Digital Graphic Narrative Planning

Use this booklet to help structure your planning and collate your planning documents.

Considerations:

There are lots of things to consider in this project. Fill out each section in detail to show you have thought about each one. You should imagine that this is a live project, so considerations like cost, quantity and codes of practice must be thought about in that context rather than just as a college project.

Costs:My project, the whole of my project will be produced via digital graphics, for example the use of Photoshop. From using Photoshop I will be able to create my content and the use of Photoshop will be provided through the college that I am producing my work from resulting in a cost free perspective. If I was including illustration for example I would require specialised equipment through pens and tablets, but this again is provided through the college that I am producing my work from. The only issue that is included with my project, money wise is the printing expenses of my book as the story I have created is well known I would like to only create a minimal amount which would not be very expensive but would still cost money to print.Available resources:The only resources that I require are the digital segments, for example a computer and the software provided. The place of venue that I am producing my work from is at the college I attend to, and the college is equipped with the computers and software required for my book to be created. Furthermore the college provides me with the resources to print my book through the use of printers all around the college so if there is a fault I will have many more to access. The equipment I require is very minimal leaving less complications for me through the production stage and printing stage.Quantity:Due to my story already being popular through the use of children’s story’s and even the movies I have decided to release my own version in a small amount to increase the quality and value as mass production

would just result in a generic and cliché remake of the original. The story I have produced would be sold in small quantities as it will emphasise the difference as my audience would think that my story has to be different as it is limited to acquire. Most likely with everything the less that there are of them the more rare they become resulting in larger importance.Audience and Target Market:The story that I have chosen is a much more mature children's story due to a much darker and dull tonality within the story. Also the actual storyline would be too complex for younger years such 3-4 year olds due to the story being developed more than one line text children stories. I would target my story close to the older spectrum so for 7 year olds mainly due to the maturity of the story. Due to my lead characters being both male and female I would target, gender wise, to both genders as this story provides balance through Hansel the boy and Gretel the girl and them both contributing a large amount to the story. This story is much more intense and dark compared to other children stories so children who enjoy the thrill and mystery of a story would be more inclined to this story to any other. I would aim this specific story to a higher intellect as it provides an inner meaning within through the actions of Hansel and Gretel.Quality Factors:Timing is the main use of quality, specifically what areas require more time to create and the knowledge of using that time efficiently. The amount of time overall we receive to create our story is more than enough time. However not applying the correct amount of time to specific parts of my story could result in bad quality imaging as certain segments need more time than others for example the creation of a character would take a substantial amount of time compared to a creation of a tree in the background. So another aspect would be the use of planning and organising, more specifically in the different parts of the page and which areas need more time to create than the others. Another aspect is the equipment and software that I could use, I will use only Photoshop for my production because I feel that would be the most effective way of creating my story compared to the use of illustration as I think my abilities in digital production are much more precise and detailed compared to my drawing ability. One other factor is simple, the use of ‘backing up’ my work as if I didn’t then if the storage device became corrupt or just stopped working then all my work would be lost and not retrievable, resulting in me to rush my work which in turn would result in a worse piece of work.

Codes of Practice:Due to my workspace being minimal in the fact that I will be only using a computer and its software, there will be a small amount of safety and comfort that I need for my workspace to be viable. The only segments will be the chair that I will be sitting on and the computer that I am using. For the chair, the comfortability and flexibility in adjustment and movement but mainly comfortability. Through the computer similar to the chair and its adjustments mechanisms specific to me so the correct height for me to work as working with a low monitor could result in neck strains for example. Regulation:My story would not result into anything more than a story to be read so I would not begin production on toys specific to my characters. However if I did begin the production of distributing toys for example I would introduce safety precautions, however due to my story being targeted to an older audience that typical children stories do not target and are inclined to younger audiences (2-5) then my reader would be more competent to the fact of placing the toys in unsafe scenarios. On the other hand I would still include precautions just as safety act. Also due to my story being more developed in the fact of maturity there will be no materials added like a pop-up book would have for example leaving my book with just pages and nothing extra. Copyright:The original author of my story has been deceased for many years now so on that area I would not receive copyright strikes, however my story has been developed into my own version further constructing my originality. The pages within my story will be completely from scratch leaving no sources of other people’s work in my work as the environments and creation of characters and their appearances will be completely from my own mind and perspective. However imagination usually comes with the past experiences of viewing other people’s work so I will be thorough through checking and seeing if my work is similar to anyone else’s as there could be complications if my work was similar to an extent for example my characters having similar facial features or clothes to another person’s depiction on the internet.

Ethical Issues:My story implicates the very nature of fiction meaning that the environment and characters that I have included are pure imagination and don’t have any relations to real places. My story however is set in a time of realistic to the history of our real world, specifically medieval. However my story does not include racial remarks or any discrimination of that matter as my characters do not have opinions of each other and the text that they speak have only relation to the overall story. If my story did include certain aspects that reform under as an ethical issue then I would have it reviewed but in my opinion I think my story does not include any remarks of the real world.

Resources:A successful project relies on good planning. Considering all the resources you will need for a project and then assessing which you already have and which you need will help ensure you are ready to start your project.

If there is a resource you don’t currently have, then consider how you are going to get it before you go in to production.

Resource:Do you have it? What do you need to do to get it?

 Computer  Yes  Acquired from the college

 Photoshop-Software  Yes  Acquired from the college

 Script Yes  Acquired from my development stage

 Computer Chair Yes  Acquired from the college

 Computer Keyboard Yes  Acquired from the college

 Backup-Storage Device  No

 I will require a backup device such as a memory/USB stick to provide a backup of my work in case of corruption through the original storage device. I will retrieve from my home as I have many.

 Printer Yes  Acquired from the college

Production Schedule:Delivering your project on time is vital. In order to do this, you need a solid plan of action. This will help you divide up your work in to manageable chunks to be tackled one at a time. It will also allow you to plan which tasks need to be done in which order. It will also allow you to track your progress each day. If you are falling behind, you will need to modify the way you work. If you work faster than expected, you can clearly see what the next steps you need to take are.

Each session is a half day of college.

Session 1:

 The first segment of my first session will be concentrated on the first page of my story. The first page does not include any of my characters as it is just an opening to the overall story. This first part will

mainly consist of the background and the surrounding environment of my story. Mainly the time on the sky and ground of my story will be minimal as that does not require a large amount of time as it is not as detailed as other aspects in my story for example the trees and mountain tops. Once the sky and ground of my setting is created I will begin to include the trees and the mountain range behind those trees. The trees that I will create will all look similar to give a sense of realism meaning that I will have to only create one and the rest will be slightly modified through warping for example. The mountain range is just an aspect of scenery so that’ll take very little time. This will be the complete version of my setting plus the use of textures in the ground to create the sight of grass. The next task is the house located in the middle of the forest, and now this will be one of the segments that will require more time maybe two sessions as I would like include distinct details to the house such as shadows and scarped paint. I will be only using the method of rotoscoping which will consist of complex shapes through the tiles on the roof and the paint which is worn on the actual house to produce a dull and poor portrayal. This part of the session will be concentrated on the actual outline of the house, the roof, the doors and windows. This task will be the continuation of the house within my first page, and from the completion of the actual shape of the house I will begin to include certain details like the tiles on the roof and cracked walls on the house for example as I want to emphasise the less developed house of a poor family which my characters are essentially. Once completed I will include the text of that specific page which will not require a lot of time as I have already thought of a pre-set font.Session 2: From the completion of the first page, in my second session I will begin the digital production of my second page which consists of three of my characters. The most time needed on this page will be the detail on the three characters. The surrounding environment will be created first like the previous page. Again like the previous page, the environment around my characters does not require much time to create as in this page the characters will cover most of the page. The surrounding environment will this time consist of mainly trees with some areas of visibility to the sky and ground but I want the tone in this page especially to really dark. Once the surrounding environment is created I will then begin on the three characters. Hansel and Gretel will require more time as they are the main characters and feature in every page onwards to the end when only this page and the next includes the father. I will begin with the father first consisting of his bodily features as the actual face of the character is limited to the mouth and one side of his face, this is

due to his long hair covering half of his face. The body will be used through the method of rotoscoping. The attire that he will be wearing will be dull and not very coloured however he will be wearing a full set of clothes like overalls that consist of denim and brown boots covered in mud for example.  Once the body of the father is created which will of taken the most amount of time I will construct the head of the man by using a shape to give the more spherical appearance and use the warp tool to give shape a more realistic shape to just a circle. Once created I will then add the hair which doesn’t require much detail due to the distance he is from the page. Now that the father is added to the environment I will begin with the two main characters Hansel and Gretel. I will begin with Hansel as he will be the one sitting down with his sister laying on him. Hansel will be less of a challenge compared to Gretel as he is just sitting down compared to Gretel laying down. The attire will again be similar to the fathers through the use of colours and material. This will be the least time taken as it will be the facial features that will take the longest amount of time. Once the overall set of clothes the shoes, to the trousers to the overalls covering his upper body I will only include the left side of his body as the other side will be where Gretel is laying which will not be visible to the reader resulting in less time. Once the details of the skin colour of Hansel’s arm and hands I will begin with the head.

Session 3:

 Continuing from the previous session I will now create the head of Hansel which will include the facial features like the eyes and nose for example. I will include a glossed look in his eyes to portray a more realistic appearance. Also the creases and dirt on his face to again emphasise is lack of wealth. Once added I will include his hair which will be blonde. Once Hansel is created and I will begin with Gretel. Gretel will have the action of laying onto Gretel where I will be showing the angle of her body and arms. I will begin with the body which will consist of a blue denim skirt and red shoes. Then a white top buttoned up with long sleeves leaving detail to the creases in the shirt. The body will take a similar amount of time to Hansel’s as she is smaller requiring less detail. When the body is created I will then begin with the head. The head of Gretel will be more complex to Hansel’s due to the long hair plaited so I will have to show the creases within the plaits to present a more realistic less abstract appearance. Once created I will only do half of her face as her hair will cover the other half. The final part of this page to add is the text which will take very little time as I already know what my text is going to be from my script. Once created

I can move onto page 3 of my story. Page 3 is very similar to page 2 in the surrounding environment and characters, as it is a continuation but in this case the father is leaving the children in the forest. I will incorporate a different angle however so that the pages are different but this will only take little time compared to the last page. I will have the same idea in the environment surrounding the characters but just essentially turning the environment slightly around giving a different perspective to the previous page. This will take a small amount of time but will still require precision in the detail of the forest. Once created I will then add the only three characters on this page. Hansel and Gretel will be in a similar position same position just at a different angle so again this will take less time than the previous page. The father however will begin a walking action away from the other two characters therefore not showing his face so creating the father in this context will be simpler than the previous page due to no facial features being included. I will not use the previous as a template to just rotoscope over for example but I will take inspiration from the previous page like the dirt on the clothes and faces just as an example. I will now create the bodies of the three characters as I have an idea already of what this certain action appears like. After that I will include the faces of the two characters but having different facial expressions due to them feeling a different emotion, sadness, to the previous page. The text will be lastly added to this page which will include speech from the father to the children.Session 4: This session begins with the fourth page of my story which consists of the two characters, Hansel and Gretel. Like the two previous pages this page will be situated in the same setting but with dialogue between the two. The similarities of the pages will be the setting in the dark forest but in this specific page I will decide to focus on the two characters by having them mainly in the shot. The beginning of this page will be the forest as it is the simplest and least time consuming of the details in this page especially. However I will alter the angle of the shot to include variation to the previous two pages as I do not want to involve the same shot over and over again.  Once the forestry background is created I will then begin on the two characters present in the page. Due to this page essentially being a close up on the two characters I will only be creating the upper half of their bodies (shoulder-up) The main focus will be their faces specifically the areas around their mouths as they are speaking to each other so I would need to include creases in the cheekbones and lips to indicate dialogue. I will begin with the actual outline of Hansel’s body and head which will be the basic body shape. The next focus will be doing the same for Hansel standing opposite him. Once the two bodies are created I will begin on Hansel’s facial areas.

 The amount of detail I will include on the face of Hansel will be developed in such a way to emphasise his fatigue and poor outlook for example having bags under his eyes and dirt around his face. The hair of Hansel will be covering close to half of his face but his eyes still showing through to indicate strands of hair. The nose will be next which will include indications of light reflecting off to present a 3D outlook. Once the nose is created I would then begin on the mouth which would be the most complex feature. I would need to make his mouth appear moving so including creases in the cheekbones implication of moving of the mouth and the mouth opening showing glimpses of his teeth. Once created I will then include the face of Gretel. Gretel’s facial features especially will be as complex as Hansel’s due to the dialogue being discussed between them. The first feature I will work on will be the Hair of Gretel as it will be covering a large majority of her face only revealing the eyes, nose and mouth. The blonde hair will be plaited also so I would need to include shadows and creases within the hair to implicate twists in the hair. Once created I will then begin on the eyes of Gretel. Like Hansel the hair of Gretel will also be covering one eye slightly so I can include the appearance of strands in the hair. Next onto the nose which will take the least amount of time through the use of reflection of the light. Then the mouth, similar to Hansel I will have to include the portrayal of dialogue by movement of the cheekbones and lips for example. The last inclusion I will add will be the text.

Session 5:

 The next page of the story again like the last one only includes the two characters Hansel and Gretel. The only difference being that there is no dialogue included and there is the witches’ house in the distance of page. This page will take last time to create than the previous due to no faces being involved in this page as the two characters will be facing away from the readers as they’re walking towards the house in the distance. The first thing to create will again be the forestry background which comes into focus compared to the last page. The forest will be darker but become lighter as it towards the house in the distance to implicate a different tonality in the story. This will begin with the darker side of the forest which will include trees, a path and scattered shrubbery. Once the forest becomes within distance to the house it will begin enlightening to implicate the new tonality. The trees will begin having apples and other types of fruits to symbolise happiness. Once the whole forest is created I will begin on the witches’ house located in the distance of the page. The house however will not require much detail due to how far away it is from the readers’ point of view.

 The house will include bright and vibrant colours as it is mean to show a false sense of security, the feeling of ‘too good to be to be true’ and having sweets and cake hanging off the house would be perfect for this false sense of security. The use of rotoscoping the outline of the house and exterior mainly will be the main focus due to details like sweets and cake as the materials for the house will not need as much time due to the distance away from the readers’ sight. However I will include the properties by using little shapes. Once created I will then include the two characters Hansel and Gretel The two characters will be much less time consuming than the previous page due to them looking away from the readers’ point of view so all I will have to create will be the bodies and back of the heads. The two characters, like the house, will be noticeably small to the readers’ eyes so the developed details will not need to be included on this specific page. The bodies will involve the original attire from the previous pages and also the back of the heads which will be mainly the hair colour.Session 6: Page 6 will include a large amount of dialogue between, now, the three characters Hansel, Gretel and the witch. The page will mainly include the three characters and the house that belongs to the witch. The first aspect I will create on this page will again be the setting surrounding the characters. The environment will mainly be covered up by the house so the setting will take the least amount of time to create, I will include a light scenery to further emphasise the false sense of security. The pathway will be made of cake so I will next include that which will take little time as I will create one then copy the layer and slightly adjust it via warping. Once added I will then begin on the house. The house will be very complex to create with the amount of detail it will need through the different materials it has to make up the whole house. The house will be up the side of the page to not have as much as a focus as the characters on this page and their conversation. The house will be created with the method of rotoscoping with the use of shapes also. The beginning will be the outline of the house which will appear to be a generic house. Once created I will then include separate properties to add like the windows and doors. They will be made of different textures through the wooden door to the transparent looking windows. Once created I can then create details for the in depth properties of the house like texture of the house, the roof and window ledges. The roof will include hanging sweets for example which will be done by using shapes and warping them into specific shapes. Once the house is created I will begin with the three characters present in this page of my book. Two of the characters have been created before giving me an idea of how I will create the two. The third character, the witch, will be more complex as I have not created her yet and also she requires a lot of detail both in her bodily features and facial also. The character I will begin with will be the witch. The

witch will be more noticeable than the other two characters making the creation even more complex due to the authority she will have on the page. The first creation will be the body. The body will be rotoscoped. The body will include colours of green and purple as these are colour of a witch. Once created I will then begin on the head. The head of the witch will be very time consuming in the amount of detail needing to create the facial appearance of the witch. Certain features like warts, an outstanding nose and big eyes to have a representation of the witch. The beginning will be with the shape of the head which will be quite abnormal and I will do this by using shapes and warping the shape to my preference. Once completed I will then begin with the facial features. The facial features will include the eyes, which will be green and large in comparison to the other characters in the story, a long big nose, and a large mouth which will be moving to give the sense of dialogue. These features will take time due to the amount of detail that they require to have an appearance of an abnormal women.

Session 7:

 Once the witch is created I will then include the two other characters in the page. Hansel and Gretel will also be facing the reader meaning they will take time to create but not as time consuming as the witch. The bodies of the two characters will be created and already have an outline of what I am going to due to the previous models in the previous pages. Once the bodies are created I will then begin on the faces of the two characters. The faces, like the bodies have recently been created so I have an outline of how I can create them. However like the previous page the two characters exchange dialogue with the witch giving me the task of giving them an appearance of talking. With the lips and cheekbones portrayal of moving the mouth a conversation will appear to be happening. Once created I will then add the text to the page. The next page will be within the witches’ house giving the reader a new environment to view. The three characters from the previous page are again included in this page. The house of the witch will include trinkets and equipment of a witch and I will involve many of them to not give a bare surrounding of the characters. A table will cover the majority of the room with Hansel and Gretel behind it and the witch at the door beginning to lock it. The children will not be looking towards the reader point of view but at the door. The witch however will have her face half turned towards the view of the reader.  The children, after the creation of the witches’ house, will be next added to the page. Like the previous pages they’re not facing the reader giving the creation a much smaller time scale as not as much detail

will be needed to create them. The bodies will firstly be created with the same attire as previous pages, and when created I will include the heads attached to the bodies. They will be holding each other however with the left arm of Hansel around the body of Gretel and vice versa for Gretel around Hansel. This will be a complex action as I will need to show the extension and rotation of the arms which will be done with the warping of shapes as rotoscoping will give the arms jagged edges. Once two of the characters are created I will begin with the final character of the page. The witch has half of her face towards the view of the reader requiring detail there but the other half is out of range of the reader. The beginning of the creation will be the body of the witch very similar to the previous page but the other way around due to her back facing the reader. The cloche attire will give the generic witch appearance and in doing so the feet of legs of the witch will be covered leaving only the head to create. The creation of the head will begin with the half exposed to the reader. She is a fair distance away from the reader’s view but I will sill implicate the small details like the warts on the nose and mouth for example. After that I will then include the other half of the head. Once the characters and setting are created I will then add the text to the page.Session 8: This page only includes one character, Hansel. This page introduces the doubt feeling to Hansel as he notices a book on the table reading ‘How to bake children into pies’ This pages’ setting will be very similar to the previous but turned 180 degrees leaving the back half of the house exposed to the reader presenting a new environment to view. The first segment to create will be the interior of the house. The house will appear similar to the previous page giving me a slight idea of how to create this setting on this specific page. I will include a fireplace and book shelves reading titles just as an example on the amount of detail I will include. I will also include the table with the use of rotoscoping but could be used in the form of shapes just rotoscoping does not require as much time. Then lastly properties on the table like books and cauldrons especially the book Hansel is reading  Once the interior of the house is created I will then include Hansel within the page which will show just over half of his face due to the angle of the page not facing him completely head on. Plus due to his height only half of his body will be showing requiring less time to create him. The first aspect I will add of Hansel will be his upper body which will include his attire and both arms extended out holding the book. Once created I will include his face starting with the hair. Like the previous pages he will have an expression and on this page specifically a shocked facial expression requiring details to the mouth, being widened, and the eyes also. Once Hansel has been created I will then include the text.

Session 9:

 Page nine will begin with three characters on the page, Hansel, Gretel and the witch. Hansel and Gretel will be separate to the witch and the witch closest to the fire. Dialogue is exchanged from the two characters Hansel and Gretel, however neither are facing the view of the reader as they are close to the door whilst the witch is close to the fire. The complex areas will be the witch due to her face slightly facing the reader. I will start off with the interior of the house which will be very similar to the previous two pages but at a different angle to the reader as I don’t want the environment to be the same as it would not include the ability to apply variation.The page will conclude with the interior of the house, the next part would be the characters to add, the characters in this page are much simpler than previous pages in the way of how two of them are facing away and the third only showing half of her face. The characters I will begin with will be Hansel and Gretel. Due to them being quite far away in the point of view of the reader they will not require as much detail. I will start however with the creation of their bodies by implicating the use of shapes and rotoscoping for their clothes. Once created I will then include the heads that will only be showing the hair due to them facing away from the reader.  The next aspect of this page after Hansel and Gretel will be the witch close to the fire. The witch is more complex than the other two characters in the page due to her slightly facing the view of the reader. The beginning will be the body of the witch, similar to the previous page with the cloak coloured dark purple with certain patches of grey to implicate the darkness she has. One of her legs will be exposed to the reader therefore requiring detail but she is wearing long dark trousers so it will be complex to show that. So I may include a drop shadow to distinguish the two. Once the body of the witch is created I will then begin on the head of the witch. Only half of the head is facing the reader due to her looking into the fire, therefore requiring less detail and less time to include her. The features showing will be an eye, half the mouth and half the nose. Each feature will require details like in the previous pages, for example warts and scars along the face and nose. Once created I will finally include the text of the page of which Only Hansel is talking to Gretel.Session 10:

 The final page of my book only includes two of the characters from the story, specifically Hansel and

Gretel as this segment of the story is when they escape the witch. The setting surrounding these characters will be again the forest but having a bright surrounding but darker as they get further away from the witches’ house. The beginning of this page will be the inclusion of the forest which will be less time consuming due to me already having an idea of what to create. I will first include the forest which will consist of a lighter environment but closer to the edge of the page will be darker to emphasise the contrasts in tones of the story. Once created I will then begin on the witches’ house located behind trees so this requires me with little time to create due to the majority of the house being covered by the tress. However I will have to involve the same amount of detail as previous pages that included the witches’ house so there isn’t even a slight difference as it’d look strange. Once the environment has been created I will conclude the story by adding the two characters on the page. This will be quite complex to create due to them giving a running action and the faces of the two characters facing the reader which will require detail. The first character I will create will be Hansel as he will be in front of Gretel therefore covering up certain parts of her. I will begin with the lower body which will include the same attire as previous pages. Once created I will focus on the arms to emphasise the running actions. This will be more complex as I will have his arms in an extended position. Once created I will then result to the face of Hansel. Like previous pages I will include details like the dirt on the face for example. Once Hansel is created I will then create Gretel. Gretel will be less complex due to Hansel covering up a large amount of her body. I will begin with the head of Gretel due to the mainly being exposed to the readers’ visibility. Like Hansel I will include specific details like the freckles on her face for example. Once the face is created I will include the upper arms due to the entire of her upper body being covered. The arm will be similar to Hansel’s in the form of a running action. When that is finally finished I will include the lower body of Gretel. The lower body like Hansel’s will also implicate a running action therefore having one leg extended and one not. Once finished I will finally add the text to the page.

Health and safety:Your health and safety and that of those around you is very important. Just like in industry, an accident could prevent you from working. Whilst we don’t work in a highly dangerous environment, there are still risks. Some are short term, such as trips and spillages whilst others, such as long term damage to eyesight or back problems, may affect you much later in life.

Consider the risks based on the activities you will be undertaking during the project. Explain how you could prevent them from happening.

Ensure you reference appropriate pieces of legislation, design to protect people at work.

Health and Safety Issue How can you prevent it?

 Neck Strains

 Be complied to take regular brakes from working and move around not just sitting down as regular movement will reduce strain on certain body parts

 Eye Strains

 Again like neck strains be sure to take regular intervals from working as staring at a screen for a long amount of time could result in an eye strain. Also ask for specific eye wear as that could reduce the strain on the eyes

 Fatigue

 When feeling sleepy or tired be sure to stop as tiredness could result in lack of concentration and coordination so be sure stop and rest from the screen

 Back Ache

 Either stop from working or request for a chair more suitable to your back making the working environment more comfortable for you

 Arm/shoulder strains

 Take a break from working as the use of typing on a keyboard or moving a mouse over a long period of time could result in straining on certain body parts