Digital Project Diary
Initial thoughts: 22/4/2020
I would LOVE to do a children's ebook with music recorded to tell the story! James' book set off my imagination and I want to make a resource for early primary school children about the different instruments they may come across at school and beyond. I hope to create a piece of music that will accompany the book, I will also record my voice reading the text and ultimately I would love to include recordings of the different instruments.
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24/4/2020
I'm going to challenge myself and do the illustrations and story line on my own, I have decided to use a water colour medium to do my illustrations. I have written the story line or text for each page on a sticky note and plan to handwrite the text onto the illustrated page. Here is my ideas page where I experimented with colours and skin tones. One of my goals is to include as. any different characters from different backgrounds in this book as possible.
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So far I have a simple plot line which tells a story a group of students entering Year 5 at the start of the year. Now that they are in Year 5, their first music lesson requires them to choose an instrument to be part of the Year 5 ensemble. There is one students, Molly, who doesn't warm to any of the instruments that are available. The book tells the story of what sounds the students like and dislike and the reasons behind their opinions. Again and again, Molly is unsatisfied with the sounds and tone colours she hears from the different instruments and keeps politely declining the idea of learning each one. Molly ends up being offered to learn how to play percussion such as Drum Kit, Xylophone, Triangle and Maracas. She gives all these instruments a go and loves it. She can now play an instrument that is not limited to just one sound.
I'm yet to decide which other instruments will be included and what type of ensemble I will be basing the book on. I'd love it to feature a Stage 5 orchestra but it is unrealistic that a primary school will have instruments such as oboes, bassoons and string instruments at their disposal.
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25/4/2020
I've settled for featuring a School Band in my book. At this stage it will include Trumpets, Saxophones Flutes, Trombones and Clarinets. This is the classic array of instruments which are available for primary school students to learn as part of a standard music program, so I thought I would use this layout. Tone Colour identification and description is a key element to this book as it introduces words and onomatopoeia to describe the different sounds that each instrument makes. Hopefully it will be a useful tool used in junior primary school music classrooms to introduce vocabulary when discussing and distinguishing the different instrument sounds. Hopefully it will be a very engaging book as the bright illustrations encourage students to make the sounds of the instruments with their own voices. Below are the few pages I've completed and this is the style that I wish to continue illustrating in.
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27/4/2020
Upon reading the assignment notification, I think its time I transfer these illustrations onto a digital platform. I noticed when looking through Creative Cloud that Abode Illustrate was available. I downloaded it and look up Youtube tutorials on how to connect my iPad to the computer to act as a drawing pad. I found AstroPad, an app costing about $20 a month, which allowed my iPad to mirror my computer. I figured I would just give that a go. It took me all day to figure out how to use the settings in Adobe Illustrate but once I got to know the controls, it was a lot easier than doing hard copies. I could copy and paste different shapes and groups of lines so that I didn't have to draw complex things over and over again. For example, I always copy Miss Tulips hair and paste it on the new page, fitting it to her head. I can also copy and paste instruments so that they seem uniform and aesthetically pleasing. Outlining characters and objects is also a lot easier as I can zoom in and access the detailed spots of the illustration.
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Here are the Adobe Illustrate artboards that I've complete so far...
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4/5/2020
At the moment, I am simply drawing the pages which I have drafted in watercolour. I am yet to figure out specifics with text and how it will relate to the illustrations. Also I'm yet to figure out whether I will include the text on the same page as the illustrations or I will have a separate page for the text which is next to the illustration. Perhaps the pages that feature the students playing the instruments will take two whole pages. Next I am drawing the clarinet, trombone and saxophone instrument pages. I've also been thinking of including a student with a hijab and another student in a wheel chair to be inclusive. I just have to figure out how to draw these!
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14/6/2020
I have been gradually working way at the illustrations for "Molly's Musical Muddle". I have completed all of the needed pages and had to decide the following:
* how the text would be included
* where I would source the audio recordings
* whether my resource is free or will cost money on the Apple Book Store
* If I will narrate the story or not
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Molly Behind the Scenes!
Here is a Screen Recording Video I made to explain the aspects and methods behind creating "Molly's Musical Muddle."
Inclusivity and Accessibility
When writing Molly's Musical Muddle I was determined to represent as many different walks of life as possible. By including students from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds and also students with disabilities (Will in the Wheelchair and Sam with the Cochlear Implants). It is important to me that readers understand the idea that music is for everyone, regardless of their physical, emotional or mental state and so the inclusion of these characters was crucial.
I also acknowledge that some readers also experience visual impairment. This book aims to cater for these people by offering a Narration Option which is displayed on the bottom right hand corner of the screen on ever page. When this icon is clicked, the text on the page is read aloud for audiences to listen. The interactivity of the book also hopes to engage students with ADD or ADHD who may find it difficult to focus and engage on tasks.
Music is for Everyone.
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The Final Product
You can access Molly's Musical Muddle on Dropbox here!
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