about the project
The project aims to impart moral and cultural values to children through the conversation and dynamic of a grandmother with her little granddaughter, such that many common Indian traditional beliefs are touched upon. Keywords- Nostalgic, Heartwarming, Thought-provoking.
Using food as a means of storytelling, Indian grandmothers impart the recipe for life, and more. The intention was to make a story with elements such that all are able to relate to, or learn from it. Whether it be the setting, the recipes, their personalities, or just the simple stories and lessons taught.
Target Demographic- 8-12 years old
content
Main Characters-
Gudiya is an 8 year old bubbly talkative girl.
Her characteristics- Curious, observant, imaginative, sensitive, sweet, joyful, frank, choosy about food, sometimes selfish, reflective, heart-warming,, She has a whole lot of love to give.
Nani’s Characteristics- Warm, loving, gentle, quick- cook, optimistic, open- hearted, religious, sometimes kanjoos (frugal), great bargainer. She becomes like a child when spending time with her granddaughter.
Choosing the Epistolary Form of Narrative- I chose the format of the book to be like a Recipe Book or Journal of sorts, where the granddaughter notes down the recipes and stories her grandmother tells her.
Reasons why-
It creates a more intimate connection between the main characters and the reader.
It gives a lot of insight into the personalities of the main characters and their perceptions of each other.
It gives a lot of scope for fun whimsical illustrations, and adding devices of interest such as scribbles, spelling mistakes, and childlike annotations.
visual development
In Character Development, I focused on using forms to depict characteristics, and making characters easy to identify and remember. I leaned towards depicting Gudiya‘s sweet bubbly nature through rounder shape language. It was important for the two of them to complement each other yet have unique forms.
I decided to give Gudiya and Nani distinct colour palettes, in order to reflect their personalities and make them more distinct and identifiable across different seasons and ages. Pink for childlike innocence, love and playfulness. Green for calmness, generosity, stability and endurance.
While storyboarding, I tried to create whimsical compositions and explore different ways to show a similar cooking method- eg. Frying It was important to understand that not all illustrations needed to have perfect perspective but to be interesting visually.
