Disclaimer: I am in no way an expert in this thing. I just share my knowledge to you guys. Most of them are based on my experience. You are free to use my poster as an inspiration or basis for your own.
I made this poster based on my own interpretation of the theme itself. I haven't read the talking points given by the National Nutrition Council prior to making this poster because it was just posted recently but if you're going to make your poster, it's best if you read the talking points because from there, you will get a clearer idea on what the theme is really about.
NNC Talking Points
Well, like I said I haven't read the talking points. I've checked the Internet several times but it wasn't available yet. I must've missed it when they posted it. My bad. That's why my poster lacks the details that are specified in the objectives (Source: Nutrition month 2017 talking points):
The campaign aims to increase awareness on the importance of healthy diets which protects against both under- and overnutrition and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension, diabetes, cardio-vascular diseases and certain types of cancer. Specifically, this year’s campaign aims to:
1. increase awareness on the importance of healthy diets to prevent malnutrition and contribute to the reduction of overweight and obesity and non-communicable diseases,
2. help the public distinguish between healthy and unhealthy foods for better food choices;
3. encourage the food industry including farmers, manufacturers, distributors and food establishments to produce and make available healthier food options; and
4. advocate for the enactment of national and local legislation/policies supportive of an enabling environment for healthy diets.
Like I always emphasize, it's important to read the talking points in order not to miss these important factors. Likewise, the five keys to a healthy diet by the WHO were also given emphasis in the talking points. These are as follows:
1. Breastfeeding babies and young children
2. Eat a variety of foods
3. Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits
4. Eat moderate amounts of fats and oils
5. Eat less salts and sugars
1. Breastfeeding babies and young children
2. Eat a variety of foods
3. Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits
4. Eat moderate amounts of fats and oils
5. Eat less salts and sugars
I guess, by luck, I have satisfactorily illustrated those five keys in my poster.
Materials Used
These are the materials that I have used when I made this poster:
Disclaimer: I am in no way connected or affiliated to any of the brands I have used. This will be an honest review on why I have chosen to use them.
- Pilot marker (fine) - The quality isn't that bad and besides, I've been used to using this. It isn't the best for tracing because it kinda has a huge tip but it still did its job.
- Mongol 2 pencil - For sketching. Any pencil will do as long as it's not that dark. Don't make the tip too sharp so that you don't shred the paper and leave a dented mark.
- Faber castell eraser - I love this eraser! The lead comes off completely and doesn't stick in the eraser so the paper is clean after erasing the sketch.
Materials I used for the 2017 nutrition month sample poster.
- Sakura cray-pas - More costly than Golden oil pastels but the quality is great. Colors are vibrant and blends incredibly well because its softness is just right. Price was around 160 PHP. I wanted to buy the 8 or 12 colors one but they're out of stock so I had no choice
- Cattleya Sketch pad (size 10.5" x 15") - I bought it because it's cheaper for 50 pages. The price was 178.50 PHP in National Bookstore. Also, the paper quality is just right for me. The surface of the paper was kinda rough just the way I like it. Why, you ask? Because I learned through experience that paper with rough surface holds the oil pastel/craypass well. When I blend using my fingers, the color doesn't come off completely. In smooth surface, the color almost completely comes off and it's irritating. I didn't use a sketchpad in my previous posters but now I decided that I needed one for easier compilation. Besides, less clutter.
Keywords and Rough Draft
STEP 1. I always begin my poster by writing the theme in a piece of paper and picking out the important key words. After which, I write symbols and drawings that will represent these keywords.
The theme goes Healthy Diet: Gawing Habit -- For Life. These are the keywords I have picked from the theme and the symbols and drawings that may represent them:
Healthy diet - nutritious foods
Health - caduceus, stethoscope, heart, healthy people
Habit - calendar, clock
For life - tree of life, cycle of life, cycle in arrows, people in different age groups, life cycle
STEP 2. This includes a rough draft of the elements (the symbols and drawings). I will arrange them in an order that will give them a connection to each other; in a way that they will be able to tell the story of the poster (that is the theme itself). I will do versions of this, as many as I can, playing with the different representations or elements.
STEP 3. I choose which of the rough drafts I'm going to use for the poster. Start the sketching, then trace with a marker.
Make the sketch light so that it's easy to erase and make revision as need arises.
Note: Some competitions have specific guidelines. Some only allow 3 colors plus black, with blending allowed. Others don't even allow blending. Some allow marker, some don't. In order to prevent disqualification, please consult the guidelines first. You can ask your teacher or the cultural coordinator of your school for a copy. Take note that they vary from school to school or from competition to competition.
Work in Progress
So here are the shots of my poster as I progressed. Sorry for the bad photo quality. Some of them were taken at night time so they aren't that clear.
When I color using cray-pas or oil pastels, I start with the light colors first, then going to darker ones. This is to make the poster cleaner. Also, it saves time because you get to cover multiple elements and drawings without changing colors. After which, I use black to add shadows (as seen in the 7th WIP photo).
Here's a closer look at the shadows I'm talking about:
It's up to you if you wanna use black to give shadows to your elements. It's okay if you don't wanna add shadows. It takes practice before you can do it without making your poster look messy. Don't overdo it. Black tends to make the poster dull if there's too much shadow.
The last step is for the finishing touches. Adding highlights here, shadows there, fixing a rather lighter shade of green to make it pop, cleaning the smudges, etc.
Poster Interpretation
So what does my poster mean?
As you can see, there is a tree of life in the center of the poster. It represents the for life keyword.
In each space in between the tree trunks you can see the life of a person, from within the womb, to being a baby (breastfeeding), to being a child, an adult, and until she already has a family of her own. All the while she was eating healthy foods, making it a habit in her entire life.
If we go back to the WHO five keys to a healthy diet, I incidentally 😆 added them to the poster.
🗹 Breastfeeding babies and young children
🗹 Eat a variety of foods
🗹 Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits
🗹 Eat moderate amounts of fats and oils
🗹 Eat less salts and sugars
The clock hands in the middle of the tree of life is just there to emphasize that the tree is about life or time or habit for some who doesn't know the tree of life symbol. The spoon and fork? Well, food! At the top, there's caduceus and a heart for health.
That's pretty much it. I only give myself 5/10 for the finished product. It didn't turn out as I expected.
How to Download
I have disabled right click in my blog so you cannot save my work using "right click" and "save as." If you want to download or save my work in your own computer or phone, click the banner below.
Important: Please read the download instructions in order to know how to download it properly. There is no password for the 2017 nutrition month poster.
Comments? Suggestions?
I tried to be as detailed as I can. While typing this, I could feel that my fingers are still sore from rubbing and blending the colors yesterday. 😄
You guys can use this poster as reference in making your very own. Feel free to modify and add and/or eliminate elements to make yours even better than this.
Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you learned something. Feel free to share your suggestions and questions in the comments section below.
