About the project
To help 6-12 year old children understand the effect of climate change and the effect this has on tribes in the amazon rainforest.
To help 8-12 year old children understand the effect of climate change and the effect this has on tribes in the amazon rainforest, I co-created this story in a webcomic format. The amazon tribes and creatures have to deal with climate change and effects of the modern society, in a negative way. After watching the series of the BBC the animal planet, I was inspired to do something for the planet. I created a webcomic that tells the story of Hekura. An indian boy, that lives in a tribe deep in the Amazon rainforest who becomes a man.
Role
Narrative, Project manager, Development
Client
University, HKU
Date
Spring 2021
Project website
hekura.blackhound.nl
The story consists of 7 chapters, that were made with use of Twine - an application that can be useful for branching narratives. I used Twine as a way of quickly share and prototype my story and test the story with my target audience (children from 8-12).
The beautiful illustrations are done by Michelle Avis.
For the immersion and atmosphere I chose to add scenic music, with acoustical elements. After I asked my friend at the HKU Amber Veerman a list of Spotify songs she began to compose the music. After a few back and forths we came up with this result. Heads off to Amber!
Narrative
The narrative was created by me, the original story of Hekura was consisting of 7 episodes. To create choices in the story, I used a specific software that lets you easily build and publish branching stories: Twine, and edited by my Father: Ron Slot (robinmeesterverteller.com) who is a story teller himself.
Animations
To create the website and webcomic I made use of a javascript plugin: Greensock animation platform (GSAP). After getting used to how to animate the different images and add interaction, I loved creating the details. Some animations are a combination of image sequences (the camp fire) and the dancing at the tribe's village. For the mediation animation, the Shamaan needed to It was a first for me, to use the Canvas element. I followed a tutorial of Franks Laboratory's and came up with the pixel flow effect. The pixels that move follow the lighter pixels available on the page.
