I have decided to go with the rat adoption story as adoption is subject that children in the care system may find upsetting. The book aims to reassure these children that it’s OK to not have home because eventually everyone finds somewhere they belong. The book will be aimed at 5-8 year olds as the story is not simple enough for a lower age range but too complex for anyone over the age of 10.
The story follows a rat on his search for a home. He meets a few families that aren’t right for him before meeting a little lost dog. The two of them set out to find the little lost dogs owner and the rat gets accepted into their family. The story is heartwarming and shows that sometimes you’ll get it wrong but never stop trying.
I decided to go with a cartoon style of drawing as its the only type of drawing I can do that doesn’t suck. I will use Photoshop to colour these outlines and add dimensions to the characters. I rejected my first sketches of the little lost dog because it looked like a triangle with a face and a tail. The second sketch looks a lot more like a dog in cartoon style. The rate sketches turned out well. I had the rat stood like human because it makes him easier for the children the book is aimed at to relate to. I did initially try to draw a rat on all fours but it looked terrible so I tried a cartoon style.
