George and the Dragon Development: Plot and Character Designs

Katy and I sat down to design the characters, discussing features such as fitting the designs to the correct time period and making them accessible and fitting for the younger target audience. Though unplanned, working out the designs informed our plot (and vice versa).

Main plot points:
- George is working in the local stables, tending to and grooming the horses.
- She hears stories of a princess trapped in a tower just through the woods out of town, guarded by a fierce dragon.
- She watches knight after knight set off through the woods to rescue the princess, and return telling stories of the dragon that forced them back.
- When she's grooming one of the knights' horses, she notices that the horse has no signs of being near dragon fire like the knight had described. More so, the horse barely showed signs of being far into the forest...
- She notices more and more inconsistencies in the stories.
- Determined to prove herself right, she sets off to see if the stories are true.
- When looking for a horse to carry her the long distance, she finds it too risky to steal one, so ends up settling for Matilda (Tilly), one of her father's dairy cows.
- She travels through the woods and as she nears the edge she begins to hear growling and stomping from the apparent dragon. She finds discarded armour from the cowardly knights along the way.
- When she finally arrives, she finds the dragon to be a sweet, happy cutie! And the princess seems to adore him! George gets talking to the princess and explains what the townspeople think and what the knights had said about her dragon. The princess is hurt by this, so decides to join George in her mission to prove the liars of the town wrong.
-They ride back into town on Tilly, dragon in tow, and have fun spooking all the townspeople, before explaining the situation and letting the princess find new friends!