Project Reflection

As I near the end of completing my senior project: writing, designing, and illustrating a children’s book, it is important to analyze what went well and what could go better. Reflecting on the successes and what could be improved will help me understand how to better manage projects in the future. Working on this project showed me the importance of having clear expectations and deadlines for myself. Using a Gantt chart and Work Breakdown Structure was extremely helpful in planning how and when the project would be completed and what needed to be done for it to be successful. I didn’t face any major challenges other than time, as expected, but what I felt went successfully, I still think could be improved in some way. Time feels like my greatest challenge, because I know there is room for improvement.

What Went Well

Writing I have never written a children’s book before and I didn’t know where to begin other than doing minor “How to Write a Children’s Book” research. However, I knew what I wanted to write I couldn’t Google. I thought it would be best to storyboard to ensure there was a beginning, climax, and end, but that didn’t work either. Instead, I did a free writing exercise where I wrote down memories from my childhood since the main character and I share similarities. Through free writing, I began to remember different aspects of my childhood that affected my identity. From free writing, I moved to writing a summary of the story, to writing each page.

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Project Reflection

Research Researching racial representation and misrepresentation in children’s literature was fascinating. It solidified my own personal feelings towards racial representation in media, or a lack thereof.

Working with the Illustrator Before I started my project, I was unsure of who to pick as my illustrator. I considered my roommate, a talented digital and watercolor artist, but after talking to my sister, I knew it would be best to use an illustrator that would best understand my vision. My sister was the best choice because she could often visualize the same imagery I was thinking of since we experienced what the main character was experiencing in reality. My sister also has a better understanding of traditional Korean art than I do. We wanted to take inspiration from traditional Korean art and incorporate it into the illustration. In addition to sharing the same visual ideation, we also experienced personal growth and fulfillment. Reflecting on our own experiences related to our ethnic background was cathartic.

What Could Have Gone Better

Completion of Illustrations I knew creating 17 pages of full spread, quality, industry-level illustrations would be challenging. To mitigate this challenge, I’ve accepted the illustrations will likely be black and white or sketchlevel. My sister and I have both agreed that we want to continue to work on this project beyond the due date. The less-detailed illustrations will still contribute to the story and enhance it visually. The illustrations could have gone better if I had written the story

Project Reflection

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sooner, but I don’t think the quality of the story would have been the same. I also think I could have been more proactive about setting up clear deadlines for my sister to complete portions of the illustrations.

Implementation of Research Much of the research I conducted was critical analyses of diverse racial representation in children’s literature. It helped guide me in what to not include in the story, but there was so much research on what we needed to see more of. There isn’t much I could have improved on here, but I did learn from this challenge. I learned that it would be impossible to solve the problem of misrepresentation in one book. It has to just be a contribution to the greater solution to this problem.

Receiving Feedback I’ve sought feedback from people close to me, especially my sister, a children’s school teacher, but I regret not seeking more feedback from people outside of my circle. I think I still have time to do this for my writing, but I think it is too late for the illustrations.

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Project Reflection