The brief was set as a group project; we were to choose five poems from Hilaire Belloc's book 'Cautionary Tales for Children' (1907) and design them with an adult audience in mind. I took the role as art director, and we all decided to lean into our illustrative strengths to create a grand guignol theatre aesthetic. 

Additionally, we aimed to create shadow pop-up stages for each of the poems. 

The book was intended to be A4 in size, hardback with perfect bind. 

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, we were unable to get the book physically produced. 

The front cover was drawn by a group member talented in line illustrations, then vectorised and coloured by me.

In addition to my role as art director, I formatted, drew and coloured for the poem 'Algernon'.

Inspired by the Nottingham Royal theatre, I designed the double page spread intended for the shadow pop-ups. 

A mockup of the shadow pop-up for the poem 'Jim'. The reader is encouraged by text on the back cover, contents and double page spread to use a light source to interact with the pop-up. The red acetate on the curtains create a more authentic stage experience as well as diffusing the curtain edges to let the central pop-up stand out more.

Further development work: