As discussed in my previous post, I wasn’t happy with how this double page was developing and I think that it was due to the illustration style that I had already created on this page. Therefore, this post is going to show and elaborate on my development process and how I have now moved onto the illustrations that I have now (which I think suit the style of the book and will definitely be more interesting for the target demographic).
While developing the DPS I reverted back to the original colour palette that looked at the blue and contrasting black with the distinctive green that Nessie has. I did this so that I know what it would look like when she is in the page and to make sure that everything matches each other within the page. The first stage that I did was deleting the black ‘tree’ illustrations that were in the background of the second page. By getting rid of the majority of these it tones down the page a lot, making it look less overpowering while still in-keeping with the style and flow. As this page would have been quite empty without those visuals I illustrated some vines and seaweed-like plants to fall from the top of the page, while Nessie is heading in that direction.
I made the conscious choice to have Nessie smiling within this page. I did this because as throughout the majority of the book she looks scared or anxious, while being in dark surroundings. But one element that I wanted to portray across in this story is that depression is a tough subject to tackle and deal with (especially in children as it goes undiagnosed often), and by having Nessie smiling- particularly on this page- shows that having depression doesn’t mean that you’re always completely down and upset, and that there can be good moments within this dark time too. Adamantly, the narrative is continuing to show her dark journey, but by breaking it up this way I love how it looks and I think that the child audience will like it.
One important element that I have now chosen is the type face. I knew that a sans-serif type will be most suitable for my target demographic, as well as matching with the aesthetic of the illustrations. I chose a style that almost looked cartoon-like, but it was still readable and appropriate for the style of the book. For some of the important words in the sentence I decided to change the colour of these and make them distinctive in an altered type face. This was in the sans-serif style, but it was bolder and divided up the sentence nicely. Overall, I am very happy with the type face that I have used for the narrative and I think that it will suit the remaining pages of the book too.
During the last stage of the development I decided upon, again, changing the colour in the background. I thought that by having different shades and colours to represent the mood as well as keeping it interesting for the target audience would be a better option for the book. Therefore, I decided to make this double page spread in a green tone which slightly matched with the palette of Nessie. Because of the lack of colour on this DPS this subtlty of colour works really nicely with the aesthetic, while keeping it eye-catching and continuing the design from the previous pages as well. Now that I have made these tweaks and finalised this double page spread I am happy with how I am progressing and I think that my book could turn out nicely and professional- and still appeal to the young audience.