Unit 3 by Jiaxin Zeng

Considering content and exhibition way

jzeng06201911 — 2022-10-12 18:55:08 UTC

Suggestion from Hayfaa 04/10/2022
1. Put yourself in your audience's perspective and imagine how the story could be told clearly in simple words with pictures if the author was not present.
2. Consider how the audience engages with your work? What's the size? will it be on the desk? the wall? and how many publications? How to arrange the publication and its derivatives.
3. Suggest writing "Wuhan 2020" on the blank page.

An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process.

Do you have a dog?

Yes, I have. Therefore I can't imagine how I would feel if my puppy was in this situation. But at the same time, I have to imagine, creating emotional ups and downs like they actually happen to my puppy. making my images more convincing.

References of Major project

jzeng06201911 — 2022-10-13 17:09:16 UTC

Anna Chernyshova Illustrates Calm Down, Cooper! - Arena Illustration. [online] Available at: https://www.arenaillustration.com/news/2020/07/anna-chernyshova-illustrates-calm-down-cooper/

Anon, (n.d.). Dog’s Day | Free Kids Books Online | Bedtime Stories. [online] Available at: https://www.storyberries.com/bedtime-stories-dogs-day-free-kids-books-online/

Anon, (n.d.). My City My Dogs | Bedtime Stories | Free Kids Books. [online] Available at: https://www.storyberries.com/bedtime-stories-my-city-my-dogs-free-kids-books-online/

‌‌‌
Bekoff, J.P., Marc (n.d.). Home Alone: The Fate of Postpandemic Dogs. [online] Scientific American. Available at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/home-alone-the-fate-of-postpandemic-dogs/.

Best Friends: You and Your Dog - HelpGuide.org. [online] Available at: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/pets/best-friends-with-your-dog.htm.

Bored Panda. (n.d.). An Illustrated Story Of One Sad Dog. [online] Available at: https://www.boredpanda.com/cute-dog-story-illustrations-johnson-fullmoon/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic.

Cf. the freely available international Database of Scientific Illustrators 1450-1950 with 20 search fields and nearly 7000 entries of illustrators in science, medicine & technology active prior to 1950

Cover for The Bear tricked by the Fox, 2020 by Aliona Bereghici. [online] Available at: https://childrensillustrators.com/books/5967#5967

El-Alayli, A., Lystad, A.L., Webb, S.R., Hollingsworth, S.L. and Ciolli, J.L. (2006). Reigning Cats and Dogs: A Pet-Enhancement Bias and Its Link to Pet Attachment, Pet-Self Similarity, Self-Enhancement, and Well-Being. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 28(2), pp.131–143. doi:10.1207 s15324834basp2802_3.

Thelwell, E. (2019). Paws for Thought: A Controlled Study Investigating the Benefits of Interacting with a House-Trained Dog on University Students Mood and Anxiety. Animals, 9(10), p.846. doi:10.3390/ani9100846.

Luhmann, M. and Kalitzki, A. (2016). How animals contribute to subjective well-being: A comprehensive model of protective and risk factors. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 13(2), pp.200–214. doi:10.1080/17439760.2016.1257054.

Levi Pinfold: Every Picture Tells a Story: Black Dog - Arena Illustration. [online] Available at: https://www.arenaillustration.com/news/2013/01/levi-pinfold-every-picture-tells-a-story-black-dog/

‌

‌NIH (2018). The Power of Pets. [online] NIH News in Health. Available at: https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2018/02/power-pets.

‌

New.qq.com. (n.d.). Under the gloom of the pandemic, pets shouldn't fall victim to it. [online] Available at: https://new.qq.com/omn/20220409/20220409A07YUY00.html

NetEase (2020). A Visual History of the Wuhan pandemic, Behind 100 Photos.. [online] www.163.com. Available at: https://www.163.com/dy/article/F7FG28KP0525DVBA.html

Nast, C. (2012). Cover Story: Chris Ware’s Big Box of Melancholy. [online] The New Yorker. Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cover-story/cover-story-chris-wares-big-box-of-melancholy.

October 17, M.G. | and 2012 (2012). At the Still Point of the Turning World: Chris Ware’s Building Stories and the Search for Structure in the Contemporary City. [online] The Comics Journal. Available at: https://www.tcj.com/at-the-still-point-of-the-turning-world-chris-wares-building-stories-and-the-search-for-structure-in-the-contemporary-city/ ‌

Parry NMA. COVID-19 and pets: When pandemic meets panic. Forensic Science International. Reports. 2020 Dec;2:100090. doi: 10.1016/j.fsir.2020.100090. Epub 2020 Apr 11. PMCID: PMC7151387.

sue clancy. (2022). short experimental art books. [online] Available at: https://sueclancy.com/portfolio/short-experimental-art-books/

‌

The Guardian. (2020). Dogs of woe: the pull of a pooch in Covid times. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/oct/18/dogs-of-woe-the-pull-of-a-pooch-in-covid-times‌

‌You, T. (2020). Puppies abandoned on a construction site in China due to coronavirus. [online] Mail Online. Available at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7960451/Heart-breaking-video-shows-puppies-abandoned-construction-site-China-coronavirus.html ‌

jzeng06201911 — 2022-10-16 20:29:54 UTC

http://www.btzx.com.cn/web/2020/2/20/ARTI1582171602915437.html

To build a professional portfolio based on the audience

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-03 18:05:03 UTC

Suggestion from group tutorial with Sinead 25/10/2022

More focus on Narrative

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-03 19:47:41 UTC

Suggestion from Sara 21/06/2022
1. Did a lot of material testing at the unit 2 stage which was good but lacked narrative if the output of the main project was in the form of an illustration book.
2. At the beginning of unit 3 the output of the project should have been considered before the material testing.
3. The current story structure is not very clear. Considering how to build the narrative.
4. Consider how your material supports the concept and how your work communicates with the audience.
5. Think about your intention, as an educator or others?

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-03 21:42:46 UTC

Working in traditional media such as ceramics, Perry is best known for his ability to combine delicately crafted objects with scenes of contemporary life. His subject matter is drawn from his own childhood and life as a transvestite, as well as wider social issues ranging from class and politics to sex and religion.

My story is also about a social issue which is animal welfare crisis during the pandemic. So I think this is a good reference to develop my unit3.

Initial ideas

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-05 21:29:43 UTC

The form and narrative at the start of Unit 3 were the most difficult for me, as shown in the image. Inspired by Grayson Perry's ceramic work, I planned to create an output combining narrative and ceramics.

Failed

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-05 21:53:03 UTC

Unfortunately, as Sara said, this combination of my narration is hard to understand. The form is not the problem, but my narrative is not clear enough. Therefore, the most important thing is refining my story, how to build narrative and focus was the first thing I needed to do at the start of UNIT 3, and then test output formats and materials because the forms are based on the narrative, this is what I learned from this part.

Finally, I made the decision that the final output would take the format of a picture book.

Build the compelling narrative

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-06 00:08:09 UTC

I started putting together all the true cases of animal abuse during the pandemic that I had researched in Unit 2 and started brainstorming to construct my narrative.

Based on an interview with locals, there is a tale that describes a fruit vendor who rescued a stray dog, but the dog was culled by the government in Wuhan in 2020 since its owner has the coronavirus. I immediately saw its visual storytelling possibilities.

Stories like this happen every day in Wuhan, and indeed all over China. They are not related to each other, but one after another pets are killed and each owner is heartbroken because of this, but there is nothing they can do because China has no relevant animal protection laws, but humans are punished for obstructing the work of the government. This is all because local officials fear that pets can spread the Coronavirus, but there is no evidence that they can.

The information I get on the internet is fragmented and if I presented the darkest moments of these pets together, it might not evoke strong empathy and sympathy from the audience because it's not their pet and the audience doesn't know the stories and deep love of each pet and owner.

In order to address this, I first conducted study on reader psychology. this relates to "narrative empathy", which is defined here as the psychological process whereby recipients of narrative texts grasp and vicariously experience what （Fernandez-Quintanilla, C. 2020). Therefore, the experience of relating to characters is important.

Reference

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-06 00:40:30 UTC

Challenge about Narrative Structure

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-06 02:02:21 UTC

As an author and illustrator, I am very concerned about this social problem that has deeply touched and enraged me but perhaps not all audience. I chose this social issue as the focus of the MAIN project because I have a dog and am also concerned that if I have the coronavirus, it will be culled and I am unable to protect it. Despite the fact that my target audience is made up of animal lovers, I occasionally speak to audiences who may not have experience with pets. Therefore, how do I get their sympathy so they'll stand by me? A major challenge for me was learning how to create an engaging tale.

A good story like a fine piece of music, catches and keeps the reader's attention. Writers can turn to story theory and narrative structure whenever their story just isn’t working; when they feel that their writing is awkward, aimless, or — worst of all — boring. (Anon 2018)

A complete story from start to finish, with a cause and an ending, can better touch and inspire an audience's heart by researching publications and social media. For instance, a media release of a video detailing the entire experience of an owner's puppy from birth to being culled in the pandemic resonated with millions of people.

As a good reference,I created a plot with a beginning, middle, and end based on real pet crises I've observed and interviews I've conducted. Then convey this to my audience while also sharing a few Fragment real pet crisis tales.

After that, I gathered and examined audience feedback using qualitative methodologies. The findings demonstrate that a whole story framework evokes greater empathy in the audience better than telling fragment stories. So I tend to build a non-fiction biographical story. Interviews with residents of our community inspired the central plot of the story about a fruit vendor who rescued a stray dog and it was culled by the local government because its owner was infected with the coronavirus.

What I learned here is that A story’s structure directly affects the way the plot unfolds and how its driving forces (characters, obstacles, setting, etc.) are introduced to the reader. Structure helps writers draw connections between ‘things that happen’ and ‘things that matter.’ In other words, structuring the plot well creates a satisfying narrative experience that accomplishes the author’s aims.

Defining form and format

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-06 19:01:22 UTC

Form is a set of ideas about format, medium, content, genre, audience, structure, and style.(Steven Withrow, Lesley Breen Withrow, 2009)

Medium: Handmade informational picture books( a subset of the "picture book" format that includes " concept" books).
Content: A fruit vendor from my neighbourhood rescues a stray dog in 2020, but it was killed by the local government in Wuhan because the owner has the Coronavirus and they are concerned the dog will spread the Covid-19 infection.
Genre: Non-fictional biographical story. (Wordless picture book about the animal welfare crisis during the pandemic in China.
Audience: Pets lovers, animal charity groups, Teenagers.
Structure: To tell one story, without words.
Style: Cartoonish.

Format is the finished products we purchase in bookstores or borrow from libraries. There we find numerous groupings based on length, size, shape, primary age group, "read-aloud" or " read-alone" capacity, genre, word/picture balance, sophistication of content and vocabulary, and instructional value, among other criteria. (Steven Withrow, Lesley Breen Withrow, 2009)

Length: 54 pages
Size: 200mm*250mm
Shape: Rectangle
primary age group: 14 ages above

Fiction or Nonfiction?

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-06 22:51:31 UTC

My picture book will go under the non-fiction biographical story category.

The difference between realistic fiction and non-fiction biographical story:

Realistic Fiction: A story that is believable but does not actually contain true events or real people.

*Non-fictional biographical story:

A biography is a story intended to tell the true facts about the life of a real person. The biography definition in literature has three basic elements:
•Biographer: the author, who writes about another person's life
•Subject: the individual whose life is covered by the biography
•Third-person point of view: the action of the story is narrated by an outside observer (the biographer)

Reconsider title and cover designs.

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-07 02:24:35 UTC

Suggestion from group tutorial with Sinead 01/11/2022

Research Methodology

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-07 03:07:55 UTC

•Interviewing the subject directly.
•Reading or watching interviews with the subject from a variety of news and personal sources.
•Interviewing people close to the subject, such as family, friends, and colleagues.
•Reading texts written by the subject, such as books, articles, journals, or blogs.
•Reading and viewing other material written about the subject.

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-07 16:19:11 UTC

The worker hit it three times with a shovel. It then shows the dog lying motionless.

The corgi’s owner was in quarantine at the time of the attack, according to state-run magazine China News Weekly, and had released the dog onto the streets after being unable to find anyone to care for the animal in his absence.

“In the end, I thought I could let (the corgi) loose outside to become a stray, at least it wouldn’t starve to death,” the owner wrote in an online group, explaining he had no dog food left at home, according to China News Weekly. “I never thought once we had left, it would be beaten to death.”

He claimed a neighborhood committee had declined to help care for the dog, the magazine reported. The committee said it was concerned the corgi could have been infected too.

Corgi Chasing its owner who was taken by ambulance because infected

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-07 16:20:58 UTC

The clip, which appears to have been filmed by a resident of a nearby building, shows a Covid prevention worker – dressed head to toe in protective gear – chasing the corgi down a street, the corgi is seen running after a bus said to be taking its owner to an isolation facility.

Worker break into Corgi owner's home and beat it to death

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-07 19:19:38 UTC

Video footage of the incident, appeared to show one of the Covid health workers who were disinfecting the woman's flat beating the dog with a crowbar.

“Did the leader say we need to settle it right here on the spot?” one of them can be heard asking. “Yes,” the other replies, as he proceeds to move a table the corgi was hiding under, and strike the animal on the head with the crowbar. The dog whimpers and runs off camera to another room.

The unsettling scene, captured by a security camera and shared online by the dog’s owner, shows the last moments before the pet was killed in its home by Covid prevention workers.

The only pet whose death is known in this area, according to claims from online users, is Corgi, whose owner set a camera to film everything and posted the footage online. In fact, all pet dogs in this community have been culled.

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-08 11:47:31 UTC

The Anci district of Langfang city, in northern China, ordered the "complete culling of indoor animals" of coronavirus patients, the state-run China News Service reported.

The work had stopped immediately, the China News Service reported, citing a staff member for the Langfang Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It is not clear how many animals were killed.

A Dog Stayed in a Wuhan Hospital for Months, Unaware That His Owner Died of COVID-19

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-08 12:32:29 UTC

We’ve all heard of Hachiko, the Japanese Akita dog who waited faithfully for his owner at the Shibuya train station

A similar story took place in Wuhan in February 2020, at the height of the coronavirus outbreak, when a dog stuck around Taikang Hospital, seemingly waiting for his owner. According to Hubei-based newspaper Chutian Metropolis Daily, the owner was an elderly man who was admitted to the hospital due to COVID-19. He succumbed to the coronavirus after just five days, unbeknownst to his loyal companion who had followed him to the hospital.

People are now calling him "Wuhan Hachiko."

In an interview with Tai Kang Hospital, nurse Xie Teng choked up and said, "I felt heartbroken to witness this, very heartbroken for it. It was racing behind the ambulance all the way to the hospital with its owner in the car."

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-08 13:00:15 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-08 13:00:55 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-08 13:01:09 UTC

https://haokan.baidu.com/v?pd=wisenatural&vid=6219017550302893574

Virus panic: pets were thrown away from highrise buildings

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-08 14:42:14 UTC

Chilling pictures of bloodied corpses of cats and dogs lying on the road have been the doing the rounds on social media following bogus claims that deadly coronavirus can be transmitted by animals.
These innocent creatures are hurled to death.

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-08 14:43:48 UTC

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7151387/

Storytelling

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-08 15:37:03 UTC

The entire narrative is an adaption based on real-life pet crises that I have observed, studied, and spoken with locals about. My project's intent is to touch your heart and inspire people to speak up for pet welfare in Wuhan even the whole country.

The story's central plot is about a fruit vendor who rescues a stray dog in Wuhan, 2020. But the dog is killed by the local government because the owner got Coronavirus.

Composing the page

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-08 16:26:49 UTC

The form of composition will be a double-page spread.

Character design

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-08 18:38:31 UTC

The dog

My roles began in my sketchbook as a collection of doodles and character drawings, which evolved through trial and error and careful selection. I drew from observation, research, memory, and imagination.

Developing a narrative

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-08 19:00:53 UTC

"A story is, quite simply, a tale told that has a begining, middle, and an end." said by Jane Yolen.

While the number of multichapter graphic novels for older
readers is increasing, most picture books are, in terms of
length and basic structure, the literary equivalent of very short stories. (Steven Withrow, Lesley Breen Withrow, 2009)

As short stories, picture books generally have :
at least one character. Dog, Owner, Health worker
a setting (place and time]. Wuhan 2020
a point of view (angle from which the story is told). Third,
a central conflict or story problem (physical, emotional, or both) that drives the plot (sequence of logically connected events). The dog was culled by workers when the owner get infected.
a variety of themes (controlling ideas or central insights). Powerless in the face of this social situation, at the same time, to inspire audience empathy to speak out for animal welfare.

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-08 22:40:05 UTC

To create model turnarounds to show characters from different angles to try to keep details consistent.

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-08 22:56:25 UTC

The health worker

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-08 23:23:05 UTC

Wen Ni 2022

Reference

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-09 17:02:56 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-09 17:04:49 UTC

Storyboard practice

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-09 18:57:53 UTC

Keyframes for the story

Constructed a cohesive narrative in picture

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-09 19:05:52 UTC

Page 1-17

Decide "narrative distance"

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-09 19:10:54 UTC

Third-person stories
Third-person stories told from a more detached viewpoint may hew closely to the character's experience and voice, or may be more objective and omniscient overviews.

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-09 19:16:27 UTC

Page 18-32

Setting and research

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-09 20:11:24 UTC

A story's setting encompasses both time and place. It is the stage on which the characters act and the world in which they interact. In picture books, setting can refer to the hour of the day and its accompanying weather, and the passage of time from page to page.
Some stories give only a vague conception of setting, like when characters seem to exist only as visual ideas on the page. But beyond simply depicting a background for the action, illustrators use setting to express mood, atmosphere, conflict, and factual or emotional information about the cast. (Lesley Breen Withrow 2009)

Thinking: I need to provide more complex and specific elements of geography, history, culture, and society; even require maps or timelines to help navigate my limits.

Reflect thinking about character and setting

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-09 20:18:38 UTC

Character and setting have a reciprocal relationship; one feeds into the other. Every aspect of a character's surroundings, and the objects or props within it, gives the audience context about the story that affects how the audience views the characters, their circumstances, and the physical and societal "rules" operating in their world, which should remain internally consistent throughout the story.

In the highly compressed form of the picture book, much of a story's setting is implied by or to be inferred from the pictures and text. What the reader does not see is often as important as what is explicitly shown. Picture-book illustration is truly an art of suggestion, and master illustrators can build entire words through the accumulation of small details and through selective use of cropping and negative space.

Case study on setting

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-09 23:24:21 UTC

A contemporary and historical exterior setting by Lesley Breen Withrow.

Adding visual details in storyboard

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-09 23:59:11 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 00:06:14 UTC

Like an animator or film director, I created a series of storyboards that gave me an aerial view of the structure of the whole book blocked out across 54 pages.

Case study "Cat's Twelve Tails"

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 00:19:51 UTC

These thumbnail sequences--without color, texture, or much detail--were convenient tools for quickly sketching out and experimenting with possible visual ideas, page layouts, and story progressions. With each new storyboard, the composition of each double-page spread became more refined and could establish how each scene set up and flowed into the next. It also shows the placement of the text. (Lesley Breen 2009)

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 00:30:13 UTC

Colorful, richly detailed setting that suggests the warmth, closeness, and casual chaos of young family at home.

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 00:38:11 UTC

An interior kitchen setting, which provides a background for the action happening at the table.

Case study on pacing a story

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 01:19:35 UTC

Working with the page turn is one of my favorite parts of making a picture book. The page turn is a pause physically built into the story you're telling; the act of pulling back a page imposes a pulse on the book. (Steven Withrow 2019)

Will the rocket lift off successfully? What does the astronaut notice? Turn the page to see. Because this is a picture book, we do see, and will hopefully be intrigued, surprised, or satisfied by what is presented. A good page turn reveals new information in a way that creates an interesting relationship between the image just seen and the image being introduced. A page turn like this connects and. strengthens both images, and adds meaning to the book as a whole.

Working with color

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 02:35:57 UTC

Value and saturation
Value refers to the darkness (shade) or lightness (tint) of a hue. As noted above, adding white to a hue increases the tint, while adding black increases the shade. Saturation (also called intensity) is the brightness or paleness of a hue. The purposeful interplay of value and saturation, along with
hue, affects the mood of a drawing and the reader's emotional response to it. (Russell Tate 2017)

Also, individual colors can have a wide range of symbolic or elemental connotations. Blue in my culture is a symbol of grief. I decided on blue because of its symbolic meaning. as well as some greenery to help the view recede.

Main tones of grey in order to emphasize the emotional meaning in the context of the story being told, like the strange city vibe, the indifferent attitude of health workers, sorrowful and helpless dog owners

Color Reference

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 02:36:58 UTC

An illustrated misadventure in love and loneliness.

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 03:00:05 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 03:03:07 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 03:03:11 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 03:03:15 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 03:09:26 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 03:10:04 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 03:14:18 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 03:34:19 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 03:35:24 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 03:40:20 UTC

Emily Sutton

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 16:00:40 UTC

Character emotion

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 17:56:08 UTC

An illustration's characters are actors,and they must physically embody the motions and emotions needed to tell the story. Rather than rely on the words to state.

Characters are rarely isolated from their settings or other characters, and the ways they interact can be as expressive as how they appear on their own. (Steven Withrow 2019)

I draw characters based on live models or photographs of actual adults and animals or watch dog-related movies to supplement my study of character emotion.

Reference

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 17:56:21 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 19:06:52 UTC

My Dog Skip (2000)

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 19:09:53 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 19:11:01 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 19:12:18 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 19:13:56 UTC

A Dog's Journey (2019)

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 19:14:17 UTC

Isle of Dogs (2018)

Dummy book

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 19:51:42 UTC

After finishing the storyboard, I created a simple "working" dummy-- a 3D model of the picture book with no trim size and number of pages. A dummy allows me to experience the story progression from cover to cover and the word-picture balance from page to page just as the reader would.

The dummy is the "instruction manual" for the finished artwork and story that I refer to throughout the long process of production which can extend, on and off, over a period of years. During this time, the dummy serves to remind you of the look and feel of the project." (Shaun Tan 2006)

Being able to be emotive and expressive

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 20:03:11 UTC

In an animation you have movement to help describe a personality, but in books you have a moment a single image, or a series of still images- to capture the character's essence. (Mary Jane 2019)

Reflect thinking: Much design thinking has to go into deciding the final form: should the figure be symmetrical or asymmetrical? What element should be the largest shape? What is the overall gesture and mood of the character expressed? How will the facial expression (if it has a face!) define the mood? When drawing animal characters, anthropomorphism (attribution of human facial expression and gesture) can be used to explore character.

Showing emotion through gesture and expression

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 20:45:44 UTC

I have a dog, so observing the expression of emotion comes very naturally to me. Sometimes I use myself as a laboratory, feeling how the emotion would affect my body if I lose my dog, then draw by looking at the pose in the mirror.

Visual reference of being emotive

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 21:20:37 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 21:21:46 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 21:35:05 UTC

I Talk Like A River

Case study of expressive

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 21:41:15 UTC

1. The apprentice confronts the broom with a hatchet.

2. The finished painting shows the highest conflict in the story--the tension between the menace of the magic and the girl's inability to control it--stretching as a full bleed across the gutter.

Case study of depicting space

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 22:07:52 UTC

Since a picture may not, and seldom does, represent the whole field of vision, the horizon may cross the picture plane, or be above the picture or below it. Suppose you have a large photo of a group of buildings. Without changing the horizon or perspective lines, you might crop out any small section of the photo for your picture. But no matter what part you take, the relationship to the original eye level (or viewpoint of the camera) is apparent. You or the camera look down on everything below the picture horizon or up at anything above it. All things will show only theirtop surface when below the eye level or picture horizon. We can look into things only when the eye is above them. Round lines like a belt around a waistline must curve up when below the horizon, and down when above.

Perspective

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 22:13:59 UTC

Perspective is the first and foremost means of depicting space on a flat picture plane and the natural or normal aspect of things.

You can easily check any copy to find the horizon. Simply carry any receding straight lines back until they meet in a point. These lines, of course, should be parallel to the ground plane, like two floor boards, two ceiling lines, two parallel sides of a table, or the top and bottom lines of a door or windows. The point at which such lines meet will fall in the horizon. Draw a horizontal line straight across through such a point and that is it. When you have your horizon, note where it cuts across the figure. Then it must so cut across all other figures, at the waist, breast, head, or wherever it comes. All added units must have their vanishing points in the same horizon. (Andrew Loomis 2012)

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 22:40:42 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 22:41:13 UTC

Case Study of Perspective

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 22:43:48 UTC

<>
With greatly exaggerated perspective, I enlarged the front of the ship, leading the reader's eye to the page edge and encouraging the page turn. (Russell Tate 2019)

Russell chose to vary the angle or viewpoint, sometimes up close and other times way back. The previous page showed only a small section of a door on the Titanic, so in this image she wanted to give a sense of scale and reveal the ship's size. She brought the viewer into the page from the left and down to the small characters at the bottom of the page. She drew the characters from the back so there was no interaction with their faces and we looked at what they were looking at.

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 23:07:44 UTC

The bee's point of view would be interesting: What does it see below as it flies through the air? Adding the tree with its shadows also helps emphasize the perspective.

Reflection about expressive

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 23:16:51 UTC

Being able to be emotive and expressive, to understand what the physical expression is of an emotion or an idea, is so important to executing the book and making it believable and accessible to the reader. It's a balance of two main components: the movement, gesture, or motion of the human body. Somber or cheery tones, oppressive or minute forms, frenetic or calming imagery all greatly affect the story itself.

Developing "narrative distance" and perspective

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 23:31:07 UTC

characters and events by manipulating the proximity and angle between observer (the reader] and object (the picture). Simply put, the closer we are, and the better we see, the more we care. To borrow another set of metaphors, an illustrator, like a film director, can position and focus the "camera" (i.e., the reader's vantage point) wherever it best conveys the necessary visual information or captures the intended emotional effect of the scene. Even a simple change such as raising or lowering the horizon line on a page can have important storytelling ramifications. (Anne Sibley O'Brien 2019)

Size and placement are key to linear perspective. Objects are
drawn smaller as their distance from the observer increases.

Development work

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 23:36:54 UTC

“Helicopter shot” perspective

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 23:39:22 UTC

For certain higher angles, such as a "helicopter shot" of a skyscraper with its roofline projecting toward the viewer as seen from above, the foreground or closest objects appear at the top of the page.]

Thinking: Many artists use foreshortening- the optical illusion that an object or distance appears shorter than it actually is because it is angled toward the viewer--to enhance the sense of depth.

Cover Desigh

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-10 23:58:46 UTC

The cover illustration is the last thing I do, and I see it as the least important in terms of the story, though it's obviously significant in other ways. It's there to get the reader interested in what the book is about, especially by looking different or unusual. It needs to represent the whole story to some extent, as it is the image most readers will be exposed to when it appears on shelves, in any newspaper or magazine reviews, and even in a reader's memory.

"People do judge a book by its cover!" (Shaun Tan 2006)

Developing the composition of spreads

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-11 00:31:37 UTC

From first page to last, a picture book sets up a dominant
pattern of visual elements- lines, shapes, colors, etc.-which
is akin to the metrical pattern in poetry or the rhythmic pattern
in music. A unified picture book is a progression of like and unlike components, and any variations in that underlying pattern give a picture book its distinctive visual rhythm. (Nancy Cote 2019)

Case study of composition

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-11 01:13:36 UTC

Henry and the Giant Tornado
Henry (the dog) and the farm animals are digging a hole for
a shelter to save themselves from a giant tornado that is
heading straight for the farm. The composition of this double-page spread is broken into quarters. The lower left quarter (green grass) is free space reserved for text placement.

The action (beginning on the upper left side of the page]
of the farmer and his wife running toward the animals sets
up a composition that reads from left to right as the eye moves across the page to the approaching tornado and finally to the animals at the bottom of the page. The arch created by the shape of the landscape helps to achieve the movement culminating on the focal point at the bottom right, where the main action of the story is taking place.

Development work

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-11 01:19:04 UTC

Development work

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-11 01:22:05 UTC

Case study of composition

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-11 01:26:39 UTC

A Perfect Angel (interior scene)
The composition of this interior double-page spread, if seen abstractly, is almost a mirror image. The shape of the hutch on the left of the page is echoed by the shape of the wall and table combined on the right. The window is centrally placed, which balances the two sides, Because of this abstract symmetry, Little Beaver, who breaks the symmetrical pattern, becomes a focal point and the eye gravitates toward his activity as he is seen struggling to reach for the ingredients he needs to make cookies. With the cooking ingredients out of reach, the reader is set up to feel the conflict created by being small in big world. Adventure is just a page turn away, as this composition sets up a problem in need of a solution.

Development work

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-11 01:31:55 UTC

The frontal composition is constructed so that the reader can feel close to the activity. I created this scene so that you could enter it not only as an observer but as a participant watching the dog and owner's actions, therefore identifying more intimately with the main character.

Huanghe Tower page design

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-11 01:57:29 UTC

As I set the Huanghe Tower which is the famous landmark in Wuhan in the centre of the visual. I only had four corners to create a crowd. In my initial sketch I tried to work out some main crowd characters first and then fill in some bit players in the gaps and holes around them. As it was a busy street, I thought I would try and get all of the people to the screen.

As this street scene occurs before the pandemic. I made the expressions of the locals into something more akin to mild amusement as opposed to outright shock. Once I had placed the dog and owner, I filled in the surrounding space with a few more characters who were shopping with the owner. Around them I included some other, smaller characters to represent a warm and happy scene.

Trying to the comics form分镜页

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-11 02:44:09 UTC

The comic form is a wonderful discovery when I explored a whole new set of tools. To use panels to organize images. When making comics, we use the frame to guide the reader's eye to see what you want them to see. I think of the frame as a movie camera viewfinder that can shift angle, perspective, and focus. I am able to develop characters, settings, or plots by moving the frame or zooming in on a character's face to show expression.

Development work

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-11 02:45:36 UTC

Using the perspective of previously to this scene, I believed the story's action and adventure plot might be a little dull. Because the emotional tone I intended to create was the image of the dog and owner remembering their prior happiness while the dog was falling after the conflict, I wanted their memories to play on the page like a movie, touching the reader.

Comics are a good way to release me from the limitations of the theatre and put me on a movie set.

Reflection about dummy book

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-11 03:14:56 UTC

If presenting a picture book to a publisher, I will construct more elaborate dummies with color covers and stapled or sewn bindings. However, the majority of tutor I talked with suggested that it was a good idea to start with a simpler dummy with refined black-and-white art, the text placed in a computer font, and with just two spreads taken to the color stage, which gives them enough detail to make an initial decision.

If to take the entire book to color, you may come across as a bit rigid and too tied to the idea. At this point I must get my idea or story across in a clear way and also show that I'am flexible enough to work with them. Publishers are going to have ideas based on how they perceive the market.

In conclusion

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-11 03:34:15 UTC

In conclusion I would like to say, as long as you are doing something, even if it isn't successful, you are not wasting your time. The greatest achievement of so much creative work is simply finding time and dedication to do it, especially when it seems difficult and less than enjoyable (almost every project seems to involve some kind of confidence-wounding 'crisis'). Good ideas and talent aren't worth much if they're not put through the wringer of actual hard work The main thing is to just get things finished, regardless of difficulty.

Case study of snow scene

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-11 04:02:07 UTC

Little Beaver tries to find knows that she loves flowers, so he goes outdoors to search for some. Being winter, all he finds outside is snow. He makes several unsuccessful attempts at coming up with a perfect gift only to discover that the most simple one is right at his fingertips. Nancy has basically divided this double-page spread in half. The left half leaves a wide area on the icy pond open for the placement of text. The right half illustrates who Little Beaver is, where he lives, what time of year it is, and it shows his emotional dilemma. The circular movement of the snow landscape is emphasized by the swirling snow that winds itself around the main character.

A winter themed cover set in an urban environment

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-11 04:55:58 UTC

The Huanghe Tower and lotus flowers and leaves are symbolic buildings and plants of Wuhan. Huanghe Tower is the primary element this composition is based on--it directs the viewer around the page. The dog enters the frame of vision due to the blue cool tone of the landscape and the negative space generated between the Huang He Tower.

The lighter dog receded in the cooler blue tones of the lotus leaf landscape. contrasted sharply with the deep blue tower.

The coming of the snow is just the beginning. the snow offers a moment of quiet contemplation as the city comes to a halt. The giant dog design is a way for me to express my feelings. which is feeling helpless because pets in a large city have no place to live during the pandemic. The agony of waiting for its owner is amplified. It encircles the tower and refuses to leave, despite the fact that it is about to freeze to death, because it adores the city, even if the city is indifferent and wants to kill it, implying people's cruelty to pets during the pandemic.

We all feel helpless as dog owners and pet lovers.

Reference

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-11 05:22:12 UTC

Pen and ink

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-11 05:41:20 UTC

Apply colors over or under inked lines, and the combination brings about interesting effects.

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-11 05:43:02 UTC

ref 线条页

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-11 05:43:16 UTC

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-13 21:21:10 UTC

Page 1-2

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 06:08:53 UTC

Page 3-4

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 06:15:28 UTC

Page 5-6

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 06:53:21 UTC

Page 7-8

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 06:59:31 UTC

Page 9-10

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 07:02:48 UTC

Page 11-12

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 07:05:08 UTC

Page 13-14

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 07:10:20 UTC

Page 15-16

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 07:24:43 UTC

Page 17-18

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 07:26:24 UTC

Page 19-20

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 07:29:16 UTC

Page 23-24

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 15:27:34 UTC

Page 27-28

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 16:01:27 UTC

Page 29-30

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 16:07:04 UTC

Page 33-34

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 16:12:37 UTC

Page 21-22

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 16:15:28 UTC

Development Works

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 16:44:51 UTC

Page 25-26

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 17:30:20 UTC

Page 35-36

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 17:52:42 UTC

Page 43-44

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 18:02:50 UTC

Page 39-40

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 18:08:27 UTC

Page 31-32

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 18:19:53 UTC

Page 37-38

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 18:40:36 UTC

Development work

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 18:46:16 UTC

Front and back cover

jzeng06201911 — 2022-11-14 19:06:57 UTC