Brief
“You have been asked to produce an illustrated strip of up to five frames for use in schools explaining to young teenagers how to cope with the onset of puberty.“
To begin with, I researched on the internet to find previous versions of educational strips used in schools
I noticed that some illustrations use diagrammatic images to shoe the changes in puberty. These are more likely to be used for a poster in a classroom, whereas books about the subject of taking a more subtle approach.
I then started listing all of the changes that each sex goes through in the stages of puberty.
Changes during puberty
Boys
- Facial Hair
- Body hair
- Body Odour
- Acne
- Mood Swings
- Voice-breaking
Girls
- Periods
- Breast Growth
- Body Odour
- Acne
- Mood Swings
- Weight Gain
I decided to make an educational strip for boys going through puberty as I can relate to the subject matter. I wanted to create the number of slides asked for and then use them to create a leaflet that could be handed out in schools. I started by sketching some ideas as thumbnails.
I sketched out a few potential front covers using humour as the focal point to try and shed light on some usually embarrassing situations.
From here, I started to progress the emotions of my characters to express the changes he was going through.
My initial sketches provided me with a pretty solid base for a character. I took some inspiration from the previous exercise in character development and opted for a slightly exaggerated looking schoolboy. I thought the uniform was an interesting addition as this is fitting with the age of puberty.
Once I had finished deciding the situations of my character, I recreated the image in adobe illustrator. For the front cover, I wanted my character to be expressing unknowing concern as to the changes he is going through. I thought the best way to show this was a shrug, supported by a confused facial expression.
Below are my sketches brought to life in Adobe Illustrator:
Body Odour 
Voice Change 
Spots 
Body Hair 
Mood Swings 
Everything will be alright
Once I had completed my character illustrations, I got to work on some type and a layout for them to sit within. I wanted to add text above the image to further explain the situation and make the message more personal to the reader.
I chose the font P22 Stanyan. This is a go-to font for me, generally as a placeholder due to its rough sketched appearance. Saying that it worked quite well as a fun looking scribble that has a child-like quality to it.
Chosen Type
Final images with background, type and front cover:
After my educational slides were complete, I created a render to show what it would look like as a physical leaflet.
Render
Conclusion
The research for this exercise was difficult. When researching the topic, there did not seem to be a great deal to compare and generate ideas from. Talking to other students and looking at their work for this exercise, I saw a pattern and design similar to my final design.
I was happy with my chosen emotions and the way I have portrayed them in the final artwork. I’m glad I was able to create a different feeling for the audience on each slide, and I fell that the illustrations have a clear message.
A few changes I would make were I to revisit this exercise would be to investigate a brighter colour scheme and also look at some other options for the last slide. I think the message at the end is acceptable and the image relates but looking again I feel the addition of other characters coming together would feel more inclusive.
Another route could be a solution image for each slide. Instead of having negatives leading up to the last picture, I could have had each page split into two, but the lower image is positive. Maybe the humour element could factor in here to show a lighter side to each illustration.