Illustrated Children's Book
In the Wilde Wood
Representation matters, especially when creating stories for children. LGBTQ2IA+ people face daily harassment, largely due to misinformation and stereotypes perpetuated through popular media. Without representation, kids miss out on the feeling of seeing themselves in a story, being the hero, the princess, or even the vilain. They miss out on what everyone else doesn't. Seeing themselves.
The Concept
The story follows a banished witch and an ashamed princess, reuinting in the woods. There, they realize their true love for eachother and gain acceptance for their true selves.
The story includes a glossary of terms and is designed to be affordably made, while still engaging for a younger audience
Project Background
By giving this story the same treatment as any other fairytale, kids are introduced to the LGBTQ2IA+ community in a familiar way. This gives parents and teachers an accessible foundation to talk about sexual and gender identity with kids. Increasing awareness and decreasing stereotypes will reduce harassment faced by the community.
The Process
It started with creating the story, the illustrations followed. Originally the illustrations were hand-rendered, they were then transferred to a digital space and traced in Adobe Illustrator. The digital illustrations were then brought into Adobe After Effects to create an animated teaser for use online. The book was then hand-bound using a french-fold technique.
The book colour palette relied on purple, with accents abstracted from the lesbian pride flag. The lesbian pride flag was also used to flood colour between the pages.
Results
A fairytale created for both digital and print spaces, making it accessible and user friendly. The pages are french-fold, making them durable for use in classrooms, and are flooded with the lesbian pride flag, hinting at the story within.
Want to Read the Book?
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