FLAPPY & FRIENDS - A CHILDREN'S BOOK
The Brief
For this project, we are tasked with selecting an African proverb and thereafter we are to write, illustrate, design and print an 8 - 12 page book for children aged 3 - 6. Our final deliverables for this project are two stories in spread (one in English and one in an alternative South African Language) and one printed storybook.
Background
The African Proverb I selected was “Imbewu ihlalela ihlanga layo“ which translates to “Each seed waits for its time to be sowed“.
In terms of the style of the book, I decided to design a square book which measures 20 x 20cm as this is considered a suitable size and orientation for a children’s storybook.
The Story
This story is about a group of 3 birds that are really good friends - Chirpy, Looky, and Flappy. Each of them have their own special talents. Chirpy can sing the loudest because she has a big beak, Looky finds the most fruits because he has big eyes, however, Flappy has the biggest wings but cannot fly. Flappy would sit in the nest all day and watch his friends go out and do things. Time went by, summer passed and winter had arrived. The weather became very cold and rainy. This started to affect the friends – Chirpy couldn’t sing because her throat was sore and Looky couldn’t find any fruits because the rain kept going in his eyes. However, Flappy finally overcame his fear and decided to fly for the first time. Due to his wings being so big he was able to fly around and do things for his friends, such as catch worms and find fruits while they were feeling sick. And, when the weather was really cold, Flappy would wrap his feathery, warm wings around his friends to help them stay warm in the nest.
Illustrations
The reason for using birds as the characters rather than humans was an expression of personal flair as well as a creative decision as I felt that it would make the story more interesting for the children reading it, as they would learn a valuable life lesson in a more creative and innovative way through the use of animals as opposed to a simple, straight-forward story that makes use of human characters.
The Illustration style used was a simple, minimalistic cartoon style with bright colours and shadows to make the characters and other elements have an almost 3D effect as opposed to being basic, 2D, flat-vector illustrations.
Colour & Typography
With regards to colour and typography, I made use of bright, bold colours for the illustrations as this makes the story come to life and appealing to the child reading it. My typographic choices were informed by the fact that the viewer is a 3 - 6 year old child therefore the typeface needs to be fun and playful in order to attract the attention of the child while at the same time maintain good readability and legibility
The Book
THANK YOU FOR VIEWING MY PROJECT
