"Brave Bird"
Brave Bird is a one act play written by Ariana White about the relationship between a young boy and the monster under his bed. Near the end of the play, the boy reads a story titled "Brave Bird" to the monster. This project aims to create that story as a stand alone book that fits into the world of the play.
Role
My role within this project was to write and illustrate a children's story with a cohesive and consistent style throughout the story.
Problem
To write and illustrate a children's book that makes sense in the world of the play; mirrors the play's themes and storyline; and can stand on its own without the context of the play.
Audience
Children ages 6-8, parents reading the story to their children
Strategy
To accomplish this, I researched children's stories and illustrative styles to understand the elements of a story then I reached out to professionals in the field to gather their input and advice for this project.
After the initial research phrase, I experimented with different mediums and decided to pursue a mixture of cut paper and watercolor paints. By using cut paper, I played with the page compositions before committing to final designs. I created a style guide and character designs as references to go back to throughout the process.
Final Product
This resulted in the creation of a 8.5" x 8.5" 32 page story with full bleed watercolor backgrounds, published through Amazon Kindle Self-Publishing.
For the book's April 30th release, I designed additional materials including a poster, social media post, and a mixture of stickers, bookmarks, and buttons.
