Why this particular fairy tale
I chose the folktale „Riaba the Hen“ because it's well-known among almost every child in Russia. Recently, I began reading this fairy tale to my 1.5 years old daughter and started wondering about its meaning. While some versions have stranger endings, the widely recognized plot involves an old couple whose chicken laid a golden egg. They attempted to break it but couldn't. However, a mouse ran fast and accidentally broke the egg, and the old couple started to cry. In the end, the chicken promised to lay a new, ordinary egg.
From my childhood, I wondered why the old couple cried if they wanted to break the egg. I discovered various interpretations. The most common moral is about valuing simple joys in life, like having food, over wealth. However, in really old versions, the egg symbolizes life and death. For example, in another tale about Koschey the immortal, he keeps his life in an egg, and in this tale the golden egg becomes a sign of death. This explains why the old couple wanted to destroy it, and they should be happy after the mouse broke it.
Sketches
I decided to rewrite this tale a little bit, to make it more understandable for my daughter and me. I also drew sketches of 5 main illustrations.
References
While searching for the style in which I would like to depict this fairy tale, I liked the following references.
Color pallet
Then I decided on the color palette.
Cover
I also settled on the format of the book: the square format appeared to be the most optimal choice to me.
However, it was difficult to decide on the font on the cover; the first option had a title handwritten by me. But in the end, I chose to use the gordoni font.
Font
Picking the font wasn't simple. The first choice didn't work out because the font was too fancy, grabbing too much attention and taking away from the illustrations. In the end, I settled on another font Freeride.
Illustrations
Having developed the characters and color palette, I drew 5 illustrations using Procreate.
Pattern
Merchandise
I chose a children's bodysuit as merch because this is the fairy tale that parents read from early early childhood. And a puzzle because it has a metaphor about piecing together the whole picture to understand the original meaning.
Thank you for your attention!
Additionally, I extend my gratitude to Mauricio for the elective and to my classmates for providing valuable feedback.
