'You're Too Young For Fairy-Tales' Victoria Upson FMP
Evaluation
The final major project process has been the most rewarding of my University experience so far. The work I have created has been the most original and I believe, most marketable imagery I have produced to date. Aimed at a very specific adult audience; I was always adamant that I was setting out to create work that was completed to as professional a standard as possible. Choosing to create a comic book not only allowed me to achieve my objective of making Fairy Tales accessible today; it was a craft I could learn through process and development; therefore broadening my horizons within the industry.
Early on in the process I set out on the specific path of creating a Graphic Novel. A new venture for me and with a only small amount of In-design and Photoshop knowledge, I was keen to go back to basics and use traditional methodology. Keeping notes and print schedules made me aware that time was limited and at this point, during Christmas I altered my objectives slightly. In choosing to produce two separate comic books I allowed for improvement; learnt about application and developed a visual language of my own. By the creation of the second comic my 'style' in terms of a commercial appeal was well rounded. I managed to find ways of creating imagery, using carefully chosen composition's based around camera angles that allowed for suggestive yet inoffensive imagery. The metaphor of using gesture and expression in the forms of hands and feet (and consequently propelling the narrative forward that way) allowed the subtle communication of underlying messages. Thus, my audience objectives were well met, the comic books clearly having adult undertones (and drawing out the sinister aspects of Fairy Tales), as is evident from the front covers; but they are also child appropriate, wordless and therefore, only an adult would pick up on these messages.
In successfully adhering to my audience objectives, the work I have created can be commercially applicable. The small installments, or separate stories (the concept of the project) is something original in terms of the application of Fairy Tales. I can see my books on sale in arts and crafts bookshops. Although they are not mainstream ready, I believe, as the stories are short they could be taken on as editorial pieces; in magazines or newspapers as the featured comic shorts (that come at the back of the books). The prototypes I have created are simplistic enough that they could be molded or changed to purpose. However, I a believe that it is my intuition in concept that is most sell-able; the visual language I have created that is wholly my own. I have taken inspiration from other practitioners; learning from the cohesion of their work (what makes it their own?) and applying techniques I have learnt to my own imagery. In doing so, I learnt a more professional standard of image making and also to concern my work with appropriate style and techniques associated with outcome.
Constant evaluation; learning from tutorials and experimentation outside my comfort zone has allowed me to create two pieces of work that I am proud of. The outcomes themselves are not free of error; the drawing not always perfection, a few smudges on print and slightly pixilated back covers. However, these are all things that can be rectified, especially as in the creation of my web-comic, I have ensured that this project is ongoing, something that I feel a affinity with and wish to continue. It was my personal objectives, in terms of content and metaphor that I was most keen on meeting. With the completion of this project I have managed to say something about a topic, closely ingrained in my own practice. I believe that, through careful consideration of story, composition, character development and a modern visual language I have made Fairy Tales more empathetic, accessible and reminded people that they are not for children!
Early on in the process I set out on the specific path of creating a Graphic Novel. A new venture for me and with a only small amount of In-design and Photoshop knowledge, I was keen to go back to basics and use traditional methodology. Keeping notes and print schedules made me aware that time was limited and at this point, during Christmas I altered my objectives slightly. In choosing to produce two separate comic books I allowed for improvement; learnt about application and developed a visual language of my own. By the creation of the second comic my 'style' in terms of a commercial appeal was well rounded. I managed to find ways of creating imagery, using carefully chosen composition's based around camera angles that allowed for suggestive yet inoffensive imagery. The metaphor of using gesture and expression in the forms of hands and feet (and consequently propelling the narrative forward that way) allowed the subtle communication of underlying messages. Thus, my audience objectives were well met, the comic books clearly having adult undertones (and drawing out the sinister aspects of Fairy Tales), as is evident from the front covers; but they are also child appropriate, wordless and therefore, only an adult would pick up on these messages.
In successfully adhering to my audience objectives, the work I have created can be commercially applicable. The small installments, or separate stories (the concept of the project) is something original in terms of the application of Fairy Tales. I can see my books on sale in arts and crafts bookshops. Although they are not mainstream ready, I believe, as the stories are short they could be taken on as editorial pieces; in magazines or newspapers as the featured comic shorts (that come at the back of the books). The prototypes I have created are simplistic enough that they could be molded or changed to purpose. However, I a believe that it is my intuition in concept that is most sell-able; the visual language I have created that is wholly my own. I have taken inspiration from other practitioners; learning from the cohesion of their work (what makes it their own?) and applying techniques I have learnt to my own imagery. In doing so, I learnt a more professional standard of image making and also to concern my work with appropriate style and techniques associated with outcome.
Constant evaluation; learning from tutorials and experimentation outside my comfort zone has allowed me to create two pieces of work that I am proud of. The outcomes themselves are not free of error; the drawing not always perfection, a few smudges on print and slightly pixilated back covers. However, these are all things that can be rectified, especially as in the creation of my web-comic, I have ensured that this project is ongoing, something that I feel a affinity with and wish to continue. It was my personal objectives, in terms of content and metaphor that I was most keen on meeting. With the completion of this project I have managed to say something about a topic, closely ingrained in my own practice. I believe that, through careful consideration of story, composition, character development and a modern visual language I have made Fairy Tales more empathetic, accessible and reminded people that they are not for children!
Outcomes
The Web-Comic
http://tooyoungforfairytales.blogspot.co.uk/
Below: The 2 Printed Comic Books
Printed Using Modus Print in Worcester
Put together using Indesign, booklet publication.
Getting Work Printed:
Originally, I aimed to get my work printed at Inky Little Fingers. However, after further research I felt they were incredibly expensive. The submission process was also far more complicated than it needed to be for a simple comic book.
I tried Staples but they got confused over the booklet layout. They had, however, promised me earlier in the project that this was something they could do but when it came to printing, this was not the case.
This left me a week for printing, behind schedule after a month of being let down by various printers (who all made a mess of printing) I found Modus Print in Worcester. What you see below were printed by them and they made an excellent job. The ink is not smudged, the quality is relatively clean as is the staple binding (chosen because I wanted an old fashioned comic book feel). They were able to utilise my end-papers to meet their printing specifications and bleed out the images so there was no white space or gaps showing. (all done in Indesign myself also).
The only thing that didn't work was the writing on the back pages, which printed pixilated, this was likely my own error and something that I can rectify pre final major show.
I printed the A5 books myself using matt paper. Chosen to show a contrast to the shiny A4. I personally prefer my comic in smaller form as it seems cleaner and more compact. They are also easy to send out, transport, and light to post etc. It is good to have the choice, however, and I have shown that my books work well in few forms.
This is what prompted me to create a web-comic. I felt that my comic had more impact on-screen, so I used blogger to create an interactive, easy to use web-comic. This is also a vessel for an ongoing project; I would like to continue on this path and expand my web-comic further, giving an installment every moth or so. I feel I have set this up to continue, and when I am finished I could collate these works into a graphic Novel.
http://tooyoungforfairytales.blogspot.co.uk/
Below: The 2 Printed Comic Books
Printed Using Modus Print in Worcester
Put together using Indesign, booklet publication.
Getting Work Printed:
Originally, I aimed to get my work printed at Inky Little Fingers. However, after further research I felt they were incredibly expensive. The submission process was also far more complicated than it needed to be for a simple comic book.
I tried Staples but they got confused over the booklet layout. They had, however, promised me earlier in the project that this was something they could do but when it came to printing, this was not the case.
This left me a week for printing, behind schedule after a month of being let down by various printers (who all made a mess of printing) I found Modus Print in Worcester. What you see below were printed by them and they made an excellent job. The ink is not smudged, the quality is relatively clean as is the staple binding (chosen because I wanted an old fashioned comic book feel). They were able to utilise my end-papers to meet their printing specifications and bleed out the images so there was no white space or gaps showing. (all done in Indesign myself also).
The only thing that didn't work was the writing on the back pages, which printed pixilated, this was likely my own error and something that I can rectify pre final major show.
I printed the A5 books myself using matt paper. Chosen to show a contrast to the shiny A4. I personally prefer my comic in smaller form as it seems cleaner and more compact. They are also easy to send out, transport, and light to post etc. It is good to have the choice, however, and I have shown that my books work well in few forms.
This is what prompted me to create a web-comic. I felt that my comic had more impact on-screen, so I used blogger to create an interactive, easy to use web-comic. This is also a vessel for an ongoing project; I would like to continue on this path and expand my web-comic further, giving an installment every moth or so. I feel I have set this up to continue, and when I am finished I could collate these works into a graphic Novel.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
RUMPELSTILTSKIN
Covers and End-paper's (ISOLATING THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE STORY)
Now that I have completed the inside pages of Beauty and the Beast and Rumpelstiltskin it is time to produce the front and back covers. Previously in this project I developed ideas for the front covers that were responding to and in keeping with my original storyboards. At this point, I had not developed my way of working; using hands and feet in close-up to drive the narrative (gesture and expression) to further the story. However, I was still somewhat aware of the integral images of the storytelling.
Right: This is a reminder of my original front covers and a clear example of how much my work has improved and developed since the early stages of production. Not only have I evidently mastered the media to greater effect but the image below are far more hard hitting and effective in clearly communicating the genre, feel, content and atmosphere of the stories I am telling. After learning that the most efficient way of telling my stories was through the careful use of camera-angle related compositions and a combination of gesture and expression (hands and feet) I built a visual language that was inherently my own and could be attributed to any similar projects I undertake in future.
For Rumpelstiltskin I felt that the most important image was his feet at the wheel. The scales on the boots implies that he is not quite human and the straw in the background is an image associated with the story. This alongside the title is a simple, effective image, the colour choice contrasting brilliantly against the stark black background. The pink of the spinning wheel is a little less impressive, however, the shoes are the most important feature and the pink allows the shoes to stand out amongst the other elements, making the figure the integral part. The background was created as 'cause and effect' image and a direct link to the story (she always falls asleep in the spindles as he spins well into the early hours). The figure also adds that adult appeal, that may not be recognized from the front cover.
Font and Compilation: (applies to both comics)
For both comic's I chose Georgia Font. I chose this because after a small amount of experimentation on Photoshop I realised that simple and clean was the most effective font choice. With the white writing, something clean-cut was needed so it showed up neatly against the background. I was aware before creating the images that the drawing must take up no more than half a page; the title being important, needing to be big enough to create a balanced image.
End-papers: These were isolated elements of the comic books; items that were significant. In beauty and the beast the rose is integral, it is the catalyst for the story and also an icon of the Disney movie (inter-textual reference) and all previous renditions. In Rum. he created the spindles of gold (in reality the straw would have fallen from the spindles, but I liked the image of the spindles and used artistic licence, even if not historically correct).
The front cover below has not changed a great deal from the original drawing (pre-Christmas). The fact that the beast is hidden behind her is important, you get the feeling that he is hiding behind her when in fact, he is in control. It was also important to communicate the intimacy of the story and make it evident that this is Beauty and the Beast 'a love story' and from the front cover alone you can see it is not for children. The hands are, once again, important in 'suggesting' a narrative, the back cover also implies the twist to the story, so the audience is aware from the get go that this is no Disney movie. If I had more time, I would have spent further hours on making the back covers more professional (perhaps a blurb) but in my musings I could not think of anything appropriate and as this is a wordless narrative, it seemed silly to try and incorporate words at this stage of the game.
Rumpelstiltskin: Final Pages
Whilst creating this comic book I had already one under my belt. Beauty and the Beast was finished and it's success evaluated so I could take a lot of that knowledge and feet it into this new story. I was worried that changing the colour would change the style but my style and visual language still came through.
In comparison to Beauty, I was more daring with composition, using high angle shots, low angle shots to greater imply character and view point. Ultimately, both stories are seen from a third persons perspective. (I think of them as the camera) and so the more more subtle the view-point the more daring the content. Feet were used to tell the story, and gesture more so than hands; this is the other way around to Beauty.. There were more characters to show in this comic; so faces were more important, to fuel the narrative and help the reader understand character, development etc. I used more specific repetition in this story also, the use of templates to gradually communicate time and change with subtle changes in costume, design and colour balance. This was something I was wary of; careful not to repeat frames or imagery too much in-case the flow ruined.
The short stories are faced paced and intense , as was always the objective. I think that, in this version , I met my personal objectives to a greater extent than before. The story in itself, the idea of trusting the wrong person, a parents wrong decision effecting their children, a child being taken away from you...these are all fears experienced today. I have drawn on these themes and put them in a form that a modern audience can appreciate and will understand. I could have been even more daring with story decisions (see previous theories) but I told the original story with my own twist, as was my mission.
The fact that the comics are wordless makes it all the more relatable. You can take what you will from the stories, it is not set in stone, the world is imaginary and so time and place is irrelevant,only the themes and imagery are important an this is an exciting idea.
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