There were a few different 'not-quite-complete' ideas that I couldn't choose between.
I had thought about staying with the novel and creating a book jacket, a few inside illustrations and maybe chapter spot drawings. I had also played with the idea of creating promotional pieces for the book; as I was creating more handmade 3D pieces I thought they would be good displayed, or used in a window display. I also thought about using the story as an imaginary theatre show and creating mock ups as concept designs; going back to the inspirations from War Horse and His Dark Materials. The models I was making could easily be made as masks or puppets.
I had a tutorial with Pete today as over the easter break I had lost momentum and lost focus and hoped to get that back. Pete liked the beginnings of the model making and said that was exiciting. So I was pleased about that and found that quite encouraging as I hoped to be able to carry on with it and not be put off. I was told to give myself a structure and use this presentation document to do so. We talked through the opitions for a culmination to this project and decided to create a book jacket and several illustrations; either full page or spot illustrations for chapter headings.
Book Jacket;
I would like to use the fox on the book jacket, even though it doesn't relate directly to the title of the book I feel the fox is very metaphorical of the character; Faina who is effectively the snow child. The fox represents a beauty and a savagery in the wilderness, just like Faina is. She is a young girl who is fragile and innocent in one sense but also extremely strong in another; she can hunt, kill and fend for herself. The wilderness is her home as it is the foxes. The foxes death starts a change for Faina as she becomes more civilised and connected with the other humans in the story. The fox dies as she reaches her later teenage years, in those times girls would start to think about marriage and starting a family. I think the red is symbolic of love, and danger. As Faina grows up, falls in love with Garrett and has a baby her wildness - symbolised in the fox - is gone.
I would like to create a fox similar to the models I've been working on. I think a mix of paper and possibly the wire would create a mix of nature and man-made.
Interior illustrations;
The drawings that I had done suggested the possibility of spot illustrations however with the paper and crafted model making the two didn't really seem to fit together. This lead on to thinking about interior illustrations similar to the paper cuts I've been doing throughout. The ink drawings were more for reference so it would be nice to incorporate them as an aid to finalised work.
There are several moments in the story that would be nice to illustrate:
Mabels grief at the very beginning of the book at having no children. I've already created some pieces based on lines from the early chapters and there are some more that spark images and emotions; 'and found herself further consumed by gray, until even her vision was muted and the world around her drained of colour'. The landscape at this time to Mabel is empty and barren and reflects her loss and inabilities. The colour is an important symbol throughout the book as is the description of the landscape.
The homestead is a place of civilisation out in the wilderness and that's another theme in the book; the mix of the wild and the tame and fantasy and reality. Early on the girl appears magical and Mabel believes her to be the child her and Jack had made out of snow. There's a touch of cabin fever about how she perceives things and it makes you question as a reader how real the girl is, or how magical the girl is. The story is set in a very real time and real place with every day events like going into town, farming the land, hunting and trying to survive through winter, and so the girl is very juxtaposed to that side of life. As the girl grows Mabel comes to terms with the fact she isn't a magical being and tries to tame her to no avail. It's later when she reaches maturity that she starts to interact with others and become more civilised.
Nearer the end of the book Garrett sees the girl killing a swan. The swan seems to foreshadow the events which will lead to Faina civilisation. Garrett only approaches Faina after he shoots her fox. The mirrored killing seem to represent the passing from wilderness into human civilisation and into maturity. The girl also later walks with Garrett and runs into a flock of white birds. They fly off and mark the change in Faina and Garrett, their freedom and innocence. Faina is very connected to the landscape and animals. She knows the land and how to move in it, she only ever comes when there is snow and gets hot when she in the homestead.
The seasons in the book mark the coming and going of Faina. In the winter when the landscape is full of snow, she comes and goes frequently. When spring and summer arrive the land can be farmed and crops and grow, then Faina leaves and heads towards the mountains where there is still snow. The changing seasons mirror the cycle of growth and life, as Faina stays and has a baby. It also mirrors death and she leaves and dies.
Spot illustrations.
I've been working on a few rough ideas to do with illustrations to with the motion of the story. I've been thinking about circular paper cuts; they link with snowflakes in a way and thats where the idea sort of came from - looking at different shapes of things. With the idea of the seasons and the cycle - Faina coming and going, the cycle of life and death and the connection to the characters and the landscape a circle seems to be a good metaphor.
I feel a bit better about working towards something in context. I think I have a lot to work with and a lot to decide upon. I now have various images to actually plan and come up with imagery for but I know how I want to create them, and I am looking forward to playing around with different parts of the story.
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