Stellar Magazine: For Kids!
Stellar Magazine is 20 pages filled with child-like wonder, interesting astronomy facts, short articles and activities. It is a workbook for middle grade children and those who are young at heart!
This was inspired by my childhood fascination with astronomy and science fiction. Each page is fully-illustrated in a colourful, whimsical style and includes a colour-it-yourself poster and a bonus sticker pack!
This project started with an idea: an approachable, fun and creative publication that will capture both my love of space and engage with young readers.
Stellar Magazine was inspired by a National Geographic magazine that I had as a kid, which had large, fold-out posters that I taped to the walls of my bedroom. I spent time staring at it and trying to memorize all of Jupiter's moon. My favourite is Enceladus.
This magazine is dedicated to those other nerdy little girls who also dream of the stars.
Development
Sketches for the cover design.
Wire frame sketches.
Poster Design sketches.
Stellar Magazine was created for the OCADU Illustration graduation show GRADEX 2023 Supervised by Professor Sadie Red Wing for the course Editorial Design: Authorship.
While the goal of this project was in design, I approached it as one large extended illustration. The blue background and star motifs carry through the entire piece. I drew it in a simple, swirly style using digital pencil brushes.
This course had the goal of developing a voice through design. Using layout, illustrations, and articles, Stellar Magazine aims to meld the worlds of STEM and art to make a creative experience for its readers.
Where credit is due...
Every article included was edited for length and adapted for Stellar Magazine.
‘What is a Planet’ from page 5 is an article from National Geographic Kids and was adapted for Stellar Magazine.
"So-called ‘Earth-like’ planets aren’t very much like Earth" was originally written by Bob McDonald for his CBC column Quirks & Quarks. It appears on page 11 of Stellar Magazine and was edited to suit a younger audience.
"Speaking from Space" was originally published by Time for Kids , written by Jeffrey Kluger, based on an interview between astronaut Nicole Mann and the Associated Press.
"Questions from Earth" comes from a Q&A published by Char-Koosta News, the Official News Publication of the Flathead Indian Reservation on Feb 2, 2023. The questions were poised by the Boys & Girls Club of the Flathead Reservation and Lake County.
"Another Sort of Solar Power" was adapted from a research project for an Astronomy course and written by Amelia Rankine. In its original form, it was a lot longer and more technical.
The listicle "How Are We Looking For New Life And New Civilizations?" was also written by Amelia Rankine for Stellar Magazine as a companion piece for "What is a Planet."
All illustrations are by Amelia Rankine.
All the games, design and layout are also by Amelia Rankine using Procreate, Adobe Illustrator and put together in InDesign.
Sticker Pack!
Promotional sticker pack that comes with the magazine.
Colour-it-yourself poster on the middle fold of the magazine.
Digital Magazine:
