Model Making Evaluation

Audience Interation/Movement

Using models is a great way to get children involved in storytelling. The amount of interaction gets the audience fully involved with the telling of the story as they are bringing the characters to life, as well as carrying the story through their movements. The models are easily handled and work well in both a child’s hand, as well as an adult’s hand.

Material

By using oven bake clay, I was able to create sturdy characters which can be easily played with. The surface was easy to paint on, and by using acrylic I was able to recreate the colours I used in my original illustrations.

Composition/Viewpoint

The stand alone figurines can be viewed from every angle, and can be easily slotted into any composition - like being used alongside a book or in a stage.

I was able to recreate a close replica in the model/stage compositions of my original book illustrations – something that was important to me as I didn’t want to lose any of the charm of my drawings.

Conclusion

In my opinion, by creating model characters to place in a staged retelling of the story, I have been able to answer the questions posed in my proposal in a positive way - I have created a better understanding of how a more tactile approach to storytelling (through the use of modelling clay) can aid the interest and entertainment value for its audience, as well as weighing out the pros and cons to working in this particular medium to see how it functions when considering the objective of interaction.

Puppet Experiment Evaluation

Audience Interaction/Movement

Audience interaction is at a maximum when using finger or hand puppets as movement is created directly through the gestures of the audience's hands. This amount of interaction gets the audience fully involved with the telling of the story as they are bringing the characters to life, as well as carrying the story through their movements. However, the puppets that were incorporated into the actual pages felt awkward to use because of their set poses and positions. I think the enjoyment factor of this particular method would wear thin (especially for a young child) because of the limitation and awkwardness when handling the pages.

Material

Using a soft material like felt is appealing to both children and adults. The soft, touchable quality felt has, provides extra interaction with young children as they might like the feel of it - like they are petting a real animal.


Composition/Viewpoint

The stand alone finger puppets can be viewed from every angle as they have no limitations, and can be easily slotted into any composition - like being used alongside a book or in a puppet theatre.
On the other hand, the puppets that were incorporated into the pages had a limited viewpoint because of being stuck to the page.


Conclusion

In my opinion, by creating puppet characters for my book, I have been able to answer the questions posed in my proposal in both a positive and a negative way - I have created a better understanding of how a more tactile approach to storytelling (through the use of puppets) can aid the interest and entertainment value for its audience, as well as weighing out the pros and cons to working in this particular medium to see how it functions when considering the objective of interaction.

Pop-Up Experiment Evaluation

Audience Interaction/Movement

Pop-up books create a big opportunity to incorporate movement and audience interaction into what was once a flat/still illustration. From my experiments, I have learned that through using techniques like pullies, levers and tabs, the audience can be included in revealing parts of the story or aiding it along, giving the viewer a sense of inclusion, importance and enjoyment.


Material

Using paper as a material was beneficial in two ways: it's supple enough to create folds, creases and bends, which allow for shaping and movement, yet at the same time it's sturdy enough to hold a shape and be pushed in different directions.



Composition/Viewpoint

I was able to keep my experimental pop-up pieces to almost the exact same composition as my original illustrations - this is something that I think is important as I didn't want to lose the original charm and character of my book illustrations.


Conclusion

In my opinion, by creating pop-up pages for my book, I have been able to answer the questions posed in my proposal in a positive way - I have created a better understanding of how a more tactile approach to storytelling can aid the interest and entertainment value for its audience, as well as weighing out the pros and cons to working in this particular medium to see how it functions when considering the objective of interaction.