Communication Design School of Design
Ciara Farren
The Line in the Grass
A children’s book inspired by the desire path in my childhood garden. As children, we carved holes in the hedges to climb through and play! But we weren’t the only ones to make use of them. Soon, the abundance of animals that passed through the garden started using the holes too – and soon, a line was formed in the grass from repeated use. These animals never met, however. They always appeared at different times.
For my story, aimed at 4-6 year olds, I wanted to explore the possibility of what might happen, should those animals be forced to meet. ‘The line in the grass’ explores this through themes of friendship and overcoming differences.
The pages of this book were hand-drawn, then painted using a selection of inks made from organic materials.
The ‘digital preview’ link below includes a full version of the story.
Project Links
Reimagining Earthseed
Inspired by the Earthseed books by legendary author Octavia. E. Butler, I delved deep into the tragic, yet awe-inspiring natives of “parable of the sower”, “parable of the talents,” and finally, the information she shared on her plans for book three: “parable of the trickster” Butler tragically passed before completing the third book. However, each followed similar themes.
Both a critique of hierarchy and a warning for the worst of what humanity had to offer, these books explored themes of grief, rebirth and the horrors of a post-apocalyptic society.
I combined elements of each story to create wrap-around illustrations, which became a dust jacket for each book. Each were foiled in fire-themed colours for a cohesive, yet reflective finish.
Sentimental Song Animation
I took inspiration from some incredible animations, for this animation of my own: from artists such as Lizzy Hobbs, Norman McLaren and Ainslie Henderson, as well as the real-life Glasgow boat: the PS Comet
My animation combines digital techniques and ink paintings, to create a work that embodies the feelings that this song invoked within me. This also inspired a limited colour palette of just shades of blue.With a melancholy, somber feel, I chose to focus on the isolation of the sea, by including only animals along-side the pianist character.
To tie into the lyrics, I made sure to include references to fishing traditions: such as the wassail drink and the sou’wester hat.
The full animation can be viewed using the link below.
