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BOOK
OVERVIEW
Little Leaders is a [100 pages] book made for 2nd - 3rd graders. It consist 5 different stories. Artwork was done in watercolor by an artist which was later on transferred and treated in photoshop , then finalized in InDesign by me. This is the one of the two major books I worked on during my tenure in Kisa Kids .
MY ROLE
I was given the task to compile and design the final book. This project was put on hold before I joined, half of the work i.e. illustrations of each chapter were mostly done. I worked on cover design , few missing scenes , chapter pages as well as font and layouts.
CONSTRAINTS
CHAPTER PAGES
SCENES
Most of the work was done in photoshop on each page of the book before taking it to InDesign for text placement. This project took around 2 months. Below are few examples of the pages . I made rough sketches (b&w page) to give an idea to the artist, then artist sketched/painted and sent it back. I then adjusted the colors and placed the text .
Scenes were painted way before the final script got ready. There was very less space for text in those scenes. I eventually had to photoshop scenes to fit the text. But one of the chapter was lacking some main scenes and the text was not going with it. I then sketched the scenarios and sent it to the original artist to paint those. For chapter pages, I used the scenes that depicted the title and used photoshop to design them.
TAKEAWAY
Before starting any project, there should be a proper structure/ system for the process. Design and script should have been discussed and reviewed in the initial stage to avoid any hindrances. They can't be seen as two separate departments. This project helped me learn InDesign. I also learnt and read about the fonts
The biggest problem was to make the stakeholders understand that comic style is very different from a standard storybook. They were adamant to use the old files and convert it into this new concept. We had to find a way because of fund issues. My partner and I decided to make a list of extra expressions ,characters or scenes that we additionally required. I had no prior experience in advanced photomanipulation skills so I learnt it on the job and created more than 100 different illustrations that were then used in this book.
My colleague worked on layout and compilation part. It was a good team-effort. It was the most fulfilling project because the book got published soon after we finished it and I saw kids enjoying it.
CONSTRAINTS
My work's main focus was on creating comic style illustrations for each chapter through the already designed storybook. These pictures were created through photomanipulation in photoshop.
MY ROLE
The Name Chronicles is a fun comic book made for Muslim kids of around 200 pages related to their leaders . Book has total of 12 stories each with a journey map. Just like the previous book, the art work was already there but in a storybook format (total of 8 scenes for each book). This is the second book I worked on during my tenure in Kisa Kids .
OVERVIEW
BOOK
2
BOOK
EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK
Above pictures are directly taken from the published book. When anyone looks at it, they can hardly tell which expressions, scenes are altered and which ones are original. It is due to the meticulous attention to detail that was put in during the development of these scenes.
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FEW EXAMPLES OF PHOTOMANIPULATION
Original illustration was of an empty room at night
We needed a morning scene where both father and son are coming inside home while discussing something.
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Original illustration had a girl putting band aid on her father's hand
For another scene , had to show father sitting alone
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Hands of all four men are down
Needed to create a scene depicting discussion and some change of gestures
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Original illustration of an old man
Old man with eyes open and lowering his right hand
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Original - left hand up
Left hand in different position
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Original - Angry expressions
On the left side of the page, same guy moving his hand while talking. The expressions have changed in the lower right picture.
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TAKEAWAY
Nothing is impossible. It felt difficult in the beginning when we decided to develop illustration from the given material but then due to hard work and determination I was able to deliver around 100 such illustrations. Only practice can improve your skills. Also very important to set realistic deadline rather than coming up with something that you know won't work eventually.