Graphic Narrative Evaluation

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.

Does your final product reflect your original intentions?

• Compare your planning/digital flat plans/ storyboards to your final product

• Overall my final story seems to be very similar to how I originally intended it to be. I was always intended on making the classic “Little Red Riding Hood” story. However it was later on when I decided to make my characters pigs. The reason’s for this are firstly people would’ve taken a lot longer to create so it saved time to make them pigs as I was on a schedule. Secondly the reason is because this is a children’s story so if pigs were to die in the story would be a lot less upsetting for children than people dying. My twist is probably the one major change I have done. Originally it was going to be the conventional ending of the Woodcutter and Little Red Cap saving the grandmother but then I thought about the moral of the story. The overall story was to avoid strangers perhaps the wolf even being a representation of a paedophile. So to further show that moral I changed in the story that the woodcutter would also be bad. As a result near the end of the story The Woodcutter kills the wolf and Little Red Cap.

• My original storyboard was very basic as I used a comic book program to produce it. For example it is black and white and there is very little background detail used in the storyboard. How the characters look in the story I never intended in the first place to look like my characters, I just used them to represent them. This is because the character customization was very basic on the program so I couldn’t make them look like I wanted to.

• I changed the effects and filters I used on my images to fit with my target audience. For example I used a sketched look on my background to seem crudely drawn and to relate to how children would draw at that age The characters on the other hand with a more cartoony look rather than sketch. This is because it makes the characters stand out from the background when the children are reading. I originally made the background and the text similar to each other because it would be much easier and simpler to create.

• In future I need to stick to my original plans and target audience rather than ignore it so then I don’t have to spend time changing it to fit my target audience and waste my time. As my target audience was that of a young age I had to spend time editing my images and text so they were suitable for a young age. This meant briefer, less intellectual writing so it would be easier to understand for young children. I needed to change my background images so I gave them bright colours and cartoony look so children will be attracted to them.

Pie on both tables

Pigs instead of peopleUsed as characters

How well have you constructed your images?

• How well have you constructed your images? You could talk about the overall visual appearance and well as the use of texture and colour.

• I got my images from Google images. The woodland background came from adverts advertising forests and hikes and bike rides. The insides of the mothers cottage and the grandmothers cottage come from advertisements for a cottage on a real estate agents website. I did this to get an authentic look of the backgrounds. I added effects to my images such as the sketch effect in the filter gallery to make the image seem like it was drawn rather than photographed. I did this firstly so the image looked like it belonged in a book and secondly so it wouldn’t be copyright infringement.

Sketch filter to create a scruffy sketched image from a photographed image

Table layer in front of background so characters can appear to be behind the table.

•I created my characters by using Shape Task. Using shapes to blend and create differen’t animals and creatures. Using circular shapes for their bodies heads and features to create pigs and wolves. For most, rather than creating them from scratch I used a base from Google image from a cartoon. The cartoon would be the background and I would match the shapes to It to create it in Photoshop. I would then use the colour palette to take colour from the original image I am basing to influence my character’s colour and creation.

Round body created from shape using shape task

Limbs made by Rotascoping around an image and colouring it.

How well have you used text to anchor your images

• You should talk about the combination of words, images and text.

•How did I edit my pictures to fit with the text?•I edited this picture, to show the wolf arriving at the house I put the cottage to appear in the distance and put the wolf up front, with his back to the audience. As if he’s looking towards the house.• I also changed the text of Page 10. I created it to describe something my pictures couldn’t as it was a children’s book. So I used page 10 to describe the thoughts of The Woodcutter as he thought of eating little Red Cap.

Is your product suitable for your audience?

• Reference your proposal• Give an audience profile and describe suitability in

reference to content• My target audience is children from ages 7-11 year olds for both boys and girls. This is because my story is a

children’s fairytale. The main character is a woman so young girls can relate that. However the nature of the story may relate and interest boys of that age too. I picked this audience so I could have a bit more freedom to write what I wanted more than I would if I was writing for younger children. For example darker story telling will be far more upsetting to younger children. The story is suitable for the target audience because the text is written in a simplistic form so that age group can understand it as they are very young. The characters are also basic shaped and less detailed so the animals seem less threatening. They are anthropomorphic animals which is frequent in children’s books. Talking animals seem to appear a lot which is also why it is suitable for this target audience because children are used to that idea. So that the story suited it’s audience I had to change a few things. One was the darkness of the story. You were going to see The Woodcutter cook and eat Little Red Cap but I realized themes of cannibalism were too dark for the audience. Instead I made the character of Little Red Cap a pig so that it would be far less upsetting to the audience if a pig were to die. It is also not cannibalism as The Woodcutter and Little Red Cap are different species. I changed the pictures of my book by making them cartoony, bright and colourful. I also changed how the lead character was killed. I made the death more of a hint rather than actually showing it.

As I have mentioned the part at the end where the main character is killed the audience may find that upsetting as children are used to conventional happy endings. The audience may become attached to the main character only to have her die. The grandmother’s death is also as bad as the same thing happens. Just before that the wolf is growling towards the audience which may also upset the audience.

What do you like/dislike about the techniques you have used?

• Reference specific tools you used with image• The Filter Gallery tool is a tool which as effects over the top of the image such as a black and white effect or a

water colour effect. I like this technique as one click of a button changes the entire image so it is quick and easy to use. However I dislike how in some instances it will turn the image green when it is not supposed to and miss out some detail that it too small to register on the filter so the image looks less detailed with the added filter. I also like the range of choice of differen’t filter’s you can choose from to edit your images with so that you can find the one you want. Also once you have found the one who want you can edit it further by changing the detail of the patterns and other things. The ink outline effect I used created a nice sketch look which looks like it belongs in a children’s book

• Rotascoping is very useful as you can create your images by clicking and dragging so you can create anything you want. I like the freedom of what you want to create as you can make your shapes as long and wide and as varied as you want. However you cannot create curves or anything rounded and anything that is round looks very jagged and distorted. I used rotascope to colourize part of my image, changing one colour to another. I also edited my backgrounds an characters with this tool.

• The shape task is something that I used to create my characters so they were made out of basic shapes. What I like about the shape task is as well as having many shapes to choose from I can also create my own shapes to use for my images. However with the shape task there is not as much of a variety to create your images.

The Colour Range tool captures the highlights and the shadows of an image so It can add in extra detail to images. I used this to add detail to my characters. The problem with this is some detail you may not want so you might need to go through your image removing some unneeded detail so it may take a while. I used the colour range for my characters which added detail like fur to them and shadow.

The healer tool is something I have used to change the image to make it seem different or to repair it. I have personally used the spot healer tool to change an image to make it look like a different background when it is in fact the same background.

Shape task to create the pigs body

Filter Gallery to change the forest photograph to a sketch.

What do you like/dislike about how your final product looks?

• I am happy with the way my images have turned out. Firstly I like how the characters look. The shapes I have used to create them and the bright colours. I also like the backgrounds and how I have used the filters to create scribbling drawings. They are done well so that they go with the text and show what is going on throughout the story.

•The message of my story is still reasonably obvious. It is not to talk to strangers and for the parents to protect the child and the child not to go wondering off. It is all these at once. It is made apparent by the mother learning from her mistake and going with the other child to take the pie. It is also shown as Little Red Cap is killed which is a consequence of her going off on her own.

•My final product I am happy with. I personally thin it fits my target audience. I have made sure I used less intelligent words and language in my book so younger children can understand it. I have also used a less amount of pages and words per page so younger children are not bored by it. However my text is still rather detailed so children from 4-5 it is probably too intellectual for them. However children 7 and over it maybe would be which is good because that is my target audience. There is a lot going on in the pictures so maybe children for 7 over it would be suitable for.

The text I am reasonably happy with. I did rush it however as I didn’t have a lot of time. The problem with the text is that I have made it vary quite a bit. With there being quite a lot on one page and then not as much on another. The writing itself is detailed enough to tell a good story with a small amount of pages but not too much that the children are bored by it.

Page 1 Example

Why did you include the content you used?

• Images• Well I included images in general, firstly to annotate my story as children wouldn’t enjoy the story as much if there

were no pictures. I included images secondly because that was what I was asked to produce. I included these types of images that are colourful and bright to attract children so that they would want the product. I also used this filter so it looked like a sketchy cartoon that would fit in with a children’s book and relate to how children of the ages of 7-11 would draw at that age

• Effects• I have used effects like Filter Gallery. I have used this so I could change a normal photograph to a sketch cartoon

look. This so I am not stealing an image from someone. And also because it creates a sketch cartoon effect that goes well in my story and helps to establish my book’s tone. I also have used shape task. I used shape task to create different shapes to put together for my character’s. I included this to give them a basic look. I also did this so the characters would appeal to children and look less threatening. I used Rotascope to create things I couldn’t create with shapes.

•Story•I used this story of Little Red Riding Hood as I have grown up with it. It is quite dark as it is about independence, greed and family. I wanted to recreate the classic story and give it a dark twist. Not only that but show all the morals that are in the story and teach children right from wrong by using the same story that used to teach my generation right from wrong and pass that on.

What signs, symbols or codes have you used in your work?

• Choices of colour, style, locations, character design and tone all give additional meaning to your work.

• My moral messages of my story are firstly that children shouldn’t wander off as when Little Red Cap isn’t with her mother she is defenceless and isn’t weary of the world. She doesn’t know what is bad and what is good which is why she talks to the wolf and The Woodcutter. Secondly a moral message is to protect your child as they are your responsibility. The mother learns this the hard way as she loses her child.

• Obviously in the story the wolf is interested in eating Little Red Cap. However the Wolf is meant to be a representation for a paedophile in the story which is why he is so interested in Little Red Cap. Obviously this is a children’s story which is why i make him want to eat her instead to replace sex. However this story is supposed to warn children from dangerous people like paedophiles without actually dealing with sex. In the story this is also shown by the wolf’s obsession with eating her as he puts so much effort into doing so.

•The woodcutter shows how differen’t something can be from how something looks. It was hinted at half way through my book. How I described The Woodcutter as colourful and jolly however in contrast his eyes are described as black which is to show his darkness inside as the eyes are the gateways to the soul. So on the outside he is the friendly Woodcutter but his personality on the inside is quite horrible.•The tone of my story is very dark as the main character dies at the end. However it still a partly happy as it shows that the mother has learnt from her lesson and goes with the child. It is happy fairytale with a dark tragedy mixed with it. It seems to start happy with a nice family living in a forest and then slowly gets darker with the scary forest and the child walking alone through and then finally finishes with death.

•My character designs are very basic and crude. I have simply used basic shapes to create their body parts such as large circles to make their large bodies. I used bright colours for my characters to draw my audience in. I made them seem more cartoony than sketch so they’d stand out from the background.

What representations can be found in your work?

• How are men, women or children shown in your work? Does your work feature different ages, races, social groups or religions? Does a lack of any variety of character types create its own representation?

• Little Red Cap is a girl who’s the main character. To contrast with female stereotypes she can handle herself and does not need a man to help her. She does however need an adult to help her as she is a child which is why she asks adults for directions, not because she is a girl.

• The men I suppose are represented as strong and burley by The Woodcutter character. The wolf another male representation a crafty, scary and greedy. And exploit girls and women for their desires. In this case the wolf exploits Little Red Cap for food as he wants to eat her. The Woodcutter is shown as a large strong man who has to take care and look after Little Red Cap.

• The Grandmother has a stereotypical representation of being old and frail and defenceless. Basically she cannot look after herself and she cannot defend herself which is why the wolf decides to kill her fist as it would be easiest.

What style have you employed in your products?

• Discuss influences/ existing products• What visual style does your work have and

why did you choose it?• My book has a visual style of a sketch. It looks colourful and bright and it looks like it’s been scribbled when drawn

which makes it seems like a children’s drawing so it appeals to them. I went for my background as the look of the Horrid Henry Books. Illustrations meant for children and drawn in a scribbly way to relate to children and with bright colours. For my characters i have used a clean neat cartoon look. I have taken this from the way the cartoon Peppa Pig looks as the characters are neat, rounded and clean.

• Look compared to other books• Other Books such as Roald Dahl have used the same style of messy illustrations to relate to children as they would

find it difficult to draw. Other books also use bright colours to interest children and draw them in to by the author’s books and so the images seem less threatening to a child.

What were the strengths and weaknesses of the pre-production and planning

• How did the planning and research help• Firstly researching children’s book helped me because looking at the tone of other books i was able to decide the

best tone to use for my book. Such as the plot and the usage of words. I was also able to know what would be too upsetting for my target audience so i knew my limits. It also helped me to find out how the images on children’s books looked. This was helpful because then i was able to create my images according to the other children’s book so people were used to that look. I also researched . I found examples of books like Horrid Henry and Roald Dahl books to use for my research.

• My planning didn’t go as well as i assumed. Originally i had all of my plan set up but didn’t follow it at all. I made my book for a completely different audience than i was supposed to. This caused me to completely change and rewrite my book, changing the tone and the storyline and the text to fit my audience. For example my text had to be briefer to appeal to my audience and not bore it. I also didn’t stick to my schedule causing me to do things at the wrong time which ultimately made my time become finer and finer until it was almost impossible to finish on time. In future i need to make sure i follow my schedule.

Historical and cultural context

• How does your work compare to what has come before? What other similar products have existed in the past? What current products exist?

• The differences between mine and the original Little Red Cap story are firstly that i have changed my characters from humans to pigs. This is to lessen the impact on the readers when Little Red Cap is killed because if she is an animal they will be less upset than if it were a person who was killed.

• Another thing i have changed is the Woodcutter actually being evil. This is to challenge the strong helpful male stereotype. It is also because it is unexpected as the readers will expect the usual which is The Woodcutter helping Little Red Cap on her journey. But in actuality he ends up killing her for food.

• I have also changed the grandmother being saved. Although this is a children’s book. I wanted to show that there is still consequence in this book so rather than the Grandmother being still alive in the stomach of the wolf, which is obviously very unrealistic as she would most likely be dead which is why i have had her die when she is eaten.

• The original Little Red Cap story has a moral which is “don’t talk to strangers” as that is what Little Red Cap does when she speaks to the wolf. My story keeps that moral and goes further to have another moral which is “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” as The Woodcutter seems friendly but turns out to be evil as foreshadowed when he is described as having “black eyes”. This is not present in the original story.