Worry Monsters

Within my creative design practice module, I have been busy in creating a children’s picturebook based on ‘worry monsters’, a product which encourages children to openly express their emotions. The subject for my topic was based on the current climate. More specifically, how this event has left many children feeling even more vulnerable, worried and anxious. I wanted to create a product which would positively encourage children to speak about these emotions and learn how to cope with them. I chose to base my picturebook on monsters. From my initial research, I discovered that children visualise their worries as either ghosts, monsters or as imaginary creatures. Therefore, I wanted my product to depict worry through this interpretation. In other words, through the child’s mind, something which they can visually engage with and relate to.

The main message of my story teaches children that:

‘Everyone has a worry monster from time to time, they come in lots of different shapes and sizes. Some monsters can be worse than others. We can pretend we don’t see them, but as much as we try to hide them, they can still find a way to escape’. In other words, this small message teaches children that they can’t bottle up their worries forever. Eventually, they’ll find a way to escape. The only way to get rid of a worry is to talk about it.

So far, I have made good progress with my story. I have been challenged both artistically and creatively. Not only have I been illustrating the story, but also writing it. With this said, the creative writing aspect has really pushed my capabilities. Although this subject doesn’t come naturally to me, I’ve surprisingly enjoyed the process. I’ve discovered that writing picturebooks is just as fun as illustrating them.

For the remainder of this project, I’m also planning to create some further educational resources to encourage children to express their emotions. I’m possibly looking to develop a small monster toy/ learning object to go alongside the story. This is where I’m hoping to incorporate textiles and interiors into my work, a medium which I’ve briefly experimented with in a previous project. Im going to continue experimenting with my work and see where this leads me.