Presenting the final product

I got everything printed today and I'm really happy with how it came out. I was initially worried about which type of paper to use but I found a good matte stock that wasn't too thick and felt like just the right texture to colour on. If I were to print again I think I'd use a slightly thicker stock for the cover. The one used was thicker than the interior pages, but not by that much. I used the same thicker stock for the card envelope I want to encase everything in, which again, could have done with being a little thicker. 

Cover & Packaging

I felt like the previous cover needed something adding to it.. so I added a bit of texture and then carried this over to the packaging for the crayons and a kind of envelope to hold it all together. I'm pleased with the consistency of the designs, I just hope they look okay once printed and assembled.

Almost there!

I finally got everything assembled! Since the whole of the inside is black and white, I wanted to use some bright colours on the cover - after all the target audience is children, so it needs to look attractive (especially as it's supposed to be educational but not boring).

I feel like I'm in quite a difficult position at the moment because I won't get any feedback on this until Friday, but I have to print it tomorrow (Thursday).. So I'm just going to have to have a bit of confidence that it looks okay.. Any feedback I get on Friday I can just propose to alter I suppose.

Now all that's left to do is create some sort of packaging for this and the crayons I want to present with it!

Paper-doll drawings

For the last section of the activity book I wanted to put in a paper-doll so that the child can decorate it to match their preferences, rather than being given an existing colour scheme or set of gendered clothes. I've tried to include a range of clothing and hairstyles that can be coloured in, but I'm also going to put in a page with a template so that they can draw their own.

Having pages that will be cut into means I'll have to account for that when I assemble the InDesign document and have a few blank pages.

As well as the paper-doll, I had a talk with Patrick who suggested I find a way to add more layers to the colouring pages because I felt like they were lacking something.. We discussed looking up some facts to go with the images and creating some sort of task involving the use of colour to categorise the toy pages. 

still to do:

• research facts to go with images
• research colour/gender associations in various cultures
• create front and back covers
• assemble InDesign document 
• design some sort of packaging

Pages progress

These are the colouring pages I'm happy with so far. I think adding more to the compositions (like a bit of background) has really helped improve them compared with my earlier drawings in this post.

For these I have chosen to draw jobs/professions that are typically associated with or occupied by a specific gender. I think it would be unrealistic to try and draw every gender identity in each of these occupations, so I've just drawn the opposite of what most people would expect. For example, the stay at home father - although not uncommon these days, throughout history part of the male role has been to be a 'provider' for their family. What I am trying to show with these images is that both sexes, regardless of what gender they identify with, can chose whatever type of career or role they want to.

As these drawings took much longer than I initially anticipated, I don't think I'll be able to get 32 done as I was originally aiming for. The next category I want to tackle is clothing/appearance, so I think I'm going to draw a gender neutral paper-doll for the audience to customise/make their own. I plan to spread the paper doll and all the according accessories/clothing over four pages with instructions on how to make it more durable since the stock won't be thick enough for it to stand on it's own.

As I'm coming up with ideas for the drawings, I'm noticing that the last chapter of my essay has really informed the practical content. In the last chapter I've written about depictions of gender roles, the use of pink/colour and body image - all of which are turning out to be key elements in this colouring pack. E.g the drawings of different genders in various jobs/roles covers the depiction of gender roles, the interactive colouring aspect covers the use of colour in regards to gender and for body image I am producing a paper doll.

Making it more interactive?

I want to make this pack/book really interactive for whoever picks it up, so I'm thinking of dotting a few of these types of pages in throughout? So far I'm presenting them with images of things they could be (as in jobs/roles etc) but I'm also considering that I can't cater to absolutely everybody because we're all individuals and even though I'm promoting choice with this work, I also see that it's fairly limited/almost flawed in doing so. Maybe I'm over thinking this? Like with the essay aspect of this, there is no simple answer to what I want to achieve. Perhaps I should just go with my gut and put in these extra pages (but work on the design of them, maybe some decorative elements somewhere..). 

Colouring pages progress

The first three images are some of the colouring pages I drew in my sketchbook. Initially I was going to work to a square format book but since I've stepped away from producing a book specifically, I've chosen to work with A-format because it's more efficient for printing (less trimming/wasted paper) and I think it's easier to work with for characters.

I decided that the first three pages weren't very successful because of the simplicity of the composition and I felt like the characters needed a bit of an environment to give them context. Instead of just working in my sketchbook I've started to use loose paper so the spine doesn't get in the way and I don't draw in the center of the page. The last three drawings are definitely an improvement and I'm much happier with how they fill the space. I still need to draw eyes into them all though! I've been putting it off because I have a tendency to draw very over-exaggerated feminine features.
Although I've only drawn female characters so far I still want this colouring book/pack/whatever format I decide on, to show that we all have the choice to be who/what we want to be, so I'm thinking I should draw some more male or androgynous characters in similar roles?