11.18.11

What I did:

- Made pagination (2 hrs)

- Tried different ways to simulate x-ray vision (2 hrs)

- Found and took some reference photos (1 hr)

- Started painting/drawing illustrations (4 hrs)

What I accomplished/encountered/discovered:

     Even though I spent a good amount of time on the pagination (it was .25 scale) it wasn't very helpful in the end. It was great to be able to visualize the updated flow in a linear fashion as well as update some of the scenes and add in ones that were suggested by Stephanie and Hannah. 

     I am still struggling with the passage of time in regards to showing the fracture healing. I tried a couple versions using tracing paper as well as showing the rims of the glasses in the picture. I was told they weren't successful, so I'm ignoring the whole problem for now and moving on.

     In order to start doing some of my drawings, I had to look up some reference pictures (and take some of my own) for certain things. For instance, I wanted to make sure I had the child's proportions right and I wanted to know what normal house windows actually looked like. How round is a balloon? What do the strings look like when the balloons are floating? What does a television look like? The back of a chair? 

     Although I ignored some of these references when drawing, I was able to use them with other styles. I am working on making at least 5 different uses of the same scene with a different illustration style. What I have in mind is watercolor, gouache, acrylic, colored pencil, and cut paper. So far I have one gouache done and half a watercolor. 

What's next:

     I will finish all 5 illustrations by Tuesday and then address my x-ray vision problem over the Thanksgiving break.

I can't think of a clever title today.

What I did:

- Updating half-scale model (2 hrs)
- Layout feedback (30 mins)

- Grant application

     - Reflection, Writing & Proofing (2 hrs)

     - Budget research (1.5 hrs)

     - Documentation (30 mins)

- Reading and reflecting on "Artist to artist: 23 major illustrators talk to children about their art" (2 hrs)
- Pagination (1 hr)

What I accomplished/discovered/encountered:
     This week began with finishing, presenting and updating my half-scale model. After group critique and then meeting with Stephanie and Hannah, I realize some of the pages still needed tweaking. I was able to pen in the pages I thought worked well, while I left some others to be reinvented. Having the physical example in my hands made it much easier in asking people which format worked better. I got some interesting feedback and I tried and sometimes failed in improving things. For example: I had a scene where time passed in one page full of little boxes. It was suggested to make it last longer, I could make a pull-out panel. The pull-out looked like one scene, so I was back to the drawing board. I ended up making individual pages for each image. I am still thinking about making a flip book insert.

there will be a different cover. this will be a full page illustration

wee!

ouch!

Looks like a fracture!

Poor Kay doesn't look too happy

This view will be visited earlier in the story without the x-ray view

Cutting the bug view. Giving the cat and fish their own page.

     I submitted my grant application on Thursday. It was really hard cutting down my summary. I have so many things to say about my story and why it is important for both me and the kids who will someday read it. The budget also took a long time. It is hard thinking as far ahead as installation and determining what supplies I will be needing.  Incase you were interested, below is my introduction:

'“X-Ray Kay” is a whimsical picture book telling the adventure of Kaytlin, a curious, rough and tumble 7-year old who experiences an unfortunate turn of events. Kay fractures her arm falling out of a tree and quickly finds that her bulky yellow cast keeps her from doing the hands-on things she loves.  With a sudden change of luck, Kay discovers a pair of x-ray glasses. All are invited to join Kay as she watches her arm heal and discover that skeletons are an important and playful part of everybody.

                Because bones are a structurally fundamental element of chordates, it is important to teach kids at a young age that skeletons do not have to represent death or gore as the media suggests. The light and fanciful tone of X-Ray Kay shows children that bones are not scary and will hopefully inspire them to take the initiative to learn more about osteology. By fostering this interest in anatomy, the child will also become exposed to other branches of science. Although “X-Ray Kay” carries an educational message, it is also a story that is magical enough to invite little ones to sit, engage and imagine. By bringing this delightful story to children, it will not only increase their understanding of anatomy, but also help them conquer the fear and frustration that comes with a broken bone."

     I also started reading "Artist to artist: 23 major illustrators talk to children about their art" by Eric Carle. It was more helpful to look at all the styles than actually read the messages. Most of the artists' advice could be summed up to: it's okay to be an artist, especially if you love it and work hard. Although it was encouraging, the message was aimed mostly at budding artists.  It was extremely helpful though to see how many different ways there are to render an image (even without factoring in media).  Some had very whimsical or abstract styles, some geometric, others realistic, soft, hard, bright, high-contrast, etc... This will come in handy when I start trying different rendering styles (see: what's next). 

     I unfortunately didn't get too far on the pagination. For some reason, I was very distracted this week. I did however put the scenes I'm keeping on paper.

What's next:

     I want to have the pagination completed by Tuesday. I also would like to have my method of time-lapse figured out by Tuesday. Thursday I will complete 5 different rendering styles for my illustrations. Ready-Set-Go!

X-Ray Kay

     Before you read on, I have a very exciting announcement. My totally awesome little brother entered a UM photo contest and now he's a finalist!! If you have two minutes, I would really appreciate it if you voted for him. Here's the website. Just click the "vote now" button and it will take you to the finalists. ((His picture is the one with colorful houses and a mountain in the background.)) Thanks!

Moving on:

What I Did:
- Moment sketching (.5 hr)
- Storyboard (1 hr)
- Storyboard Redux (1 hr)
- Looking up and taking source images (1.5 hrs)
- Make Model (5 hrs)
- Media research (.5)
- Talking with an RN about broken bones in children (.5 hr)

What I accomplished/discovered:
     I started the weekend by taking my character study and sketching scenes and moments I wanted to see in my book. I also worked on adding conflict and resolution as well as other critical plot devices; something that my original storyboard lacked.  It also helped to write the story progression down, being that it allowed me to copy, paste and add details and notes that are hard to put in sketches.

     Afterwards, I spoke with my critique group about moving forward. It was suggested that I exaggerate or boost the story's conflict as well as really push the sense of time further visually (especially in bone healing). The element of magic in the story could be helped with use of visual queues and interactions (use mylar panel to hide/expose x-ray?).  It was also suggested that I talk with a librarian about the attention span of my target group, their developmental needs, what would be a new or surprising element for a book to have, and what are successful elements that have been used and might be helpful in my book. I also should talk to a nurse about the scientific facts about broken bones in children as well as how they react and what comforts them. 

ouch!

     The next step seemed to be to make a half-scale model of my book. I was cautioned to get more specific in vantage points and pacing, not necessarily details. I did so and it took a lot longer than I expected.

     It turns out that sometimes even though it looks like a complete and easy to follow story in 2D form, when you add the interactive element of turning a page, things get a lot more complicated. I took a lot of the one panel scenes and stretched them into a two-panel scene. I also kept rearranging the order of events to see which transition made more sense. I also experimented with vantage points. I realized that some scene that I thought I had all worked out, they looked more dynamic in another view.

     Starting even took a lot of time: How many pages do I need? What size? How will I assemble them?...  This really showed me that this book is a more involved project than I thought.
     I stopped by an arts store briefly to talk about good papers for illustration (and price them out). I picked up a watercolor paper sample pack. This will make it easier when I go to buy the paper in bulk. 

     I very briefly spoke to an RN about broken bones in children. She was able to affirm most of the information I had about the science behind fractures and the process one goes through for treatment and healing.  She was also able to add the human element by elaborating on an arm break she had as a child and how frustrating it was to her when she couldn't be as independent as she wanted.

What's Next:
     Next I plan on taking my model/ideas to the public library. I want to speak with a librarian  about the questions my critique group came up with. I also want to ask the children about their favorite books and why. Also if they had broken a bone and what it would be like to have x-ray glasses. I want to have my supplies bought and ready for illustration for Thursday.