A to Z Puzzle
This is a self-initiated project that grew from another self-initiated project I made for #36daysoftype in 2019.
For that project, I designed alphabets around themes that children could connect with. The words associated with each alphabet took the shape of the letter playfully.
While going through my old work this year, I started wondering if I could turn that idea into something more like a game and an educational activity for children. That became the starting point for this project.
First, I gathered reference images and used the content from my 2019 project as a starting point. I brainstormed to develop the content further and created content for all 26 letters. Out of those, I selected 8 letters to develop as portfolio pieces.
I really enjoy working in the space of children's illustration and play, so I wanted to explore that through this project.
I gathered reference images for each of the 8 alphabet concepts and then created the wireframes for the puzzle pieces in Affinity.
Then, I sketched each illustration on paper before transferring the sketches to my iPad and blocking in the colors in Procreate.
For the final rendering, I wanted to introduce handmade textures. I created different textures on paper using crayons, markers, and pencils, then scanned them in high resolution. I separated the textures in Procreate and used them within the illustrations.
Once each illustration was ready, I brought the transparent PNGs into Affinity and placed them into the layouts I had already created.
I then went back to the drawing board to create simple marks for the backgrounds. I wanted to keep these subtle so that the focus remained on the character illustrations and the text on the puzzle pieces.
Finally, I composed the pieces in Affinity and created an alphabet and dot-mark pattern for the back of the pieces.
For that project, I designed alphabets around themes that children could connect with. The words associated with each alphabet took the shape of the letter playfully.
While going through my old work this year, I started wondering if I could turn that idea into something more like a game and an educational activity for children. That became the starting point for this project.
From Alphabet to Puzzle
I came up with a puzzle concept in which an image connects to a simple sentence containing words associated with a specific letter of the alphabet. The pieces come together to form the letter.First, I gathered reference images and used the content from my 2019 project as a starting point. I brainstormed to develop the content further and created content for all 26 letters. Out of those, I selected 8 letters to develop as portfolio pieces.
I really enjoy working in the space of children's illustration and play, so I wanted to explore that through this project.
Building the Illustrations
Then, I sketched each illustration on paper before transferring the sketches to my iPad and blocking in the colors in Procreate.
For the final rendering, I wanted to introduce handmade textures. I created different textures on paper using crayons, markers, and pencils, then scanned them in high resolution. I separated the textures in Procreate and used them within the illustrations.
Once each illustration was ready, I brought the transparent PNGs into Affinity and placed them into the layouts I had already created.
I then went back to the drawing board to create simple marks for the backgrounds. I wanted to keep these subtle so that the focus remained on the character illustrations and the text on the puzzle pieces.
Finally, I composed the pieces in Affinity and created an alphabet and dot-mark pattern for the back of the pieces.
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