Veronica J.

Victor
Director: Monica Larson
January 2015

Senior Capstone Proposal

Project Title
Snowfall

Project Description
My project is going to be a graphic novel. I will be writing and
illustrating the first volume of this series as a graphic novel. I would
then like to submit the story to Comixology, an online comic publishing
site, to see if they would accept my story.
The story is of a child abandoned by a wild and destructive creature
named The Snow faller, whose reign of terror has brought the
magical world they live in to its knees. As the girl, named Snow, is
adopted and raised by a kindly doctor, the powerful politician
Chairman Rose learns of Snows existence. He believes Snow to have
powers like her mother and sends his goons after her. Snow is now on
the run and faces many frightening and fantastical adventures in this
first half of her journey, encountering gods, talking animals and an
eye-stealing monster.
A good bit of this story is an allegory of the stock market crash and the
transition from the roaring twenties to the somber thirties. There are
themes of power, adoptive family, sacrifice, change and courage, as
well as the journey of childhood to adulthood.

What communication theory/theories will you research in

order to produce this project?
I am interested symbolism in stories, whether through objects (Snow
carries a red card given to her by her adoptive father. I would like her
to hold it whenever she is nervous), costume (Snow slowly
accumulates a wardrobe put together from things her friends have
made for her as sort of a suit of armor to face her fears), color (Green
tragedy, Blue hope, perseverance, Orange Fear of change, to name
a few) or parallels in dialogue, character and plot. I want my story to
feel layered and interesting, complex with attention to detail.

I will be studying some of my favorite dark fantasy films (The Fall,

Spirited Away, Pans Labyrinth) and classic childrens literature (The
Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland.) One in particular that has been a
big inspiration is Return to Oz, a dark fantasy film that combines
elements of horror with a whimsical setting and kind, sympathetic
characters. I will be researching these films as well as how they were
made and the inspirations of the creators.

List a minimum of five academic research sources you will use.

(Citations)
1. Botvin, Gilbert J., and Brian Sutton-Smith. The development of
structural complexity in childrens fantasy narratives. Developmental
Psychology 13.4 (1977): 377
2. Rockoff, Hugh. The Wizard of Oz as a monetary allegory. Journal
of Political Economy
3. Schwarz, Gretchen E. Graphic novels for multiple literacies. Journal
of Adolescent & Adult Literacy (2002): 262 265.
4. Terim, Peter. The Great Depression. (1994)
5. Carroll, Lewis. Alices Adventures in Wonderland. Broadview Press,
2011. (7 -50)

Describe the audience(s) for your project.

The storys genre is fantasy, with elements of drama and horror. The
demographic is pre-teens to young adults. I think this graphic novel
might fare better with a female audience, but it is intended for both
girls and boys.

What skills and/or technologies will you need to master in

order to produce this project?
I will need to refresh myself with using Comic Life, which I will be using
to make my graphic novel.

List the deliverables you will hand in with your project.

-

A copy of my final novel

Original concept drawings and original notes
Online/physical Portfolio

Schedule
-

Rough sketches, first 10 pages Feb 2th

Rough sketches second 10 pages Feb 6th
Rough sketches third 10 pages Feb 10th
First thirty pages inked and completed Feb. 20th
First ten pages, finished in Comic life Feb. 22nd
Twenty pages, finished in Comic Life Feb 25th
Thirty pages, finished in Comic life Feb 28th
Work on any clean-up/additions needed, proofread, finalize novel
March 1st
Poster work (picking image for poster board), printed out March
5th
Copies of Snowfall, printed and ready for presentation, poster
board finished, submit to Comixology March 15th