P3: Magazine Spread - Narrative Illustration
Creative Brief:
Project Description:
CRICKET is a literary children's magazine and its December issue will focus on fairy tales, specifically ones that are snow based, less well known, and from various places around the world.
The main article will focus on the Norwegian fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.
Client (Sender):
A children's literary magazine CRICKET. The publisher is CRICKET Media. They produce both physical and digital editions of their magazine.
CRICKET magazine published only the highest quality fiction and classic literature and nonfiction stories on culture, history, science, and the arts.
For over 40 years, CRICKET has delighted and entertained children and teens around the globe with the "best of the best" in children's literature. CRICKET's guiding principle is the belief that imaginative young readers would enthusiastically to wonderful stories accompanied by world-class illustrations, without any advertising.
Message:
General: That the magazine is a valuable resource for children, parents, and teachers in that it encourages children to read and engage with what they're reading. The magazine also wishes to show that they're valuable as a literary and educational resource with a diverse selection of interesting articles.
Specific: East of the Sun, West of the Moon is a fairy tale with a female protagonist who makes mistakes but it still willing to bravely face off against all odds in order to right those wrongs, get her prince, and save the day. The final message is about personal strength, bravery, and love.
Audience:
Children ages 9-14, as well as their parents and teachers. This includes previous individuals who have subscribed previously as well potential future subscribers.
The target audience is based mostly in the United States - though they do reach out to Canada - but digital editions allow them to reach a wider audience than just the United States.
Purpose/Objective:
To create an illustration that embellishes the publication's main article - the Norwegian fairy tale of East of the Sun, West of the Moon - for their December issue. The goal is to get the children interested in reading the story and to relate to the story's message. This means creating a visually engaging illustration that focuses on major plot points that the children can easily understand and relate back the story so they can then use the illustration as a reference while reading the fairy tale.
The overall objective is to not only get kids (or their parents and teachers at the childrens' insistence) to read the fairy tale but to have them engaging and relating to the story. There should be a positive interaction between the child, the story, and the illustration.
Specifications:
Two-page/Double Page Spread narrative illustration:
- 17" by 11" without a bleed
- With a bleed: 17.5" by 11.5"
- Center: .25"
- Binding: Saddle Stitching
- Final dimensions: 17.75" by 11.5"
Link
Link
If the client likes the illustration, they may also request several spot illustrations for the article as well as the front cover for that month.
Spot Illustrations: small filler images that are no larger than 3 square inches. Often, they are much smaller.
Link
Magazine Cover:
- 8" by 11" with between a 1/4" to a 1/2" bleed
DPI for all of the above should be 150 or less if it's solely an online magazine.
If the magazine is to be printed, the DPI should be at least 300 DPI.
Illustration Idea/Concept/Thematic Statement:
There will most likely be a lot of shades of blue and white since the story takes place in the North with a lot of snow.
The focus will be on major plot points and will flow from right to left in the telling in a western style. This will also keep the illustration from being cut off in some way in the middle of the two page spread. The flow might also take the form of a spiral: the heroine rides on the back of the wind in the story and the spiral might help depict that.
I'm also thinking of attempting to show perspective in the illustration - the "older" events being further away and the "newer" ones from the end of the story being closer to the viewer.
The story also has a lot of traveling, so I might try to include some map-like elements in order to help show the flow of the story.
The goal is to get the children to relate to the story and feel like they can be a hero; therefore the illustration should capture that feeling.
Descriptive words to explore in the context of this story: heroism, bravery, endurance, honesty, journey, integrity, ingenuity, and (of course) love. Objects to explore: polar bear, girl, castle, candle, wax, shirt, troll, snow, mother, family, winds (as characters), old women, apple, spindle, jam, washing basin, and prince.
Morgue
Thumbnail Sketches
Roughs
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My Narrative (single scene):
Scene specific Thumbnails:
Exploration:
Narrative for this image: The brave young girl meets the kind polar bear for the first time. He reaches out for her.
Narrative for this image: The brave young girl meets the kind polar bear for the first time. Fearlessly she reaches out to the massive creature.
In class analysis:
Final Illustration:
Title: East of the Sun, West of the Moon
Tagline: A girl, a bear, and an adventure of a lifetime.
Retouched
Spot Illustration Brief
Description:
To create a spot illustration in the same style as the two-page spread. The image needs to tie back to the two-page spread and needs to be able to work in black and white as well as color.
Specs:
Double page: same specs as above, but an advertisement must be included.
Black and White
Candle
Castle
Fixed Castle
