Smaller Changes

Various other small changes were made to the book.

• The change made to the word ‘Devilish’:

• The change made to the wall:

• The slight change made to Gonzo’s expression on page 15:

• All page numbers removed:

Spread Addition Continued

The second page is one which shows Gonzo and Ruby sharing a moment where they are laughing and enjoying their company. I wanted to place them on the grass.

Illustrating the second page of the spread:

I began by drawing Gonzo on the grass.

Again, capturing the outline was a tricky process, as I wanted it to flow as well as the one of the previous page does. As the bottom of the first page is white, it meant it was easier to blend out the design, but as this page has green grass at the bottom and a blue sky at the top, I found it trickier to blend it.

With the later incorporation of the scene being set at night time, I then proceeded to add the nights sky in different variations.

 

After dismissing the idea of the moon, I then proceeded to include stars, which I hoped would add to the night sky.

Finalised Page 10:

Finalised Spread:

I am delighted with the finalised spread. I would not of came to this final design without the help of user testing. I tested almost 10 different adults and 6 children within my target audience for this spread. Some of the changes they assisted me with was the inclusion of stars and the removal of the moon.

Spread Addition

I was advised to add another spread which focuses on the relationship between Ruby and Gonzo as their friendship is a crucial part of the book. She is the reason that Gonzo faces his fears.

At this stage in the process, I felt as though I was out of the story-writing mindset. It had been quite a while since I finished the story and I struggled on coming up with the lines for this spread.

I knew from the outset that I wanted to include a couple of different scenes on a white background, showing Gonzo and Ruby doing different activities.This inspiration came from a page in the book “Norman the slug with the silly shell”, which I have included an image of below. It was just coming up with which activities that was the problem! I really wanted to show Ruby flying, so the idea of them playing fetch was an initial idea, then the notion of the kite came to me one morning. I thought that a kite would be a lovely way of showing Gonzo on the ground and Ruby flying in the air, as well as it being a useful way of incorporating colour.

(Layout of inspirational page in “Norman the slug with the silly shell”)

The Rhyme:

My initial rhyme that I came up with was:

“Gonzo and Ruby play all day long. They love to listen to their favourite song.

The laugh and joke until the day ends, they really are the best of friends.”

I wanted to show Gonzo and Ruby listening to music on the radio but I decided against this as the children would not be able to relate to what song it is that they are listening to.

After thinking of the kite idea, the rhyme changed to this:

“Gonzo and Ruby love to have fun. They play with their kite while out int the sun.

The laugh and joke until the day ends, they really are the BEST of friends.” 

Storyboarding:

I sketched my idea roughly, to use as a basis in Adobe Illustrator.

Illustrating the first page of the spread:

I enjoyed drawing the kite the best. I decided on not using the hand drawn outline for the kite as it took away from it. I then placed Ruby on the top of it and gave her an added smile.

The outline:

Drawing the outline in a way that I was happy with took a long amount of time. I would consider myself quite a perfectionist and found it tricky to settle on an outline for the clipping mask.

The Clipping Mask:

The sketch idea was interesting. I really liked the idea of it although I considered it to be substantially different to the spreads in the rest of the book.

 

The clear blue was another idea of mine. Again, whether or not to put an outline around the image was something I couldn’t decide on.

Finalised page 9:

I was delighted with how this page turned out and I am so happy that I included it. I feel that it makes such a difference! The addition of the sun really adds the spread also as it was a nice experiment where the object is placed over the word of its meaning.

 

 

 

Page 19/20 Changes

This spread is one that I have been struggling with for quite some time. I settled on the idea of the yellow and black lines in the background but I was never really happy with that and always knew I would revisit the page further along.

Change in writing:

I changed the writing to try and bring the reader into Gonzo’s thoughts. Instead of used “Gonzo grew panicked as Ruby Robin was in danger. He terribly feared this unwelcome stranger.” I decided to go with “OH NO! Ruby Robin is in DANGER! What will I do about this unwelcome stranger?” I feel as though the change in this text completely restructures the spread.

Previous Spread:

Changes:

I began to draw a typical yellow warning sign.

 

I then began to experiment with different ways of using this on the page. I decided that I needed to evaluate this, as I felt as though because I was looking at it for so long, it was blurring my vision. I gave the different spreads to my sister, who brought it into her primary school classes. There was mixed views from the children, who did really like the idea of the lines, but I still felt that it was slightly over powering, and didn’t flow well with the rest of the book. After asking several different friends, who I think have a good eye for design, the majority felt the same as me, as though the lines were too over-powering.

Finalised Spread:

I decided on removing the lines while still keeping the warning sign in. This really helps to stress the point that Ruby is in danger. It is also good for children to learn of the different icons and symbols that represent warning, so I thought that this inclusion made the spread. I like that it is one of the few spreads which supports a completely white background. I find that it really brings the character out of the scene and makes it clear that this is Gonzo’s thought process. I am delighted with the chosen spread.

 

 

Page 11/12 Changes

I was advised to re-consider the spread of pages 11 and 12. This was a spread which I really liked and I was unsure initially about removing the white background.

I placed the word Noise into a ‘bang’ styled outline, in order to enhance the readers perception of the noise, which is Clancy coming over the wall. The next step was enhancing Gonzo’s jump in the kennel. This involved drawing outlines around Gonzo’s, portraying the impact of his jump. I then made the new changes to the background colours. I asked 8 different people about these changes. 5 of these were adults and 3 were children. 7 out of the 8 like the new wording on the page, while 1 adult liked the initial design. I decided to go with my own opinion as well as the positive feedback from the other 7 people and settled on the new design.

New and Finalised Spread

I am delighted with the new look of the spread.

Page 7/8 Changes

I was advised to make some changes to page 7 and 8 in the book.

I carried the background of the sky across to the next spread, I then experimented with the layout of the wording.

I settled on this layout after asking several different people. I thought an adults opinion would be more valid here than a child’s would.

I added a cloud as well as finishing off the cloud on page 7 onto page 8.

I am much happier with this spread after carrying out these changes. I feel that they make a huge difference and I would now consider this one of my favourite spreads in the book due to its brightness and energy.

Proposed Changes

After meeting with my supervisor, she suggested some very valid changes which she thinks I should make to the book so far. I have documented the main ones below.

Page 7/8 – To bring the background of page 7 right across to page 8 and display the text in this an alternative, more spread out way over two lines in two paragraphs.

Page 11/12 – To bring the background right across again and change the way the word ‘noise’ is displayed.

Page 13- Change Gonzo’s expression slightly.

Page 16 – Bring the wall further out, finish it.

Page 17 – Change the word devilish – could be a source of conflict in a children’s book.

Page 19/20 – Change the wording and make some changes to the spread.

The text in front of the the dark background needs revising. Consider a lighter grey.