Digital graphics evaluation pro forma

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?

Throughout my story I have kept to the original story line I had designed. I have altered my final product from the digital flat plans that I had originally chose. For example I have changed the colours used in the digital flat plans and added a lot more detail within the final product compared to the quick digital flat plans I had made. I did keep the characters I used in the digital flat plans the same in my final product. I have also changed the style in how I created my final pages from the original digital flat plans. In the digital flat plans I used the pencil tool when creating the characters and used shapes to create scenery.

How well have you constructed your images?

I have used light colours to show something good is happening within a scene but when something bad is happening I have added dark colours so that the children who read the book can easily identify what is going on. I have also carried the same colours used for each character across the book so that character is also easy to identify. I used a bright red colour for ‘red riding hood’ and a dark green for the evil alien. I used green for the alien because green is usually personified as the colour of poison. I have used a wide range of textures to add more detail to certain objects within the book. For example I have added a dark grainy texture over the roof of the grandmothers house and for the trees I have added multiple colours to identify the leaves on the trees. I also added a gradient of three colours (red, orange, yellow) to create the flames surrounding the crashed UFO. Finally I have rotoscoped and altered the colours to the majority of the objects used in the book. In the images I have added the custom tool to create a speech bubble to place the speech within. I also used the custom shape tool to create the grass around the house of the grandmother and mother of red riding hood.

How well have you used text to anchor your images

I feel that the text I have used in each page Is very relevant to what is going on. The text Is written in a bold black font on top of a small white box. The white box is placed at the point of the page where there is nothing happening in the background, this is done so that nothing is blocked out from the text being in the way. The white box also allows the text to stand out from the background making it easy to read.The black text that is spoken is placed into a white speech bubble above the head of the character that is speaking. I feel that this is a better way of showing that the character is speaking instead of the text being put in the same box as the narrative text. The speech bubble is coloured white to allow the black text to stand out from the background. This is done throughout all my pages where speech is needed.

Is your product suitable for your audience?

My book is designed for children the age of 3+ to read. I have ensured this by placing a small amount of text and speech per page. Each page has around 2-3 lines of text and a 1-2 lines of speech that is placed in a speech bubble above the characters head. There is no inappropriate scenes and no violence. I have ensured that the text is clearly visible from the background. I have done this by placing the text in a complete different colour from the background colour. In reference to my proposal I have met all the requirements I had set. From the original story overlay I had planned all I changed was the monster/wolf to an alien. In my proposal I stated that my target audience was going to be 1+ but I have now changed it too 3+ as one of my pages shows the alien attacking red riding hoods grandmother.

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

I rotoscoped the majority of my images using the tools within Photoshop. This was a good decision because it allowed for a more precise scenery. I used a variety of shapes and then used the warp tool to create the characters within the book. I did this to ensure that my characters were original. I like the added layers to the trees to make it look like the leaves were sticking out of the trees giving a 3D effect. For a couple of pages I used the magic wand to select a certain area of leaves from another image. I then copied them across changing the colour to a more relatable colour to the image for a leafy effect on the floor.What I did not like about a couple of my pages was that there was too much rotoscoping. If I could have changed it I would have used the pencil tool to draw more objects in the pages. I would also liked to add more detail to my characters especially the alien witch could have been done by adding a dark gradient overlay. I could have used a variety of shapes when creating my characters.

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

I like the different gradients I have added over the grandmothers house and the added layers to objects to make them look 3D.I also like the wide range of colours I have added to my work to make the pages more interesting. I like the use of the speech bubble above the characters when they speak. This really helps to bring the text forward from the background.I dislike the fact that I did to much rotoscoping and such have drawn some of my pages. I also feel that I could have added more detail to some of my pages (The inside of the grandmothers house). I could have also added more detail to the alien. For example I could have added a more detailed skin texture to the alien to make it look more evil, this is the same for other characters as well.

Why did you include the content you used?

I used light colours in scenes where something good is happening but whenever something bad is happening (the alien is in the scene) the colours become dark and distorted. I did this so the reader could easily identify when good or bad was happening. I felt that the font I chose suited the Red riding hood theme and therefore fits well with my pages. I used the same font for the narrative text and the speech. I feel that the effects I used match well with the object I have placed it upon. For example I added a grainy effect for the leafy floor to give a dirty effect. The majority of the images I have used were rotoscoped and then had the colours altered to fit in with the scenario. I rotoscoped my images so they looked realistic whereas if I had used shapes or drawn the images they wouldn't have been to the best quality.

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

I have added a separate colour for each character. For the alien I gave him the typical evil colour of green. I chose green because it symbolises poison. I have added light colours to scenes where something happy/good is happening. When a scene doesn’t include the alien the colours are bright and vibrant. For example in the first scene (Red riding hoods mother tells red riding hood to visit her grandmother) all the colours are bright. For scenes when something bad is happening the colours are dark and distorted. For example I chose for the alien to meet red riding hood in a dark forest as it would create a spooky atmosphere. Also all scenes where the alien is involved within there Is a lack of nature. For example in the scene where red riding hood meets the alien there is no leaves on the trees whereas in the other scenes where there is no alien the trees do have leaves.

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Audience ResponsesCultural competence:

Media texts require us to have a certain level of cultural understanding to be able to interpret them.

At a basic level, this could mean being able to read the language that a magazine is written in.

At a deeper level, it means being able to interpret signs and symbols that we use a visual shorthand to communicate ideas.

We recognise these signs in our own culture but find it harder to understand when looking at others.

We create and attach meaning to signs and symbols in many different forms.

Creative Media Production 2012

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What is this?

This is a Norwegian Pine tree, covered in snow and with a red ribbon on.

Our cultural understanding allows us to interpret its meaning.

To us, in British society, it means Christmas, presents and family.

This is because we share a cultural knowledge.


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There are many other signs and symbols that we attach meaning to.

A leather jacket can imply rebellion.

A sports car can imply wealth and power.

A cross can represent religion.


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Visual representations of everyday objects are often the same the world over. A car appears as a car, no matter what country it appears in.

What that car means however, can be very different depending on your cultural background.


What representations can be found in your work?

My books features a small variety of characters, these being 3 women, a man and an alien (5 characters altogether). The three women are Red riding hood, Red riding hoods mother, red riding hoods grandmother. The man is the lumberjack who appears at the end of the story to save red riding hood. There is only one main character in the book. The alien is personified as the bad guy. Within the book there is a wide spread of ages. These being form a child to a grandmother. As my book is based upon the original version of red riding hood there isn't really any different races. No social groups or religions are included within the book. As there Is a small amount of characters within my book two of the women have small parts, leaving the two main characters (red riding hood and the alien) in the majority of the scenes.

What style have you employed in your products?

My story is influenced from the original story of red riding hood. I have shown this by keeping the main character (red riding hood) the same as she is in the original story. I have also kept to original story line. To ensure that I didn't completely copy the original story I have altered the characters and changed the backgrounds and settings of my pages. For my visual style i chose to rotoscope as this would allow me to create accurate and precise work. Rotoscoping also helps to create a clear image. For a couple of objects within a scene I used shapes and then the warp tool to allow me to get the image I needed. For example for the inside of the grandmothers house I used shapes to create the scenery.

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

Strengths; Planning really helped me to identify what to place on each page. This being the objects and the text. The planning also allowed me to find the right target audience to create my story for. Researching the original script allowed me to identify what parts of the original story I wanted to keep and what I wanted to change for my story. Weaknesses; I feel that my main weakness is that I could have created a larger story overview within the proposal and I could have looked at other remakes of the original red riding hood story. Another weakness was managing my time for final pages. I feel that I took too long trying to put too much detail into my final pages. For example I took too long adding detail to the page that shows the grandmothers house. Another weakness would be character design for the alien.

Historical and cultural context

My story is similar to the previous version of red riding hood as red riding hoods main goal is too reach her grandmothers house. The difference between my story and the original is that I have changed the majority of the characters and settings for each page. The dialog of the book is significantly different as I have changed the script to match my story. I have used a different art style from the original red riding hood story. The artwork within my book is different to many known children's books.

Peer Feedback

• Summarise peer feedback and discuss– Responses you agree with – Responses you disagree with

Education

Digital graphics evaluation pro forma