RESEARCH
Mind Map
This is the book I will be using in this project. the book is called Varjak Paw and as written by a British author by the name of S.F said and illustrated by Dave McKean, released in 2003.
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This book is about a little British blue shorthair kitten named Varjak who lives in a home on top of a hill and has never been outside. Varjak is picked because of his eye colour which is amber while the rest of his family has green but one cat is always by his side and that is his grandfather who tells him stories of an ancestor and there "the way" which is a way of fighting style passed down through generations. when some trouble apers Varjak is forced to run away to find help and enter a world he has never been in filled with dogs, cat gangs and big metal monsters (cars).
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I decided to pick this because I find it interesting and I will challenge my self by drawing animals instead of humans. also, I'm familiar with the book as I read once before and thought it will be perfect for this project.
Client Analysis
The people that created and published the book Varjak Paw are S.F.Said the author of the book, Dave McKean the illustrator of the book and David Fickling books the publisher of the book itself.
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S.F.Said works as a writer and doesn’t necessarily work with anyone. He mostly works on writing books as his project although he only created 3.
Dave McKean works as my things such as English illustrator, photographer,
comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician. He most likely works with many people as he is a filmmaker and musician which may require people to make. Because of his many skills, he may have a lot of projects for films, music and art.
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David Fickling Books is an independent publishing house for book founded in 2002. David Fickling books probable consist of publishing books and doesn’t have a project unless publishing a book is a project.
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The book is a nice and interesting fantasy adventure book with dark undertones and moments. The book is a high school book aimed at teens. It is very entertaining and easy to read it has its time where is mentions blood, fighting, death and hunting but is what give the book its charm.
The few illustrations found in the book help imagine the scenes and character more accurately.
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The colours used most are #2f3237 and #edb761
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The image can be seen as disturbing as if the cat's eyes are burning into your soul. The book uses decorative serif font at the top of the book and normal serif font at the bottom of the book. It uses a gothic style.
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I will be using different text located inside the book to recreate as concept art and in 3D.
Competitor Analysis
Jacqueline Wilson is an author who writes children literature. Her book often features themes of adoption, divorce and mental illness which spark controversy.
Jacqueline worked multiple time with BBC to create movies and tv shows. She also works with Nick Sharratt who is the illustrator for her novels.
Jacquelin mostly works mostly on her books and movie/tv show based on her books.
the books themselves look very bright in colour and shows that they are meant for children but is a bit of a twist for how dark of a topic some of the books might have and would have never guess that from there covers.
the book uses a sans serif font throughout the cover along with other covers. this one, in particular, uses a bit od squares and circles to highlight text.
uses colours like #c7303f #fddc1b #1e569e #f7faff
David Almond is another British another who writes children and young adult novels.
He works with Dave Mackean who illustrated his work/novels.
again similar to the other others he most likely current project involve writing books.
The book I'm looking at now is about three children who create animals from inanimate objects which can be seen as quite sad or amusing. I honestly don't know the message of the book is but by the description I think it might be neglect as children create animals (new friends) to play with as they have no one else to play with or it can be just an all happy playful children imagination.
The cover uses a very distorted san serif font with faces inside the letters which could symbolise something but I'm not sure what.
The main colours this uses are #77958b #9e993b #a7868d #e96f3c
All the scenes from the book that I found interesting. colour for which ones I will use
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Varjak bulled by his brother. P.g 10 - 11
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Some odd cats and a man come to the house. P.g 13 – 14
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Family council. P.g 24 – 28
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Grandpaw and father cat fight. P.g 29 – 30
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Varjak gets bullied again by his siblings. P.g 31 - 33
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Varjak runs away gets chased by black cats and grandpaw help him dies in proses + Varjak jumps over a big wall. P.g 43 – 47
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Varjak mistakes a car for a dog and describes them as monsters. P.g 63 – 65
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Varjak falls in a puddle as a storm starts. P.g 68
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Varjak finds a hut in a park that he could use as shelter. P.g 68 - 69
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Varjak meets a new cat and encounters accurse that isn’t pleasant.
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Varjak is with Jalal in a dream world where they are listening and find “breakfast”. P.g 79
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Varjak meets another cat, a much nicer one. The two cats laugh at him. P.g 83
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The two cats leave Varjak. P.g 85
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A car speeds towards Varjak. P.g 89 – 93
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Varjak hunts his first meal. P.g 124
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Varjak and the two cats sneak past a patrol of seven cats. P.g 133
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Varjak tried to hunt a pigeon and fails. P.g 137 - 138
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Varjak stars at a store full of cat toys. P.g 153
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Varjak and Holly find a fake/toy cat. P.g 156
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Varjak meats Sally Bones. P.g 167
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Varjak attacks a cat. P.g 170
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Varjak meets a dog. P.g 182
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Varjak told Holly that he thought a car was a dog and Holly bursts out laughing. P.g 186
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Varjak climes a wall with Holly leaving Cludge behind. P.g 192 – 195
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Varjak fights his brother and wins. P.g 203 - 206
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Varjak fights the black cats. P.g 239 - 240
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The dog jumps through the window into the house to help his friends. P.g 247
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The final page in the book. P.g 255
Goals For My Production
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To create the concept pieces with a child/cartoon-like imagery.
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To make sure it's focused around the main character or have him stand out.
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Keep a specific colour pallet for the cats