How is a china mug made?
Fine Bone China
Research
First looking at (vintage) book covers on the topic of pottery making (targeted to older audience).
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Looking at vintage posters to do with the ‘making’ of things; In this case, cooking. Theres not exactly posters on pottery creation with this specific style of illustration (that I think is very visually appealing), so I decided to look at ones to do with baking, as it’s still a form of craftsmanship. I feel as though a composition like this would look good as a book cover, including a detailed kind of illustration, as with books you want to immediately grab the viewers attention from a glance of the outside.
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Initial inspiration above had too much of a focus on people.
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Going off of the name ‘china mug’, the most recognisable thing that comes to mind for most- would be the classic blue and white pottery, with displays of traditional Chinese illustrations.
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As I want to go down the route which involves the traditional look, a common figure used in Chinese illustration is the well known dragon. I’d like to somehow involve this creature, possibly as a mascot within the project, something which guides the viewer through the china mug making process.
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Looking at videos on the creation of china.
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A video that’s gave me a better idea as to how I could make the potential book appear, how I could design the pages on the inside, and what layouts look nice.
Pages taken from the books.
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looking at the inside of other books.
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Looking at traditional Chinese patterns.
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Ideas
Typically, the audience of pottery/china mug making are usually those of an older age. Of course children can create pottery, but they maybe wouldn’t take it as seriously as say adults who have it as a hobby or job. However, in this case it wouldn’t exactly be easy for anybody to just up and make their own china (unless they have access to a factory or the equipment, which is unlikely). When we look at the process, it usually involves very expensive, big machines, factories so that these pieces of art can be mass made and in large quantities. With this in mind, the book would be less of a kind of tutorial book (for e.g.“first of all, you want to take the clay) and more of a guide and showcase as to how the china is made, and the steps.
The front cover of the book to be colourful, to attract the eye of a viewer, which would make a topic that is slightly boring - appear a lot more fun.
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The mascot character within the book to be in the traditional blue colour, on top of a plain white background.
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The main illustrations of the actual china mug making process to possibly have that classic black ink look.
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Thumbnails (front cover)
I found that the ideas I have and the route I want to go down in regards to the visual appearance of the book, would work a lot more well if it were to be a kind of children's book. So I am now doing that.
Taking inspiration from the colours used here, applying them to the front cover.
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Thumbnail ideas for inside pages
Development
For front cover
In general, I don’t think the topic of mug making would exactly appeal to the majority of most children, with the dragon mascot, I hope to make it seem more fun. I want to subtly include the character on the front cover, in a way that the viewer (a child) can recognise an inviting expression, but so the focus is still on the making of cups.
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For inside pages
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FINAL
