The document summarizes the planning, production process, and evaluation of a graphic narrative created by the author. Some key points: - The author created storyboards early in the process using stock images to plan page layouts and ensure their final product reflected original intentions. - Characters and backgrounds were constructed in Photoshop using basic tools like the lasso tool and layers. Text was placed in high-contrast areas for readability. - Through experimenting with facial expressions and shadowing, the author aimed to make characters more lifelike despite the simple cartoon style. - While mostly pleased with achieving their cartoon aesthetic and 3D effects, the author notes some technical issues like inconsistent character details and

1. Graphic Narrative
Evaluation

2. Does your final product reflect your
original intentions?
Here we have my story-
board.
This was just a quick
Photoshop of pre-made
images off the internet.
I simply put them
together in the order
that I wanted, to get
the look that I wanted.
This helps massively
because it allows me to
plan how I want my
story to look.

3. Let’s compare page 10.
To the left is what I wanted the page to look like during planning.
To the right is the final piece.
First things first, we can see that the text is in the exact same place (the white box indicates
text).
Obviously the background has changed. This was on purpose, because I didn’t want just a plain gra
land. I only used it during pre-production because I couldn’t find what I wanted, and it was easy.
Then we have the two deer in pretty much the exact same position.
Although the lion isn’t in the same place, I still have a lion in the background roaring.
Lastly, there’s just a few extra details that were added for improvement and aesthetics.
So overall, I would say that my final product
does in fact reflect my original intentions.

4. How well have you constructed your
images?
• I started off by planning what my main characters would look like.
I drew many different versions of cartoon deer with pen and paper, until I
settled on the one that I liked the most.
• I then scanned it into Photoshop and added some final touches. For example: I
went over the pen with black to make the outlines stand out more. I added the
colours to the two deer, and I fixed any errors.
All using the magic wand tool to select certain parts. I also copied and pasted
the head of the deer to experiment with different facial expressions. I did this
by selecting the head using the marquee tool, then CMD+C and CMD+V, then I
painted over the face. This gave me a blank space to draw and experiment with
the faces.
Another thing I added was shadowing. This was again really simple. I just drew
a black oval, placed it underneath the animals, added a Gaussian blur (changing
the opacity if needs be), and created a clipping mask for the ground
underneath the shadow. This creates the effect that the animals are more life-
like, and looks as if they really are standing on 3D ground, instead of the
background looking like it was a 2D painting part of a children’s play.

5. Here’s the flat plan of what I wanted my deer to
look like.
And here’s the final result.
The background that I used was made by the lasso tool. It’s simple really. Just use the lasso
tool to draw whatever you want, fill it with your chosen
colour with the paint bucket, then create a new layer and
repeat.
As I wanted a mountain-y/plain type background, I created
this: (right).
However, in the final piece, I changed the grass from a
preset brush to my own custom grass.
And when I needed to, I moved the background along and
drew some more for a new scene.

6. From here, it was just a simple process to create the rest of the pages.
I used the same process of pen and paper to create new characters, such as the giraffe and
the hidden snail:
(It’s pixelated because of enlargement. The snail is so small in every
page to ensure difficulty.)
Then it was a simple copy-and-paste after creating all my characters.
Everything was added on separate layers just in case I needed to change anything, without
ruining something else.
Even the background has it’s own layers.

7. Here’s the final plan of the lion.
I had planned to feature some cartoon birds,
but they didn’t really fit in.
Here’s some more background features.
The line through the giraffe is where I cut it in
Photoshop to make it thinner.
The snail is the hidden Easter egg, this is before it was
coloured in and hidden.

8. How well have you used text to anchor
your images
• The text I have used uses the herculanum font.
Which looks like this. I think this is a suitable font
because it seems to fit in with the African-like
landscape that my story is set in.
• I set the font size at 30pt so it’s easier for children
to read.
• And I’ve placed the text in the sky (most of the
time) because they’re two contrasting colours
(black and yellow), meaning the text is easier to
see.

9. Is your product suitable for your
audience?
• I wrote in my proposal that: “My main Target Audience is for both
males and females under the age of 12.”
So I’d say my book is more than suitable for that age range.
But despite this, there’s no blood or violence whatsoever.
The closest you could get to any sort of violence is when
Joe hits his head on a rock. Or the idea that the lion is going
to attack the deer in the last page, but you still don’t see it.
• The only thing that I fear is whether children will
understand my book. Because I know that it may be
difficult for some to understand why Joe said “I am a lion…”
after he hit his head. But that’s also why my age range is so
high, because it’s more likely that children up to the age of
12 will understand it better.

10. What do you like/dislike about the
techniques you have used?
• I like my techniques because they’re really simple and really easy to
understand.
• For example, the technique I used to create my background. It may
seem complicated when I explain it. But once you see It in action, you
will understand. And you can create some really good looking final
pieces.
• The only technique I don’t like is when I had to add to my background
for different scenes. This is because in the corner of default
background, there’s a yellow-white gradient overlay. So when I
needed to add to that side of the piece, I needed to recreate that
gradient overlay. But I was un-successful. Meaning I simply had to
paint over it, but it looked like this:
The way I got round it was by
placing Joe over the top. However,
you are still able to see some of it.

11. What do you like/dislike about how
your final product looks?
• Compared to my pre-production planning, I really like the way my final
product looks. I believe I’ve achieved the cartoon aesthetic that I was
aiming for, and I’m proud. However, nothing’s perfect.
• As pointed out before, I had trouble with parts of the background, and I’ve
been unable to fix it. So unfortunately I’ve had to stick with the error.
• Because I had to re-draw Joe and Francis a couple of times, they look
different in some scenes. In one particular scene (page 8), their under
bellies don’t line up with their front fur. This kind of ruins the effect that
they’re real entities.
• I also dislike how the animals don’t look like proper cartoons. Obviously
I’m unable to achieve this effect, but the fact that you can still see some
pixels, and parts of the animals don’t look as professional as they could be,
bothers me.
• I also think that the grass looks a little bit like seaweed.
• Despite all this, I do like the shadowing that I’ve added to every animal. I
think it adds to the 3D effect that I was aiming for in the background.

12. Why did you include the content you
used?
• I haven’t used any pre-made images. Everything that is included in my final product
was drawn/rotoscoped by hand.
But I added some little things in the backgrounds because I think it adds to the
environment. For example: the giraffe. I added that because it seems to suit the
place that my story is set it.
I added the snail Easter egg for some enjoyment. It’s something small and simple
that the kids can enjoy finding while reading the book.
• The small effects that are included (such as the shadowing) really add to the 3D
look that I was going for.
• The colours I chose for the background was simply because I set the story in a
dusty, mountain, plain type place. And I think bright green hills would’ve been out
of place.
With that being said, I did make the deer multiple different colours so it was easier
for the children to understand who’s who. So you’ve got Francis, who’s the green
deer. Joe is the blue one. And all the orange and red deer are just extras.
I also decided to make Joe’s eyes different to Francis’ because they have two
different types of personality. Joe is supposed to be adorable and loveable, hence
the big, white, anime styled eyes with a black outline. Whereas Francis is more the
serious type, hence the more normal looking eyes.

13. What signs, symbols or codes have
your used in your work?
• I don’t think I have used any cultural
competence symbols in my work. The only
thing that could be classed as a symbol, that
I’ve done on purpose, would be the colour
choice for the background.
As stated before, I chose the orangey-brown
colours because I set the location in an almost
African-like landscape.

14. What representations can be found in
your work?
• My book does not feature any men, women, children, ages,
races, social groups or religions. This is because my book is
about a deer who’s convinced he’s a lion.
Although I suppose that because Joe’s eyes are supposed to
show that he’s adorable and loveable, that is a
representation.
• I planned to feature some rotoscoped animals in the book.
The rotoscoped ones were supposed to represent adults,
and the cartoon animals represent babies/children. Which
is partly why Joe thinks he’s a lion. But because it didn’t suit
the books style, I decided against it.
• Another representation could be what I stated before,
about the background. The dusty colours and little grass
represents an African landscape.

15. What style have you employed in your
products?
• My design was influenced by this:
This was just a cartoon that I found on the internet. You
can see where I got my inspiration from.
• Although it wasn’t my main inspiration, I got the
simplicity from the cartoon Adventure Time.
• I chose the simplicity for my characters mainly because
it was quick and easy to draw. But also because children
are used to seeing cartoons and simple things, rather
than detailed animals with lots of different colours. It
made more sense to have a simple, plain coloured
animal.

16. What were the strengths and weaknesses
of the pre-production and planning
• The planning and research helped massively because It gave me an
idea of what I wanted my final product to look like. And during the
production, I was able to flip back and forth to the planning and
remind myself where I want specific things to be.
• I managed my time by creating a time sheet. It had how many
sessions I had to create my book, and what I’d do in each session to
ensure that I got my book completed in time. Despite this, I was
able to finish my book basically within the first week. After that it
was just all improvements.
One of the pages was already finished before I’d started the
production, because it was the test page. I thought it was to a good
enough standard to make the final cut. All I needed to do was touch
it up a bit.

17. Historical and cultural context
• One existing product that is almost similar to my book
is the Adventure Time comics. This is again because of
the simplicity, and the black outlines. I think my book is
similar purely because of the aesthetics.
Although I love it, Adventure Time is ridiculous.
Whereas my book is a little more serious.
• I know that my book is not as good as the adventure
time comics. This is because they have a professional
artist, and I’m just a beginner (sort of). Plus their
storylines and ideas are much more interesting and
intriguing.

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