Week 3 – The Paranoid Goat Sketches & Mood Board

We had a writing workshop where my group was given cards to create a story from.

This was the first story idea I wrote:

Synopsis:

A young girl befriends a troubled old magician and helps him work through his depression through the power of their friendship.

One year, a magician named Desmond visits a town where a young girl named Skye lives. Skye has been looking forward to the upcoming fayre for months, and seeing Desmond practicing his magic tricks at the local inn, she realises that the magician is unhappy. The other children are amazed by the magic tricks but are too scared of Desmond to go near him.

Although she knows not to talk to strangers, Skye plucks up the courage to begin talking to Desmond, who at first tries to ignore her, but then teaches her a simple trick in an attempt to satisfy her: making a handkerchief vanish up his sleeve. Skye notices the handkerchief is old and tattered, so she goes home and cuts a square off her favourite blanket to give to him as a replacement. Desmond is overcome with happiness at such a simple kind act, and tells her his story, that his wife died and sent him into a deep depression. Being able to finally express his pain and sorrow helps him to come to terms with it, and the next day at the fayre, Desmond’s magic tricks draw a huge crowd and fill them with warmth and joy. Grateful, Desmond promises Skye he will come back to visit her every year for the fayre.

Being not fully happy with my magician story, and through a chance conversation with someone, it made me think of how as a kid we had a family goat called Thistle who was scared of her reflection. Thinking further how this simple idea could make a great short story, there's nothing better than writing from real experience.

Thistle the Paranoid Goat

Thistle is a goat who goes on an adventure across town after being spooked by her own reflection, but eventually comes to face her fear.

A goat named Thistle is spooked by her reflection after noticing it in her water trough for the first time. She jumps out of her pen and runs off into the distance.

She finds a big delicious hay field where, after discovering her reflection again in a puddle, she jumps onto a hay bale and accidentally makes it roll down the slope, falling onto the puddle and hiding her reflection.

Wandering further, to a car park, Thistle is horrified by the multiple reflections in parked cars and the shadows of her cast by a pair of headlights. She runs in fear out into the street.

Seeing a full-size version of her reflection in a nearby shop window, Thistle has had enough and decides to confront her fears. She head-butts the window until it shatters into a thousand pieces, causing multiple reflections which cause her to run off again, straight into the back of an open van.

The van carries her back to the farm and Thistle is put back in her pen. Cautiously looking into the water trough one more time, she realises that the reflection was her all along and is relieved. At that moment, another goat pokes its head over the rim of the trough and bleats suddenly, causing Thistle to jump.

I really enjoyed visualising and bringing Thistle's character to life, and learning how to draw a goat but also how to show character through expression and body posture. To do this I researched goats and also sing character art for inspiration.
I've also tried to keep to Hokusai's art style, which I found more of a challenge working with a character but found I could imitate the way that he works with expression a bit in his characters as they are a bit exaggerated expression-wise.