Illustration and Visual Narrative | Task 1 :Exercises 1 & 2
28.03.2022 - 02.05.2022 | Week 1 - Week 5
Yap Sze Ying | 0349172
Bachelor of Mass Communication (Hons) Digital Media Production
Typography | Task 1 Exercises 1 & 2
LECTURES
Week 1 | Introduction & Briefing
Week 2 | Character Design Basics
Week 4 | Composition Theory 1_Visual Types and Shots
Lecture Report 3_Visual Study Visual Types and Shots
Lecture Report 4_Visual Study Fore, Middle and Background
INSTRUCTIONS
Final submission
For the first week of the session, Ms Noranis and Mr Hafiz give a warm welcome to new semester students. After a brief introduction, Ms Noranis briefed us on the tasks and projects we'd be doing throughout the semester, including character design, poster design, animated GIFs, and motion comics. Following that, we taught the fundamentals of drawing shapes with the pen tool (Adobe Illustrator) utilizing a website called "Bezier game" for practical purposes. Lecturers were also instructed to create an "E-Portfolio" blog which will be used to document the learning process for entire modules and the submission for assignments, including visual information from my works, drawings, photos, designs, etc. Apart from that, we had recently been given the task of sketching out our first exercise, the Vormator Challenge. To summarise, the Vormator Challenge requires us to create a unique or 'inspired by' character whereas only utilizing 8 different shapes provided. They also encouraged us to conduct some character research to prepare for the task.
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| Figure 1.0 Vormator Challenge Shapes (2nd April 2022) |
In this week's session, we'll be continuing to get directly into sketching using Adobe Illustrator. Mr Hafiz guides us on how to use the Pen Tool on sketching the 8 Vormator Challenge Shapes step by step. Following that, Ms Noranis gave us a lecture on "Character Design Basics," which will help us with our Vormator Challenge. For the Vormator Challenge, we should concentrate on creating characters with a stylized design approach. Stylized design is defined as representing or designing according to a style or stylistic pattern, or conforming to a conventional style specifically.
3 Principle of Stylised Designs
- Iconic - Characters that could be recognized even in black silhouettes
- Simplified - Easy to digest and understand the purpose of the characters
- Unique - Characters are not only memorable but make an impact on the viewers
In addition, we learned about the principle of character design including shapes, color, emphasis, contrast, harmony, and expressions/poses. These principles were mostly used to develop a character's principle in our design. To finalize our lecture, we were assigned the task of writing a report on character design for an animated cartoon or animate character, analyzing how the character design elements related to their personality and story in the media.
-Week 2 Character Design Basics-
Lecture Report 1_Visual Study Character Design Basics
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Mirabel Madrigal is a fictional character who appears in Encanto's film (2021). In this film, Mirabel is portrayed as an imperfect, quirky but compassionate, and empathetic 15-year-old girl who is the only Madrigal family member who does not acquire a magical gift. Besides, Mirabel's clothes are the only ones in the Madrigal family that appear to be handcrafted as shown in this film. Mirabel's appearance, as the odd one out in her family, lacks a color palette that connects her to the Casita. On the other hand, Mirabel's outfit incorporates almost all of her family's colors, rendering her easily recognizable from the other characters since she's the one who stood out.
Mirabel has portrayed the principle of its design based on the lecture about 'Character Design Basic' from week 2. The appearance of Mirabel including her curly black hair, large eyeglasses, and skirt, represented a colorful and harmonious character which reflects Mirabel's free-spirited and vibrant personality. Besides, Isabela Madrigal, Mirabel's sister is known for being graceful, beautiful, and even “perfect”, both inside and out by everyone. Isabela's demeanor is always "perfect," in contrast to Mirabel's motion in this film.
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| Figure 2.1 Mirabel's skirt (10th April 2022) |
When the emphasis is on Mirabel's skirt, the design of her skirt with different symbols represents each member of her family and conveys her love for them. In addition to this, the incorporation of her family's gifts on her skirt also shows her Madrigal pride and quickly indicates what type of character she is, not being resentful or envious of her family and actively supporting them in their gifts. Her full name is sewn on the skirt, as well as her face wearing her glasses as a way of demonstrating that she lacks a gift. Furthermore, pink tassels on her skirt are also presented to symbolize her wish to be recognized.
Week 3 | Chiaroscuro
In this week's session, we'll continue sketching with Adobe Illustrator. Mr Hafiz showed us how to utilize the Shape Builder tool in Illustrator, which is a powerful tool that allows you to subtract and add to simple shapes to build more complex shapes. Besides that, Mr Hafiz also taught us how to use illustrator's pathfinder to combine objects into new shapes and how to use 'saturate' to set the percentage by which to decrease or increase the color or the spot-color tint. Ms Noranis then gave us a lecture on "Chiaroscuro," which is the use of light and dark to create the illusion of three-dimensional volume on a flat surface (light-dark in Italian terms).
Chiaroscuro refers to clear tonal contrast to suggest three-dimensional volume and modeling of objects and figures in paintings. In addition, the purpose of chiaroscuro is to increase the scene's dramatic tension by exaggerating the subjects' importance using color or light contrast. Two types of chiaroscuro are 'Tenebrism' and 'Low-key lighting'.
In the visual narrative, chiaroscuro is used to differentiate positive (refers to the subject matter or object of interest in a visual) versus negative spaces (refers to the filled space or background that surrounds the subject matter or object of interest in a visual).
- Increase dramatic tension - Gives thrilling emotive depth to the look and feel of the scene
- Create sectional effect - Helps elevate fantastical viewpoints to emphasize the narrative
- Attract attention - Establish visual hierarchy, the main point of the scene
- Make tasteful composition - The play on negative VS positive spaces creates attractive scenes
-Week 3 Chiaroscuro-
Lecture Report 2_Visual Study Chiaroscuro
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"We Don't Talk About Bruno" is a song from Disney's 2021 computer-animated musical feature film Encanto, with music and lyrics written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Walt Disney Records released it as part of the film's soundtrack on November 19, 2021.
"We Don't Talk About Bruno," a song filled with gossip and anecdotes about Mirabel Madrigal's ostracised uncle Bruno, whose gift of seeing the future has been associated with misfortune and has left him estranged from the rest of the family, sees some of the family members and the townsfolk explain to Mirabel why they don't talk about Bruno. The song implies that Bruno is a villain, but it sheds the narrative structure forms of Disney villain songs by listing other characters' perspectives on the villain and implying that some characters sympathize with him.
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| Figure 3.1 Mirabel's scene (20th April 2022) |
Mirabel Madrigal is trying to solve the mystery of the glowing shards of etched glass she discovered in this scene. It demonstrates that light and dark are used to create an emotional and atmospheric effect, as she is surprised to realize a vision of herself and a cracked house in the glowing shards. The purpose of the scene is to increase the dramatic tension by exaggerating Mirabel's emotional reaction to the bright contrast against a black background. In addition to this, the glowing shards reflected Mirabel's face, and the focus point on her face was brightly colored to accentuate his shocked expression.
On the other hand, this scenario emphasizes the positive and negative spaces in chiaroscuro. First and foremost, Mirabel was exaggerating her surprised expression to heighten the dramatic tension while also providing thrilling emotional depth. Besides that, it has a sensational effect that helps to elevate the fantastical viewpoints emphasized in this song. For instance, the glowing shards in the scene reflect the usage of black as a background color and the focus point on Mirabel's face. This scene also attracts the viewer's attention by establishing a visual hierarchy in this song for Mirabel's emotional expression. Last but not least, Mirabel's expression creates attractive scenes that compel viewers to wonder what she's seeing from the glowing shards.
We'll learn how to sketch parts with Adobe Illustrator on a chiaroscuro exercise in this week's session. Mr Hafiz guided us through a step-by-step process of sketching 'pear' in a variety of ways, including adding shadows, color contrast, duplicate shapes, etc. The following are illustrations of my work:
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Ms Noranis then gave us a lecture on 'Composition theory 1 Visual Shots', which means the arrangement of the elements in visual design. For example, end up making conscious decisions about what items to include or exclude each time take a photo. The most challenging part of the composition is how to arrange the elements visually effectively that bring out meaning.
4 Basic Composition Visual Rules
- Visual Narrative - Visual in the scene complements all aspects of the narrative
- Visual Flow - The scene has a clear flow of visuals that directs viewers' eyes
- Visual Balance - The visuals in arrange to balance the composition in the scene
- Visual Hierarchy - Visuals are arranged in such ways that direct the viewer's eyes to specific details first
6 Different types of Shots
- Establishing
- Bird's Eye view (Overhead Shot)
- Frame within a frame
- Medium Shot (Three-quarters Shot)
- Close-up
- Worm's Eye view
-Week 4 Composition Theory 1_Visual Types and Shots-
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| Figure 4.1 Different Types of Shots (23rd April 2022) |
Week 5 | Composition Theory 2_Fore, Middle & Background
In this week's session, we'll continue learning how to sketch parts with Adobe Illustrator using a chiaroscuro exercise. Mr Hafiz guided us through a step-by-step process of sketching 'people' in a range of ways in addition to learning further about chiaroscuro techniques, including adding shadows and textures, creating clipping masks, etc. The illustrations below are the process of my works:
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Ms Noranis then gave us a lecture on 'Composition Theory 2 Fore, Mid and Background', which refers to how an image is put together in such a way that it grabs the attention of the audience. An effective sense of space will communicate a sense of scale to the viewer when composing a scene. Design Flow is a good visual focus arrangement that utilizes foreground, middle ground, and background to indicate movement and rhythm in design. A design with a good flow would also lead the viewer's eye throughout the layout. Visual will influence the way the viewer digest your content which is especially important in interface and information design types (combine type, line, contrast, color, and imageries).
3 Different types of Planes
- Foreground - Objects that are nearest to the viewer (size differences & color contrast)
- Middle-Ground - Objects in between foreground and background (size differences & light/shadow contrast)
- Background - Objects that are the furthest away from the viewer (shapes & light/shadow contrast)
-Week 5 Composition Theory 2_Fore, Middle & Background-
Moana - How Far I'll Go
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| Figure 5.1 Foreground shows the character "Moana" singing (2rd May 2022) |
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| Figure 5.3 Background shows the song with a scene from Moana Island (2rd May 2022) |
INSTRUCTIONS
<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vy9etdLfISzBrPXxb0v4VCoGgWmfagko/preview" width="640" height="480" allow="autoplay"></iframe>
Task 1: Vormator Challenge
Each student requires to create ONE unique character utilizing the eight shapes provided for this task. Start with a rough sketch of the character before continuing to Adobe Illustrator to finish the design. It's also suggested to give the character a name that has its own story.
Notes:
- Allowed to rotate, flip and duplicate the shapes
- Not obliged to use all the shapes
- Scaling is allowed, but only proportionally, so no skewing or free transformation, cannot alter the original shapes!
- Can add, subtract, intersect, and group elements as you see fit
- The use of color is unrestricted, can create your own color schemes
- Allowed to use gradients
- No strokes allowed
- Background is not necessary
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| Figure 1.0 Vormator Challenge Shapes (16th April 2022) |
Visual Research
Exercise 1 Vormator Challenge
A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology, and religion. Monsters are typically portrayed as dangerous and aggressive creatures with a bizarre, deformed look that inspires fear and terror. Monsters frequently resemble odd, deformed, otherworldly, and/or mutated animals or wholly distinct creatures of varied sizes, but they can also adopt human forms, such as mutants, ghosts, and spirits, zombies, or cannibals. They may or may not possess supernatural abilities, but they are usually capable of killing or creating destruction, posing a danger to the social or moral order of the human world. These are some of my character design inspirations:
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| Figure 1.1 Cute monsters inspiration from Shutter Stock (22th April 2022) |
For the sketching parts, I tried to make the character look like a monster based on the website's inspiration. I selected blue as the predominant color to emphasize the character's appearance in winter. The character's ear is designed according to Goblin, the character's hair and hand use 'the tentacle' as a design element to show the furry appearance, and the character's eye utilizes gradient blue to make it more appealing. Aside from that, I added other elements to the character design, such as Gaussian Blur to make it more appealing.
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| Figure 1.2 Process of sketching (25th April 2022) |
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| Figure 1.4 Final Design of character 'Pewter Winter' (30th April 2022) |
-Final submission Exercise 1 Vormator Challenge (30th April 2022)-
Exercise 2 Vector Illustration
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| Figure 1.5 Game card inspiration from Graphic Buffet (25th April 2022) |
Based on my visual research, I chose to create a winter-themed game card that uses the same layout as the game card inspiration from Graphic Buffet. The game card's design is primarily simplistic, and the color scheme is confined to a single color, blue. Aside from that, I used a gradient effect to enhance the card look more unique and appealing, as well as to accentuate the central character. In addition, I drew some snowballs around the character to show his ability (Winter Blizzard) to freeze enemies by shooting them with snowballs. I also create some brilliant blue circles around the character to represent how he appears in the winter. 'Pewter Winter' has 200 hit points, indicating that he is a strong character who can absorb more damage in battle.
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| Figure 1.6 Game card's design (25th April 2022) |
Final submission
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| Figure 1.7 Final Design of Game Card (30th April 2022) |
-Final submission Exercise 2 Vector Illustration (30th April 2022)-
FEEDBACK
Week 1
General Feedback:
We were instructed on how to manage content on our E-portfolio which needs to be completely set up.
Specific Feedback: N/A
Week 2
General Feedback:
We were instructed on choosing an animated cartoon or animated character for the character design report.
Specific Feedback: N/A
Week 3
General Feedback:
We were instructed to choose one scene from any screen media (movie, drama series, animation) that utilizes chiaroscuro lighting - a style that emphasizes shadow and light for the chiaroscuro report.
Specific Feedback: N/A
Week 4
General Feedback:
We were instructed to sketch 'Pear' as a chiaroscuro exercise. Besides, we were also instructed to take pictures that depicted the six different types of composition including establishing, bird's eye view, frame within a frame, medium shot, close-up, and worm's eye view.
Specific Feedback: N/A
Week 5
General Feedback:
We were instructed to sketch 'People' as a chiaroscuro exercise and complete the Task 1 Vormator Challenge. Besides, we were also instructed to screen capture scenes from any video that portray the story's foreground, middle-ground, and background, and explain what design principles were applied for each visual, as well as how they affected the narratives.
Specific Feedback:
Ms Noranis commented on my blog that I'm on the good track and also have good technical skills that I should keep at it. Besides that, Ms Noranis said that the character design basics are good, and she loves the character Pewter Winter's expression. Ms Noranis also advised that I should utilize a bit bolder color exploration for the next task (Decisive Moment | Minimalist Poster).
REFLECTIONS
Experience
It's quite beneficial to keep track of my design when I utilised E-portfolio to document the weekly design progress. It was difficult for me in the Task 1 Vormator Challenge as it required me to create a unique character using only the 8 shapes provided. The weekly lecture report and exercises were really helpful to me in gaining a better understanding of the lecture material provided by the lecturer. Throughout these few weeks, I gained a great deal of knowledge regarding illustrations and how to properly portray them. It had been an interesting journey.
Observations
In these few weeks, I've been trying to get some inspiration from various characters on the website and have started sketching my character. Aside from that, I learned Adobe Illustrator's tricks and techniques, which have been useful in helping me create a unique character in a variety of ways. I've discovered throughout these exercises that there are a variety of design elements that go hand in hand with illustration and that it needed to be unique and appealing when displayed.
Findings
The Vormator challenge provided an excellent opportunity for me to practice shape building with limited elements as I'm new to designing characters and game cards. Overall, I had a lot of enjoyment completing this task throughout these exercises. I eventually realized that this module is primarily about self-exploration and inspiration in varying forms. We can only discover our style through a lot of investigation and sketches to produce a unique design. In addition to this, I realized that we should train ourselves to scrutinize every aspect while also severely critiquing our work to improve.
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