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A book for kids about the Great Pyramids of Giza
Initial inspirations
I wanted to do a book for kids with these in mind but in the end I did keep the element of small people in it
The small people were intially going to be aliens but I waited a bit with the small creatures idea until I had formed a plan for the book
Research
Figuring out the layout of the pyramids, what tools they used and materials. They used limestone for the outer parts and granite for the core. The outside of the pyramids was initially encased in white limestone and most likely had a capstone covered in gold. The blocks are held together with a mix of gypsum and limestone, forming a plaster like slurry to bind the blocks together. The tools they used consisted of hammers, chisels, copper saws, sleds and various measuring tools to refine the blocks.
Link to how they moved the sleds:https://physicsworld.com/a/did-slippery-sand-help-egyptians-build-the-pyramids/
Link to the materials they used to create paint:https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/paint-like-an-egyptian
I started to try out layouts and what I wanted to put in the book, then moved to making the first thumbnails, making more as I went on.
Beginning thumbnailing
Thumbnailing part 2
second rendition of ideas and figuring out the colours.
I wanted the targeted audience to be around 9-13 year old kids with good reading skills, interest in ancient egyptian art and all things cute.
Cover (unfinished)
The cover was inspired by the Eyewitness books on animals and anchient culture. The second book was used as a reference for the layout of the text and symbols. The cat, Bastet, is meant to be resting on a model of a pyramid (the cat's owner is one of the architects)
End pages
The end page design was inspired by murals of papyrus plants, the main ingredient to make papyrus paper in ancient Egypt and a common visual in their murals.
The last 2 thumbmnails and final board
Openings I chose and final work
The cover depicts the cat Bastet laying on a pyramid model made by her master and some mess she's made. The back has the scarab Kheper in his dung pyramid that he wished to build. I put in place holder names for an author and an illustrator. Im not very good at writing so the dialogue could have been a lot better.
The end pages are of papyrus reeds used to make papyrus paper and a common item in murals.
The two pages I chose talk about are the one about the tools and what they do and the paint and brushes that are used to create the murals that decorate the pyramids and how they are made.
I asked an 11 year old if they would read it and they found it very entertaining :)
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