Annotated Poem Book Cover

Sketchbook

Poem Book Cover Final Piece

Book Cover Project Evaluation

What was the theme for the project?
The theme of the project was Roald Dahl's poem book, 'Grizzly and Ghastly', which was based off Little Red Riding Hood, but it had a twist. We had to design a book cover for it. 

How have you developed your ideas? How did your work change through the project?
Originally my design ideas were very different to the final cover I have finished with. One was the wolf looking out of the window at Red Riding Hood. Another of my ideas was an image of Red Riding Hood and the wolf standing face to face. My ideas developed and I decided to completely change my cover plan. I decided on an image of the granny standing in front of her house. My ideas about the fonts I wanted to use and how I laid out my cover also changed through the project. The hand-drawn and digital fonts that I used were completely different to the ones I was originally going to use, but I think they look a lot better. I think my final piece is a lot better and more effective than my original idea.

How much reference material did you find? Do you think you should have done more or less?
Along with the reference material that I was given, I also used a few sheets of my own. I used images of wolves, grannies, red riding hoods, paws and paw prints, and the original 'Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes' book as inspiration. They all helped with my ideas a lot, especially the images from Roald Dahl's book. There were pictures of Red Riding Hood with a gun, wearing a fur coat, and pictures of the wolf. These images especially helped as they were all related to the poem, and also gave me an idea of the type of images Roald Dahl liked to have in his book, and on his cover. However, I do think it may have helped to have some more reference sheets to use.                                                                                

What artists or designers have you looked at to help and inspire you?
I have looked at the artist Scott Campbell, who painted pictures of wolves and creatures wearing clothes and standing on two legs like humans, to help give me inspiration and ideas. I really liked Scott Campbell's paintings and the techniques that he used. These images really helped give me inspiration and I also liked recreating his paintings myself.

What materials, tools and techniques did these artists use?
Scott Campbell used black gouache paint for his designs. This is similar to water colour and I really like the technique.

How have your skills developed during the project?

Before the project I didn't know anything about photoshop, or how to use it, let alone things like keyboard shortcuts. I also didn't know much about different artistic techniques, or even how to use a scanner. I think my skills have developed a lot through they course of the project, I have learnt a lot, and also now know more about using Blogger. 

Are there any aspects of your studies that you wish you had explored further?

I wish that I had explored the gouche paint technique further. I really liked this style of painting and it gave a  slightly messy effect which I liked. I also wish that I had explored using hand-drawn type more.

How have you used formal elements such as line, tone, colour and shape?

I have used different lines and shapes as well as colour. I think I should of used more tone on my final piece, to give more variety.

What materials did you use, and why? Did they work successfully?

I used pencil and fineliner, I enjoyed using these materials and I think they worked quite successfully.  If I could change my cover I would use some different materials such as gouache or ink, which would stand out more, and be more effective.

What meaning and messages did you want to convey and were you successful?

I wanted to convey the basic plot of the poem, Red Riding Hood visiting her grandma's house, without giving away too much of the plot. I still wanted to hint the 'evil twist', which I did with my hand-drawn title font. I think I was successful. 

Are you happy with your final piece? Are there any elements you like in particular?

I am very happy with my final piece and in particular I like the different fonts that I used.

Is there anything you would change? Why?

I think that I would change the leading of the text on my front cover. I would also maybe add some different techniques such as gouache paint or ink, to give more of a variety on my final piece. I would also use more colour on the front, so the book cover stands out more, and maybe rotate some of the text to give more of a variety of angles.