This week in the life of Kyla...

     Help me out and tell me in the comments what your favorite book was as a child (age 5-8ish) and why?

What I did:
- Topic research (2 hrs)
- Read and research survey responses (1.5 hr)
- Plymouth District Library Visit (2hrs)
- Reading to family (.5hr)
- Discussing and Brainstorming book plots with others (1.5 hrs)
- Asking and listening about people's favorite childhood book (1 hr)
- Quick sketches of pages (1 hr)
- Storyboard (1 hr)
- Character Study (2 hrs)

What I accomplished/discovered:
     I started the week off by sending an informal survey over facebook asking two seemingly simple questions. What was your favorite book as a child and why? I found that most people's responses fell into 3 categories: a) they could relate to the character is some aspect, b) it was bright, exciting and memorable (usually due to rhymes), and c) is was a charming story that had a message that remained relevant or meaningful into their adulthood. I have been looking at the suggested books for inspiration in storytelling and visual appeal. I have also been using this as a guide to form a successful story.
     Another way to help with my story, I have been researching things about the relationship between kids and bone fractures. I found that arms are the most common broken bone. "About one in 20 fractures involve the upper arm bone (humerus). Children are more likely to break the lower arm bones (radius and ulna)." (AAOS) I also furthered my knowledge on bone remodeling by researching how bones fractures heal as well as different types of breaks and what kind of force causes them. I made sure that the resource I was using was specifically for children (Kid's Health). From these and other resources, I have decided that my main character will fall from a tree, use her arms to cushion her fall and have a single closed oblique displaced fracture in the radius and ulna of her right arm. She gets a fiberglass cast (in yellow of course, it's her favorite color) and it stays on for 4 weeks (young bones are much more resilient that older bones).
     This weekend, I visited the library in Plymouth, my hometown. The children's section is immense there as are it's resources. The librarian was very helpful in finding the books I was interested in. She was also able to recommend several books about book illustrators and how to write and publish a successful children's book. I spent a lot of time browsing the featured books and pulling a ton more off the shelf to read later.... And read I did. I read aloud to my family, my roommate, and by myself.
     While I was home, I took advantage of the fact I had a great focus group to my disposal: different ages, perspectives, tastes and a common love for books. It was helpful to run my three concepts by family so we could quickly weed out the less developed ideas and run with the good ones. My family's wild imagination led to some interesting suggestions and led me down some new paths. We decided that the xray glasses had the most potential. They urged me to use the book as a tool to make broken bones and doctor's offices less scary. They also know thought that I should make it playful and interactive. We thought there could be glasses that come with the book or ways that I could make the bones show through without turning the page. It was a refreshing and helpful start to the week.
     Throughout the week I have been quickly sketching images and scenes that came into my head when I thought about my story. I won't be using all of the images, but it acts as a nice reference and reminder. I also laid out a rough storyboard. It was much harder to put everything in sequential order that I originally thought. My story still has some gaps. I'm hoping my character study will help.

     For my character study, I practiced drawing little girls that could potentially be my character. I worked from realistic to stylistic. I think my character (Kay) is the right mix of reality and cartoony. It helped also to write down all of her features/traits/likes to better realise her in a physical way. Check it out!

What's Next:
     Next I will rewrite my storyboard for Tuesday with more evolved plot and visuals. I will begin some more detailed drawings for Thursday so I have more images to submit for my grant application. I will also get in contact with some grade school librarians so I can use them and their classes as resources.

Blur

This past week has been a blur.

What I did:
- Read/research children's books and proper books for certain audiences (2 hrs)
- Research Caldecott winners/authors/illustrators (3 hrs)
- Brainstorm and collect ideas for story lines (2 hrs)
- Talk out my ideas with various people (2hrs)
- Storyboard both ideas (2 hrs)

What I accomplished/encountered/discovered:
     I have decided that my target audience is 5-8 year olds. From the articles I've read, five year olds are beginning to read and understand more complex stories. Eight year olds are the cutoff because they begin venturing into chapter books. In addition, I would like my book to be something that an adult would not necessarily pick up for fun, but enjoy nonetheless.
     This weekend, I finished reading the books I checked out from the Ann Arbor Public Library and I decided to make a list of things I liked and didn't like about the science books vs. the recommended books. That list ended up as me quickly deciding that it was crucial that my book told a story, not just science facts. It was then that I starting researching past Caldecott winners. It was amazing how many books on the list I remembered from my childhood. Caldecott Medal & Honor winners (Fun fact: the Caldecott winning author and illustrator of "A Sick Day with Amost McGee" attended my brothers' high school and they currently live in Ann Arbor. How cool!!)
     Caldecott Medals are awarded to the most outstanding children's picture book each year. The fun thing about picture books is that some have words and some don't, but all have incredible storytelling abilities. Last week the librarian recommended I look at "Flotsam" by David Wiesner. Absolutely beautiful pictures (see last week's post) and a whimsically enchanting story; all with no words. After stumbling upon the fact that Wiesner has three Caldecotts (!!!), I decided to look more deeply into his style and his stories to see what is making such an impact on children and adults alike. Basically, Wiesner is a trained illustrator who lets his imagination run wild. I also think the absence of words allows the reader to compose their own story to accompany the playful visuals. While on David Wiesner's website, I found a documentation of his process. How awesome is this? I will be using it as a guideline to making my own book.
     Wiesner's genius got me thinking about using the visual's of the story and not relying so much on the words. I like writing, but I am an artist first. So in addition to the idea I had with the short poems about bones, I began coming up with more subtle story lines. Obviously these need fleshed out more so more feedback is appreciated. I was able to run my ideas by various housemates, classmates and family members. Anyways... here goes:
          Idea 1:  A girl, let's call her Sally for now, is sitting in her science class. She looks bored so she opens up her textbook to a picture of a skeleton. Sally looks up and her teacher fades to a skeleton (with glasses of course) and continues writing on the board. The rest of the class carries on as usual. Sally turns the page to the muscular system. She looks up again and she sees a classmate's muscles flex as he throws a paper airplane. Back to the book. It's the digestive system and Sally watches a classmate's apple travel down their esophagus and straight to their stomach. Next it's the respiratory system. The person in front of Sally breathes in and his lungs get big and quickly deflate as he sneezes. The bell rings and I'm still not really sure how to wrap up this story.
          Idea 2: A girl is sitting on a doctor's table with a cast on her arm. The she and the doctor look at xrays. On the way out she finds a pair of glasses on the floor. She puts the on and the people in the waiting room are all skeletons. She takes them off and they are normal again. She looks at her arm and can see the bones and the break, just like in the x-rays. When she gets home, she looks at her cat... her fish... her mom... the ballerina on tv. A friend compares his whole arm to her broken one. Time passes and her arm eventually her arm heals. She can see it healing. There would be a page made up of little boxes. She is in the same pose in each of them, but she is wearing different outfits and the arms shows healing to indicate passage of time. At the end, she goes back to the doctor's to get her cast off. She leaves the glasses on a table in the waiting room for another child to find.... and one does.
               [I may or may not have subconsciously gained inspiration from this music video I found about a year ago, forgot, and remembered again just now.]
          Idea 3: A book of short poems about different bones in the body. A page for each set of bones. (hand bones, foot bones, tibia & fibula, femur & patella, pelvic girdle, vertebrae, sacrum & coccyx, ribs & sternum, clavicles, scapula, humerus, radius & ulna,  skull, mandible, ear bones? ~15 pages.) Ideally, this would be an interactive book (e.g. pull tabs to wiggle the phalanges or elevate/depress the mandible). Poems would be short for example: "In the vertebrae family, there are 24 in all. When they do their balancing act, they keep you standing tall." or "Radius and Ulna are quite the pair. Look at your forearm, you'll find them there."

What's next:
     I have reserved more of Wiesner's books as well as "Dem Bones" (a librarian's suggestion) from the Plymouth District Library back home. AAPL sadly did not have them,  so I will pick those up this weekend. While I'm there, I will make a point to speak with the children's librarian there (and maybe even some kids too!). They just redid the whole basement into a children's section so there will be plenty to look at and talk about.
     By Tuesday I will have my storyboard done and ready to go so I can have some pen drawings done for Thursday. This also means I should stop by Hollander's and buy some big watercolor paper/illustration board.
     Also, I want to try and get in contact with Erin and Phillip Stead, local illustrator and author  of the Caldecott Medal winning book "A Sick Day With Amos McGee"

Every struggle is a victory.

“For, after all, every one who wishes to gain true knowledge must climb the Hill Difficulty alone, and since there is no royal road to the summit, I must zigzag it in my own way. I slip back many times, I fall, I stand still, I run against the edge of hidden obstacles, I lose my temper and find it again and keep it better, I trudge on, I gain a little, I feel encouraged, I get more eager and climb higher and begin to see the widening horizon. Every struggle is a victory. One more effort and I reach the luminous cloud, the blue depths of the sky, the uplands of my desire.”

― Helen Keller


     One of my housemates gave me this quote earlier in the week. I think it describes IP perfectly. Some days you work and work. Others you fall backwards or change direction... and sometimes you just seem to stand still. Helen Keller seemed to make it out okay in the end so I'm feeling pretty good myself.

What I did:
- Sketching (2 hrs)
- Practicing (1.5 hr)
- Brainstorming  (1 hr)
- Proposal (1.5 hr)
- Research (2 hrs)
- Timeline (1 hr)
- Ann Arbor Public Library (3 hrs)

What I accomplished/encountered/discovered:
     This week I hit a brick wall (see critique response) and spent a lot of time putting the little bits of ideas (especially concerning making anatomy playful) in my sketchbook. Instead of writing them out, I drew. I used pens and markers and ink of all colors to try and flesh some thoughts out. This gave me some interesting visuals for critique.

     In addition to my sketchbook, I drew in photoshop using my bamboo tablet. I have never done digital painting or drawing before so I thought I should practice, in case my project decided to take that turn.
     I did a lot of research on Wendesday to delve more into what it means for anatomy to converge with children. I found a really great interview with Jason Freeny here showed me that kids aren't as afraid of guts as most would assume. I also discovered a web page here that offered some examples of children's anatomy books. I followed some of the links to better understand the diversity of styles and directions that I can take my book.
     Most importantly this week, I decided on a more concrete direction of my project: an anatomical children's book. Writing my proposal (see previous post) was a good way to solidify my ideas and get a hold of how this project will take shape. The timeline was something I had a hard time on, so Hannah gave me a prompt to rewrite it in a more specific way.
Here is that timeline:
Week of October 17: Research children's books at the Ann Arbor Public Library. Speak with Laura Pershin Raynor, the children's librarian there. Decide on target audience.
Week of October 24: Create outline and start writing the book dialogue/story.
Week of October 31: Research what imagery people think of when they hear the dialogue. Re-create these images.
Week of November 7: Create a storyboard for the whole book. Research bone facts that could be included.
Week of November 14: Solidify written part of the story.
November 21: Grant Proposal Due
Week of November 21: Create some characters and possible scenes for story. Explore 10 different ways of rendering the visuals.
Week of November 28:  Explore 10 more different ways of rendering the visuals. Expand upon the most successful five visual styles.
December 5: Turn in materials for IP faculty consultations
Week of December 5: Get feedback from kids regarding how effective/interesting the story sounds and which visuals they connect to the best.
December 14/15: IP Faculty Consultations
Winter break: Work on written thesis and product testing.
January 4/5: Written thesis due.
Week of January 9: Illustrate
Week of January 16: Explore different materials and bindings for book. Get feedback on which versions are most successful.
Week of January 23: Test and explore different color schemes and layout designs.
Week of January 30: Make 10 different combinations of color/layout/material/style. Research to see which is the most successful.
Week of February 6: Fabricate a rough copy.
Week of February 13:  Test book at UM Children's Hospital, Burns Elementary, Ann Arbor Public Library and with various people and their children.
Week of February 20: Make revisions.
Week of February 27: Second round of testing.
Week of March 5: Make revisions.
Week of March 12: Fabricate the final copy.
Week of March 19: Open week for project tweaking and freaking out.
Week of March 26: Document project with photography.
Week of April 2: Relax.
April 2/3: Turn in project to gallery installers.
Week of April 9: Celebrate my birthday and work on final written thesis.
Week of April 16: Written thesis.
April 22: Written thesis due.

     Now that my head was spinning from the realization of the the size of this project, I felt the need to get started. I headed to the Ann Arbor Public Library to seek out some children's books and maybe even talk to Laura Pershin Raynor, the children's librarian and storyteller there. She was a wonderful help by recommending children's books based in anatomy and ones known for beautiful illustrations and great storytelling. I spent a lot of time browsing the science and body sections in the children's portion of the library. I was disappointed that the body books were all fact books with the exception of The Magic School Bus series. Being that I want to make my book an actual story, I looked at books that were awarded for storytelling. The librarian also suggested some books that she thought connected with the kids as well as the parents. After reading, skimming and checking out some books, I feel more prepared to take on this project.

although "Time Flies" by Eric Rochman has no words, the pictures are beautiful

"Flotsam" by David Wiesner. Soooo whimsical.

a beautiful quote by Simm's Taback,
author of "Joseph had a Little Overcoat"

Taback's book is very successful at engaging the reader

Its like the pigeon is conversing with the child. How cool!
"Don't Let Pigeon Drive the Bus" by Mo Willems

"Tops & Bottoms" by Janet Stevens. Soo clever.
It even opens from top to bottom.

Just a few of the books I ransacked off the shelf

What's Next:
     This weekend I will read the rest of the books I checked out and take notes about what features work and what doesn't work. From there I will create my target age group and begin writing the dialogue. 

Midterm Proposal

When one can mentally remove the ties to death that anatomy has and understand its scientific importance and beauty, I feel that it may deepen the appreciation of one’s internal structures. In that sentiment, I will be making an anatomical children’s book that playfully highlights the different functions and shapes of bones in the human body. My book would be something that could stand alone as a teaching tool or as means of entertainment. Artists like Jason Freeny and I Heart Guts have successfully experimented with bringing anatomy into a playful setting; Freeny with child’s toy dissections and I Heart Guts with anatomical character plushies. I also draw inspiration from the television show The Magic School Bus because it was able to address scientific subjects such as body systems in a memorable and exciting manner.

Our bones don’t only represent our mortality, but also our vitality. We would amount to very little without our insides working to keep us very much alive. This is why it is important to teach kids at a young age that skeletons don’t have to represent death or gore, but instead, a fundamental and fascinating element of every individual. Personally, this project is meant as a means to further explore my interest in both science and art, while utilizing my whimsical style.

In my studio, I will make my book from cardboard in a large size that is easy and inviting to hold. I will need to research binding and printing techniques for cardboard, being that I have never made a book from anything other than paper. Hollander’s in Kerrytown will have all the supplies I will need for this project. In order to pay for supplies, I will apply for a grant. Additional funds will come out of pocket.

This project could be shown in a gallery, however the real purpose is to put the book where children can easily access and enjoy it. The University of Michigan Children’s Hospital is an ideal setting because it is a place where young patients spend a lot of time waiting as well as dealing with issues concerning their body.

Sources: Jason Freeny and I Heart Guts are my biggest references for this project being that they are both well known for putting anatomy into a whimsical light. Two other artists who inspire me are Victor Rodriguez and Jenny Morgan, because they use anatomy in a way that goes beyond the textbook. Both artists make whimsical paintings full of bright colors and anatomical imagery. I will use The Magic School Bus and The Blood-Hungry Spleen: and Other Poems About Our Parts by Allan Wolf as references for interesting storylines that keep children engaged while facilitating learning. For textual sources, I will refer to my own personal anatomy textbooks as well as Gray’s Anatomy by Henry Gray to ensure my anatomical depictions and descriptions are accurate. It would also be beneficial to refer to Writing Children’s Books for Dummies by Lisa Rojany Buccierci for information about targeting and reaching my selected audience. 

Timeline: I will spend the remainder of October coming up with a storyboard and characters for my book so that by November 10, I will have a solid storyline I can convey for my grant. After I complete the grant, I will spend the next week researching ways to connect with children through storytelling by reading various children’s books and some how-to’s. I will then spend the following two weeks writing the dialogue for my book and coming up with character sketches so that I can turn them in on December 5 for the IP faculty consultations that will be December 14 and 15. I will spend the rest of the year working on my written thesis so I can submit it on January 4/5. I will spend the second week in January researching ways to bind and print on cardboard. I will also research other possible alternatives to cardboard for making my book. The next two weeks will be spent finalizing my illustrations for each page. By the second week of February I will have my first rough draft. I will then spend the next two weeks at UM’s Children’s Hospital and the Towsley Children’s House for testing the book’s success. The first week in March will be used for revisions. The second week of March will be for more product testing. The third and fourth weeks of March will be for revisions and crafting the final product. April 2/3 I will turn in my project to gallery installers. The following three weeks will be used to write the final written thesis, due April 22.

Critique Response

     I came into today being very nervous. I had hit a concrete wall. I didn't know where to go with my patterning idea and I had no idea where to start with my children's book concept. I resorted to unraveling my mind in a sketchbook and bring these ideas for critique. Luckily our group was very insightful. (Thanks girls!)

     I have finally come to admit that the reason I was stalling on my anatomical children's book idea was because I thought that it wasn't serious or grown-up enough for a senior thesis. However, my drawings and poems I brought in today gained far more reactions then my patterns ever had. I am doing a children's book. I am putting my foot down on the accelerator and tearing off the rear view mirror. I am a fun and playful person. I am allowed to do a fun and playful project. I am excited. Let's do this!

     My group brought up several points that are both encouraging and challenging. First, doing a children's book is ambitious. Name one fun children's book about anatomy that you remember from your past. It's okay, go ahead and think. I'll wait.... Yeah, it hasn't been done successfully (to my knowledge.) Feel free to call me out on it if you think differently. It is also challenging to create content as well as format that is kid appropriate as well as something that clearly and succinctly conveys the complex information. It also has to be visually appealing and something you will remember (and read again). This is a lot more to think about than I originally thought.

     A few suggestions from the group: Do a series of books featuring a different bone or body system (Like the Mr. Men or Little Miss series). Visit UM's children's hospital to test out the effectiveness of book formats/storylines. Rhymes are good! Kids books are usually big and tactile. Moving parts like pull tabs are fun (e.g. make the phalanges dance).

What's Next:
     Next I am going to come up with some more rhymes about different bones. I also want to start on some storyboards for a book. I will focus on a book featuring each bone in the body. I will also keep working on fun scenarios/actions for the bones.

It's Friday again!

What I did:
- Experiments
     - sketching (30 mins)
     - painting (2hrs)
     - photoshop (2hrs)
     - feedback (1.5 hrs)
- Proposal update/reflection (45 mins)
- Character design (2hrs)
- Drawing/researching nature patterns (1 hr)

What I accomplished/discovered/encountered:

     I spent the beginning of my week making some watercolor paintings of a skull and two vertebrae (1 lumbar, 1 thorax). It has been a while since I have painted, so it felt good to do that again and forget about everything else. After I completed the three paintings, I scanned in the images and had some fun. I played with duplicating, rotating, and patterning the images to make designs that from far away would look fairly innocent. I believe I succeeded in making some interesting designs, however, I don't know if what I made accomplishes what I'm after. In the end, my work almost feels too reminiscent of Virgil Marti's work. It was a worthwhile experiment though, because I was able to get some interesting feedback from peers. From far away, my work reminded classmates and housemates of wallpaper and interior design. Some saw flowers, others saw ninja stars, for the most part they were non-threatening concepts. When looking closer, some were still grossed out, other intrigued. A general consensus was that they wanted to see the images much larger. Perhaps this is something I should look into. After seeing studio neighbor, Noelle go much bigger with her work, I would be open to seeing what possibilities this opens up for my project.

not as creepy from afar

     Hearing the feedback from my experiments led me to reconsider the ideas I presented in my project proposal. I had a suggestion that I was was more occupied with patterns than I was with the actual subject matter (anatomy). I used some time to evaluate how important the content was in relation to the physical means. I came to the conclusion that I'm sticking to my guns. It is my goal to show anatomy in a playful, non-morbid way. Pattern is simply my current means to get to this goal. I did however research how patterns relate to the body. One thing I found particularly exquistie is the structure of bone. I have learned about haversian systems in both my musculo-skeletal anatomy and chordate anatomy classes and I have always admired it's intricacy. The structure of compact bone which is made up of bunches of osteoons, which are basically concentric circles of lamellae surrounding a haversian canal. I think it's fascinating how those tiny structures work together to keep one strong and stable, however I think almost anyone can appreciate it's beauty.

osteons!

What I think I should do next:

     Next, I am going to address exactly how I am going to bring a new light to anatomy so that I may be very clear in my project proposal. I will also address scale by making large patterns with parts. I will however, make sure that each anatomical aspect is important not only for it's physical contribution, but also it's meaning.