About
In “How Much Stuff Is Enough?” I wanted to discuss the social phenomena of scarcity and abundance mindset. I’ve noticed that many children’s books have “deeper” topics, but are still told in a way that younger children are able to understand. Most kids learn that “sharing is caring” and that sharing is simply just the nice thing to do. I wanted to show that that’s not always the case, and that there is a psychological reason as to why some people struggle to share more than others. I wanted to also use characters whose characteristics are similar to how their real-life counterparts act. Squirrels are often seen as greedy while other animals like crows and cats like to pick up odd gifts here and there. I spent a lot of time working on the script to be child-friendly, but also able to subtly explain how scarcity/abundance mindset affects you and the others around you. The juxtaposition between the depiction of a serious, internal mental conflict and the bright, cheery format the message is presented in is to emphasize that even complex, difficult concepts can be approached and understood in simpler, more accessible ways.
Research
In the first stage of this project, I had to familiarize myself with all that went into producing a children’s book. I looked at the standard number of pages in a book, number of words on a page, and more. I decided to write an original story that spanned across 32 pages, and I wanted to illustrate it myself.
Brainstorming
In this next stage, I went forward with my script and storyboard. I’ve always found it fun to read and write rhymes so I went that route for the text. I didn’t have a specific illustration style in mind, but knew I wanted it to be child-friendly and colorful.
Execution
In the third stage, I brought my storyboard sketches to life with bright colors, cute characters, and an animated typeface.
Scroll below to view.
Physical Product
In this stage, I took initiative to learn how to manually bind a book together as I wanted to see how it would look as a real product. Finding a publisher or getting it printed was out of my bandwidth so I learned how to saddle stitch with a needle and thread.
2024 Juried Exhibition
This project is one that I am extremely proud of, mostly because I did every step myself. I wrote it, drew the pictures inside, and put the whole thing together. It was accepted into the University of Michigan’s 2023-2024 Undergraduate Juried Exhibition show for the public to view.
