your
original intentions?
• My final product does reflect my original intentions in some areas, when I first thought of my book, I pictured my
main characters having caterpillar parents, throughout the development of the book, I found out that caterpillars
do not give birth to other caterpillars, and as my story features caterpillar parents, I had to re-do a few scenes and
re-do my script, this was a major set back and effected my original intentions a lot, but I managed to re-create the
script and change the scenes. I hoped to develop a child-like, cartoony, simple yet fun children’s book and I feel
like I have accomplished my task with the use of Photoshop tools and creativity, with the aid of my pre-planned
sketches and scripts, I managed to develop my original intentions and make them into a reality.
• My book could’ve been in much better detail, but I am happy with my results, its not too simple, it does have a
few nice details throughout but not enough to make it too realistic, the cartoon factor is strong but with small
details, it balances it out and gives the book a nice finish, with the use of earth colours and keeping it consistent
throughout the book, I managed to replicate what I first had in mind when coming up with the children’s book, I
wanted to make it seem like the main character (Carl) was actually in a caterpillar world.
• I had to make a few changes throughout, but the changes made it better, my final product does not only reflect
my original intentions but is also better than my original intentions, throughout the development of the pages, I
have found little things that would be 10 times better with a little detail such as, shading, texturing, overlays,
gradients and slight tweaks in characters, all these details have a positive factor to my book, I did not plan on
adding many details because I thought it would be too detailed for a children’s book, but even with a few tiny
details on the characters and surroundings, it makes the book look better whilst still keeping the cartoon factor to
it. As I went through my book, I found out that changing things such as colour of the sky, grass and buildings adds
depth to the story, adding shading on objects adds definition whilst still keeping the cartoon style. My colour
scheme for my original intentions was to use very bright colours, I decided that bright colours were not my best
choice I chose to dull the colours down, using earthy, dark colours was a better option for me, due to the
characters state of mind, using darker colours would be more suitable in the story.

3. How well have you constructed your
images?
• I think I constructed my images well. I constructed my images using simple shape tools
on Photoshop, I used shapes such as rectangles, circles and even some custom shapes to
create different objects but with the use of transform tools to warp and distort the
shapes, I can create objects that are not supplied on an ordinary shape tool, this comes
in handy when I wish to add detail to a scene, little things in the background such as the
sun, a chair, grass or clouds can give make the scene look a lot more better, instead of
having big blank boring spaces, I filled them in with clouds or the sun etc.
• In the book “A Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle, it combines simple shapes such as
rectangles and circles to create larger objects to construct the background. I did a similar
effect and used shapes to create bigger objects, such as buildings, tables, doors and the
surroundings in general, this is a great, simple way of creating a background, and using
textures, overlays and effects I made the background look a little more abstract than
what it would look like without detail. I used easily recognizable colours like browns and
greens to keep the story consistent, I picked a story about a caterpillar and then built
from that, using earthy colours to add a sense of realism and to make the story more
immersive, I used the same range of colours throughout to add consistency I also used
shading as this is a good way to add definition and perspective, I had to use shading
techniques and I had to scale and re scales objects to add good perspective and
definition to a scene, with the use of transform tools and shading, I could easily achieve
this. In scene 8, where Carl turns into a butterfly, I had to somehow make it look like he
was looking in a mirror, this was difficult, but I replicated a mirror by using a light blue
rectangle and turning the opacity down quite a lot, whilst leaving the rest of the scene
opaque. On scene 7, you see Carl back in his bedroom, with the door open, to make it
look like the door was opened, I had to make the door a lot thinner, and by adding a
stroke to it, it would make the door stand out more, I also put an image of some
ordinary wood where the door used to be, this made it look like it was leading outside of
the room into a hallway perhaps.

4. How well have you used text to anchor
your images
• I think the text anchors the image well, the text explains what is happening in the scene very well, it is
easy to understand how the text relates to the scene, I got significant parts of the scene and tried to
include them in the text, just in case the reader does not point this parts out, I believe my text explains
the scene in a good, simple and understandable way. After completing a page, I would read through the
text and see if it matches the image, if not, I would go back to the draft scripts and change it so it
matches the scene and pointed out significant parts of the scene.
• Below is an image from my book, it shows how the text correlates with the image well and tells you
exactly what is happening in the scene, I originally put a glow around the text, but it was inconsistent to
the other pages, so I decided just to stick with a plain black font, this works very well as it does not
interfere with the background, the font style is easy to read and the colour makes it stand out on the
background, making it a lot easier for the reader to read and understand

5. Is your product suitable for your
audience?
• I think my product is suitable for my target audience. I chose a target audience of 5-8 years old, my
children’s book has a very good cartoon factor to it, this appeals to children around that age because they
would currently watch cartoons and grow up with them so they would be interested in cartoony style
things such as my book, my book also follows The Obscene Publications Act 1959 , no mature content is in
my book, my book is not defined as a toy so the New Toy Safety Directive 2009 is not needed. The
audience ranges from 5-8 as it leaves a good age range to focus on, my product involves nice, simple
colours and talking insects, children would find this fun and interesting, I also included a school in my book
(Caterpillar school) this relates to children at 5-8 years old as children usually start school as the age of 5,
so my book may interest and excite them about school.
• My children’s book contains no strong language or mature content, so children would not be influenced in
any way. My book is based around caterpillars, and can potentially get children involved in nature and wild
life, this would be good to educate children and get them interested in activities such as going out and
looking for new things, 5-8 years old is a good age range, they start learning new things and nature and
wild life would be interesting and fun to them, my book does not contain very hard words, the
terminology is easy to read and would fit well into a 5-8 year olds vocabulary, what’s the point of creating
a children’s book that children can’t even read? So using easy vocabulary would benefit to the children’s
reading experience.

6. What do you like/dislike about the
techniques you have used?
• I really like my use of the custom shape tool, I used it to create
abstract shapes and objects I could not find or create using an
ordinary shape tool, I also used ordinary shapes such as rectangles
and circles and combined them to create larger objects and
surroundings I liked this as it allowed me to use my imagination to
create the environment in the story. The transform tool also allows
you to warp and distort shapes, I really liked this tool as it let me
create abstract objects such as beds and characters, the transform
tool is very useful as it gives you the power to create whatever
object you like and shape any object into what you need, this
comes in use when you need to create an obscure object. With the
use of shading techniques, I could add perspective to the
surroundings and add definition, this is good as it gives a more
abstract background and can give characters and objects some
definition.
• I dislike my consistency of textures throughout the book, I would
use textures on one page and completely miss them out on
another page, I think it would look better if I had used textures
throughout the book, as my 1st page had some nice textures on it, I
would’ve preferred to have carried that out throughout the book. I
would’ve liked to do some rotoscoping a lot more throughout my
book, but I found out it did not aid me in all tasks, I knew I could
create my book with simple shape and transform tools on
Photoshop, rotoscoping was good when I had to create the
butterfly, it allows me to get details from the wings and body, but
apart from the butterfly, I found no use of rotoscoping but I
would’ve liked to use it a lot more. House curtains are
textured
House curtains are
not textured
Here is a look at inconsistency in my book, in scene 3, the
curtains are not textured, in scene 9, the curtains have
been textured and are a slightly different colours.

7. What do you like/dislike about how
your final product looks?
• I like how my final product is set out, my text anchors the images very well, it is easy to tell what is
happening and where the situations are taking place, the colours go well with each other and easily define
different parts of the surroundings. I like how I have used the transform tools to create objects, I had to
use a lot of imagination to come up with ideas for the shapes I needed. I also like how I have started from
scratch and have been able to develop a whole book just from Photoshop tools, with creativity and
imagination, I managed to create most of my book just from the shape tools.
• I do not like my lack of characters, I think that I could’ve added more characters to make the story more
immersive, instead of using caterpillars, I could’ve added more insects, just to add some diversity I also
think I could’ve given them more details to define the characters, give them unique personal differences, I
think I could’ve given each character their own personalities, this would make the book more interesting
and allow the reader to get a better look at each character.

8. Why did you include the content you
used?
• Font: I feel the font I chose is very suitable for my book, it is easy
to read and is very visible to the reader, the font I chose is not too
striking, it does not have any special features to it, it is a plain,
simple font that works well with my book.
• Images: I only used one image from the internet in my book, I
used a blue butterfly from Google images, I found out that I could
create abstract, large objects by just using the shape and
transform tools, so I did not have to browse the internet for a long
time looking for a picture I want.
• Effects: I used a few effects throughout the book, such as
texturing and filters, using these effects add a lot of definition to
the book, but still leaving it with a cartoony style. Using the filter
gallery can make a piece of your work look quite cartoony and the
filter gallery offers a lot of options.
• I only included one piece of internet content in my book, most of
my book is all made from scratch and edited and developed
through Photoshop, I preferred doing most of it in Photoshop as I
felt like it offered me more freedom to construct whatever it is I
need.

9. What signs, symbols or codes have
your used in your work?
• My book is about caterpillars so I decided to choose earthy colours for
the scenes, to give my book a slight sense of realism, when someone
looks at greens and browns, the first thing that pops up in mind is nature
and a very natural environment. In scene 5 and 6 there is a group of
caterpillars that are teasing Carl, when we look at this group and then
look at Carl who is on his own, he immediately think of Carl being the left
out character, as he has nobody around him, he is lonely but when we
look at a group of characters, we think that they are a stronger, more
intimidating group of characters.
• We can also see a significant size difference between Carl and the other
characters, when you take a look at the size difference, it tells you
straight away that Carl is the inferior character.
• The house is very straight-forward, it is not a very detailed house, it is a
simple house with 4 windows, a door and chimney, when we look at a
drawing of a house like this, it can resemble a children’s drawing as it is
very basic and not detailed, same with the trees, the trees are very basic
as it consists of two colours, greens and brown, this is similar of how a
child would draw a tree.

10. What representations can be found in
your work?
• My book does not include varied social groups, races, ages or religions, I did not choose to have different
social groups in my book as I would like my book to show equality, keeping the characters the same will
not potentially stereotype groups of people, the only difference between the characters is that the main
character is smaller than the others, I have not created different groups of characters as I find it
unnecessary due to the story of the book.
• The story of my book does include teasing but not too excessive to the point it becomes vulgar, the
meaning of the book is too not care about what other people think about you, just keep staying positive
and things will get better, this is why I included the teasing, too show how other people can put you down,
but to never listen to them.

11. What style have you employed in your
products?
• I chose a cartoony style for my book, cartoons have been influential
to children’s for years and has been a positive thing for children, I
thought using a cartoon style would catch children’s eyes and it will
relate to them, having a cartoon style if simple, easy and effective, it
works well, especially for a children’s book. I decided to use
caterpillars as characters because it adds a fun and new addition for
children, it also can intrigue children into looking into nature and the
wildlife, so I like to believe using caterpillars as characters is a good
influence, they are not a harmful or scary creatures, so it is relevant
for a children's book, I employed a cartoon, simple style from the
book The Lonely Caterpillar by StoryJumper, they used simple shapes
to create a whole caterpillar world, they used quite earthy colours
such as greens and browns to add realism to the caterpillar story, I
replicated the earth colours as I thought it was very suitable for the
story I was doing, The Lonely Caterpillar also uses shading techniques
to add definition to the book.

12. What were the strengths and weaknesses
of the pre-production and planning
• How did the planning and research help
• Planning and research helped a lot, I could get a good grasp on what I needed to do and what would help improve
my book, planning helped me set out the pages, where text, characters and surroundings would go and when it
came to the development of the book, I could easily look at my plans and easily set out each page how I intended
it too, research helped me by giving me good ideas on what style I could use, I wanted a cartoon styled book and
by research existing products, I could find out what style would be best for me.
• How well did you manage your time
• I feel like I could’ve spent a little more time focuses on minor details, I finished before the deadline, but if I had
spent a little more time on the book, it would’ve added those slight details that would improve my book a little bit
more, I created a schedule for my children’s book, I planned out what page I would do on each day, so I had a clear
timetable of what I needed to do and when I needed to do it.
• Reference specific examples
• Specific examples include my drawn pages, I drew 10 pages and each page consisted of one scene, this helped me
out a lot as it allowed me to look back at them and set out the book as I first planned it, with a few tweaks
obviously, it allows me to place text where it would fit best, place characters where they would fit best and
construct the overall surroundings of the book. The script I did allowed me to be able to see what font size would
be best for my book, I knew that the more text I had, the more space I would need, so I constructed the pages in a
way where I could easily place text, no matter the length, it would fit onto the page.

13. Historical and cultural context
• Before starting my book, I had a look at a few other professional
children's books, such as:
- ‘Giraffes can’t dance’ by Giles Andrea
- ‘Tom and Millie's Wizzy Busy People’ by Guy-Parker Rees
- ‘A Very Hungry Caterpillar’ by Eric Carle
• These books gave me a lot of inspiration, I liked the illustration from A
Very Hungry Caterpillar, you can tell it’s a children’s book just by the
illustration, it is very simple colours and techniques used.
• I liked the page layout for Giraffes Can’t Dance, it used a 2 page spread
with text on the actual image, I liked this idea because instead of having
one page an image and the other text, it mixed it up and placed them
together, this would be better for children as they could read the book
and look at the pictures at the same time, so there would not be any
boring reading moments. Current products include ‘The Lonely
Caterpillar’ by StoryJumper, I based my book off of this, it has a very
similar storyline, It is a very simple book made via a computer, but the
results are very good, it looks very cartoony and the techniques used are
comparable to mine, such as, simple shapes to create objects, buildings
used to add a hint of human-like realism and earthy colours to show the
caterpillar’s surroundings. The illustrations for books such as ‘Giraffes
can’t dance’ and ‘Tom and Millie's Whizzy Busy people’ are very
advanced, they are very detailed and textured, the illustration for my
book ‘The Caterpillars Miracle’ is less advanced but still has key elements,
such as, the main character is featured on my front cover and the scenery
that the story is placed in is on the front cover.

14. Peer Feedback
• Summarise peer feedback and discuss
• All in all it was very impressive. I specifically liked how you always compared your points to professional
books and seeing what you could improve on and how you took inspiration from the pros.
• I agree with the feedback, I took other professional books into consideration and saw what I could improve
on, seeing how other illustrators used techniques and how pages were set out.