character design
Final Project for Illustration 1, on Scratchboard. 4 Weeks.
Tell the story of Jack and The Beanstalk through use of Illustrations only. Variety of Contrast, Key, Layout.
Designs for the two main characters Jack, and the Giant.
I wanted to give them a 13th - 14th Century look.
Based on some research, these were the outfits I came up with.
I wanted the Giant to look much older than Jack, but I also wanted his clothing to show a little higher quality. It's more fitted to his body type, and he wears multiple layers of clothing. Living in the clouds makes him more magical and large than life. Jack is a poor kid to a widow mother. Living below the clouds isn't such a great life compared to the giants.
The Book Cover
I definitely wanted to give this an action adventure, maybe a little horror feeling to it. It's still meant for kids, and because of that, I made Jack look younger. The first idea came before deciding to make it more action oriented. The second was more like it, taking inspiration from a childhood favorite film Stand By Me. The issue with this layout was that it did not feel engaging enough. It was too centered. On the third, I used a grid system that a professor had taught me to make it more dynamic. This was much closer to what I wanted.
Refined Book Covers
Final Cover with Title
I do wish I had more time on this project. The project was open to whatever media we wished to use, but I enjoyed scratchboard on a previous project so much, I decided to give it another go. I still enjoy it, but perhaps it wasn't the best choice with the amount of time I had, especially since this was only my second time working on it.
A few things I'd change:
• The placement of the title. I would scoot it down just a bit to relieve some of the stress against the top edge.
• Give a stronger contrast between Jack and the giants hand.
Storyboards
• Sketches 3x3 • Scratchboard 8x8
Apart from storyboarding the entire story (32 Pages), I was to choose 4 of the strongest thumbnails and provide tight roughs. Due to evolving thought process and time, some changes were made from rough to final. The initial rough storyboards were done prior to research of 13th - 14th century interiors.
Final Thoughts
This project is definitely one of my proudest works. Seeing it through no matter how strenuous it became, and the late work nights. The compliments it's received from peers, and getting an A for it makes worth sharing with everyone.
