Article on Narrative Illustration

http://www.slideshare.net/DanielaMolnar/narrative-image-the-how-and-why-of-visual-storytelling

Thought I'd share this interesting online article on how images and illustrations affect narrative scripts.

Thomas.

Nobrow Binding

In this 17x23cm book, pressed by Nobrow called 'The New Ghost', there are staples holding the pages together.

I have noticed that the most common forms of binding used by Nobrow are perfect binding, and staple bound. Some flying eye books (see below) use a cloth bound spine.

In terms of this particular size, which is 17x23cm, these books predominantly use stable binding.

Another example of a 17x23cm sized book, this one is by the illustrator, Luke Pearson.

Thomas.

Illustrations almost complete!

My progress in developing the illustrations is nearing completion! I crossed the halfway mark not too long ago, so I thought I'd put out a little update on how my progress is going, really having fun, and this is very enjoyable to me. Stay tuned for more updates.

Thomas.

I Like Animals

I like animals is a 32 page, hardback, 250x195mm size children's book, and is pressed via Flying Eye Books. It is illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar.
This book in particular is of course aimed toward the young sector in the book market, and this book is oriented toward 3-5 year olds.

http://www.flyingeyebooks.com/?feb_books=i-like-animals < image reference at this link.

http://www.flyingeyebooks.com/?feb_books=i-like-animals < image reference at this link.

Dahlov Ipcar is an American author, artist/illustrator with a long career. 
She has produced over 30 children’s books, and has won many awards for it.

The book was originally published in 1960 by Alfred Knopf, however the book has been resurrected by Flying Eye Books. 

The book was on sale at the Nobrow HQ store whilst I was on a visit to the City of London, I could not afford however, to pick it up.

The book has a colour scheme using 4 spot colours in the printing process, and this new edition has a very well presented, illustrated dust jacket.

This book appears to resemble a similar style, in terms of colour and line, to the illustrations that I am creating for my own book




http://www.flyingeyebooks.com/?feb_books=i-like-animals





Thomas.

Page #2

Page #2 with 5mm bleed.

http://www.creaturecomfortsdurango.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/hamster09.jpg < reference at this link

Front and back cover

Front and back cover with 5mm bleed.

Page #1

Page #1

With 5mm bleed




Thomas.

Bloomsbury Books

http://www.lloydsbankcommercial.com/uploadedImages/Content/Case_Studies/2013/Bloomsbury.jpg < image reference at this link.

The Bloomsbury company was established in the year of 1986, and has four divisions.

• Bloomsbury Academic and Professional Division
• Bloomsbury Information
• Bloomsbury Adult Publishing
• Bloomsbury Children's Publishing

I will focus on their children's book division before I move on, as this relates to my children's book route choice, as part of my narrative choice assignment set by Nobrow.

http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/childrens/books-for-7-9/ < image reference at this link.

Bloomsbury children's books features a wide range of well known authors, such as J.K Rowling, Neil Gaiman, Debi Gliori, Alyxandra Harvey and Carrie Jones. Bloomsbury also has an education section as well. Bloomsbury cater for the ages of 0-11+, and this is classed as their children's range. Any higher than 11+, is teen, and then adult.

http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/childrens/ < image reference at this link.

An interesting feature that bloomsbury have, is a division called Bloomsbury Spark. This is a specialist division for a digital ebook format, catering toward young adults, teenagers and new adult readers.

http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/company/about-us/ < research reference at this link.

Thomas.

Inside of covers

For the inside of my covers, I would like to have random illustrations positioned here. I was thinking of drawing a few additional sketches of my hamster character, and having him dong such random activities such as eating, running etc. I would like to also bring into the theme a few natural elements, such as some flowers and shrubbery, in simplistic forms.

I will take some inspiration from the colin west doodles, in terms of simplicity, as well as the cover illustrations of the Hansel and Gretel book I looked at earlier in the module.







Thomas.

Mac vs PC printing

Whilst manipulating a photoshop image on one of the macs in the studio, I set up my document to print, after which I printed a copy out.

Later, whilst in the PC suite, I printed out the same image, and I found that the PC printed copy looked more brighter, whilst the Mac's copy looked more accurate.

PC printout

Mac printout

This reminded me of the research that I did a few months ago in professional studies, where I researched why Mac computers were deemed more industry standard than their PC counterparts.

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3058873721480185674#editor/target=post;postID=261727719105642129;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=13;src=postname < Link to research blog discussing the above.






Thomas

Final Narrative

Here is my final narrative script for this module. I have slightly shortened the story down, and made it slightly more suited to the children's audience by using simpler wording, to minimise the page number a bit. I have also edited the amount of illustrations, and slightly tweaked their positioning to better reflect the story.

  : Indicates illustration completed.

Line break indicates new page.

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(Introduction)

What is the shortest story you have read? 

This is a story, about a tiny little hamster, who lived in a luscious green valley.  

The curious creature that you can see on this page, is called Kiwi. He was a fluffy little hamster who had a big heart, and lived in the middle of an old oak tree.  

He was different to all the other larger animals. He wasn't the strongest, nor was he the the fastest, or smartest. However he was the tiniest.
In fact the tiniest around, he could sneak around wherever he wanted to and nobody would notice him.    

One day after finishing playing tag with his tail, he began to trot off to his woodland home.
Along the way he encountered a group of two large dogs, one a smart wolf, and one a tall dumb greyhound, each had a huge grin on their faces. 

"Hello" said the small hamster.
"Oh my, how tiny you are?" asked the red hound of the group.
"Well two inches tall, to be correct why might you ask"said the little rodent with a smile.  
"You must be the smallest animal I have ever seen" exclaimed the greyhound.

"Some would say the most agile" said the little hamster, whilst wagging his tiny tail.
"Some would say small, pitiful and useless, how can you be of any contribution to our valley?"
"But..." Said the little hamster in a confused and upset tone.  

Off the two dogs trotted off, laughing, and casting longs shadows on the little hamster, as he wept.
"Hello!" yelled a large wolf with mock whiskers  
"Please, excuse me". Exclaimed the little rodent with tears in his eyes.

The she wolf looked down to the rodent, and then told the small hamster all about her own life in the valley. She went into depth about how she enjoyed lying in the sun day after day, wishing she was a rodent like the small hamster, and watching the clouds go by. She loved trying to figure out what shapes they were in.  

The little one began to open up, and the two sat next to each other, and started talked about their wishes. "I wish I was taller" said the small rodent. "Hmmmmmmm" hummed the wolf. Out she whipped a pair of tall boots  , and strapped them to the fragile, little hamsters paws.

However, when standing up, the rodent tumbled over into a patch of thorny roses.  
"Nope" whimpered the little hamster, as he sat pulling out thorns from his small paws.

The large wolf scratched her chin, and she let out a loud whistling sound.
Suddenly a large flock of birds appeared, and the picked the little hamster up high into the sky.  
"DOES THAT WORK?!" shouted the ditzy wolf
"NOPE, PUT ME DOWN!" screamed the little rodent.

Again, the wolf scratched her chin. She noticed two sticks lying beside her, and let out a large smile. She crafted a crude pair of stilts, and handed them to him. "Try these on for size, she said".  

The little rodent slotted his feet into the crudely crafted sticks, and stood up.
"Why, I feel 10 foot tall!" the dog said with a huge grin.
The she-wolf smiled, as she peered upwards toward this huge, happy hamster.

"Why you are the largest animal I have ever seen!" Exclaimed the wolf.  

Out of the corner of the hamsters eyes, he spotted the group of wolves from earlier, and began venturing toward them.

"Roar!" Yelled the little hamster.
"Agghhhhhhhh look! It's a monster!" Screamed the two in unison.  

The two bullies ran as fast as their legs could carry them, leaving a trail of prints behind them.  

The next day, the whole valley stared in awe at the tall rodent, and he looked down with a huge smile.  

The end.  

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Going by this draft, I need 18 separate pages, excluding the cover pages.
I also need a minimum of 16 illustrations, again excluding the cover pages.






Thomas.

Luke Pearson

Luke Pearson is a cartoonist/illustrator, (who usually refers to himself as a cartoonist, as he quotes, "It sounds more fun.") from the United Kingdom. He is well known as being the creator of the Hilda series of graphic novels, as well as being featured in an edition of Nobrow's magazine (issue #3 Topsy Turvy), and a graphic novel called Everything We Miss.

http://lukepearson.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/hildafolkcover-560x757.jpg < image reference at this link.

He has in the past worked for such clients as Penguin Books, The New York Times, Simon & Schuster, Wired, Channel 4, and Disney American Television.

http://www.scamp.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/where_i_probably_am_right_now_by_mumblingidiot-d36w35c.jpg < image reference at this link.

Luke graduated from university in 2010, and came out of his education with an illustration degree. His work was spotted by Nobrow, and since then he has been working freelance for them, illustrating books and graphic novels.

He claims to get his inspiration from old style books, vintage animation, as well as other artists and illustrators that Luke has encountered over the years.

http://www.nobrow.net/5586 < image reference at this link.

I personally love his work, and I am a follower of his Hilda series. I was very grateful to be able to meet him when I went to London, in Gosh comics.

Some of my Luke Pearson collection

Research reference taken from > http://lukepearson.com/ & http://www.nobrow.net/5586







Thomas.

Book Draft

Today I began to piece together a very rough draft of my book, in order to see how the final piece would look as a visual copy. For the 1st draft, I used standard printing paper.

I set the sizes of the print out to be in line with my chosen Nobrow inspired size, of 17x23cm. As this is only a draft, I will stable this draft together to get an idea of how the book and layout will be.

Later drafts will use a double page spread, as well as being stapled together in a professional way that resembles the way that Nobrow books are bound.

The final book will use a higher quality of paper, and will contain a higher measurement of GSM. I will try to find out the GSM of the majority of books by the division, Flying Eye Books.

Front Cover

Page #1

Page #2

Paper Grades

Grades of paper determine the quality of paper. The higher the GSM, (grams per square meter) the heavier, and thicker the paper.

As an example, here are a few examples

35gsm to 55gsm: A very thin paper used for such items as newspapers.

http://web.mediaspacesolutions.com/Portals/131366/images/newspapers.jpg < image reference at this link.

90gsm to 100gsm: Standard electronic printing cartridge paper.

http://www.harrismoorecanvases.co.uk/images/P/cartridge-paper-01.jpg < image reference at this link.

120gsm to 140gsm: The GSM of most posters and flyers, as well as pamphlets.

http://www.printcheapest.com/images/flyers__87967_zoom.jpg < image reference at this link.

210gsm to 300gsm: The GSM used in premium flyers.

http://yourhomeonlybetter.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/flickr.jpg < image reference at this link.

350gsm to 400gsm: Basically card. The GSM makes the material very sturdy, and used in such things as business cards. 

http://www.151design.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/alzheimer-society-business-cards.jpg < image reference at this link.

I will definitely not be opting a GSM any lower than 100, as paper of this grade is far too weak and thin. I would prefer opting to aim for a paper choice of between 120-300 GSM. Any higher would be too hard and thick.

I will be asking Nobrow a few Q&A's via email soon, so I will update this blog when I get a reply.




Reference at this link > https://www.stuprint.com/news/what-does-gsm-means

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Thomas.

London Trip

The 2 day London trip has come and gone, and what a great visit it was!

The journey began by catching a train from Hartlepool, after a three hour journey on the fancy grand central train, it finally arrived at London King's Cross train station after going through such other cities as York, and Thirsk.

I was very surprised by the instant busyness of it all.
The first stop was a place called illustration cupboard, A small tucked away art shop, not far from the first tube exit near the Ritz hotel. Here there were a vast majority of art pieces selling for thousands of pounds. I was generally impressed by some of the pieces in there however, I basically just don't have the money.
Not long after, we all visited the London transport museum, which was full of all buses, train cars, as well as some modern day exhibitions that were themed on London.

After this we went to other such places via the exploration of the London Underground, I was really impressed by the speed, as well as the overall efficiency of the system. We also went through Covent Garden's, Hackney, Bank Street, Camden Town, Regent Street, Soho, and also the famous Carnaby Street, as well as passing several other famous sites.

Where we stayed in terms of accommodation, wasn't the Ritz, but it very much got the job done. It was very comfortable, clean, and I was impressed by the accommodation. My night mainly consisted of sketching, as well as planning the next day ahead, I had little sleep, I think it was the excitement.

The Old Street London underground tube station. Very draughty indeed.

A block print from Nobrow Press, a small shop and studio in Hackney.

On the second day after breakfast, we visited Nobrow press which was just down the street from the hotel. They opened up especially for us, how nice of Sam and the team.

It was a mad rush for most of us on the trip, the amount of money we all must have spent within the shop alone, We'd all rather not count up I think. I purchased a book from the Hilda series, as well as another book on cats. I found the style of this book very interesting, and also very interactive. It had elements of pop out themes, which is always fun.

Thomas.

Flying Eye Books

Flying eye books is a division of Nobrow press, that specialises in creating children's books.

http://www.flyingeyebooks.com/?bookcategories=all < Screen capture from this think.

The company follows a similar strategy to its parent company, Nobrow.

http://www.flyingeyebooks.com/?pagename=about < image reference at this link.

Some books pressed under the sub company include the very popular Hilda series, by the artist Luke Pearson, as well as Children are Naughty, and Big Meals for Little Hands.

The ethos for the division follows the one for Nobrow. Good quality printed books, made using fine materials and beautiful inks. This is clearly carried across into the children's division, which is very noticeable.


Research reference link > http://www.flyingeyebooks.com/

Thomas.

Book cover illustration

For my book cover, I have been thinking about using the main character as the figure illustration.

My main character is my rodent pet, who is a hamster. 

Because I have an animal to use for reference so close to me, it's ideal to use my pet as my main character, otherwise known as the protagonist role.

I made this illustration below, to use as my front cover draft, for the book.

In my last module, working on the book of drawings, I developed the front cover last. I feel this time around I may want to develop this first for my newer book. I will take this illustration, and come up with a nice front and back cover, with bleed

I will scan this image in, and manipulate it on photoshop. I would like to opt for a bold cover page.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update:

This is the result of me tweaking about with the colour scheme on photoshop. I did something similar to what I did earlier, altering the hues and curves. I was very pleased with this colour scheme, and I could see this image working well on the book. This is an A4 image, so there will need to be a professional bleed.

A more refined version of a draft book cover (below).

This is just the draft main cover page, and the back hasn't yet been developed. However it will take on a very similar theme to the front page.

The front and back cover (last draft), for the book.

The final book cover, highlighting the front and back.

Thomas.

Playing with Photoshop

Today I had a play about with Adobe Photoshop on the studio macs, whilst I was plotting how an example page of my book could possibly appear.

I scanned one of my favourite images in via the uni printer, and imported it to photoshop for a play around. After talking to Amy about resembling Nobrow's style in ways other than ink printing, she showed me a few tools that could aid in my processes.

By playing around with such tools as the curve, and the hues, I found that I could give my entire image including the background, a very cool tone of blue. As soon as I spotted this, I straight away thought about Nobrow, and an example of one if their books that particularly popped into mind, was one called "The New Ghost".

This is a book that predominantly uses a blue tone across a lot of the pages. Although it isn't the same shade, it is an example of colour themes in printing.

I printed a sample out of the photo above, and I came out ok, however in future I will use a much higher quality print setting. I will also print using a higher DPI.

I added a small amount of sample text, containing an excerpt from my developed narrative, however, when I went to print, there were technical issues, and for some reason the system wouldn't let me print. I will try again very soon, as I really would like to display an example of a sample page of text, alongside my illustrations, for myself to physically view the two together for the first time, as well as for the next group crit, which is soon.

I will update this blog soon.

Update:

The end results of playing around with photoshop colour settings.

Thomas.