Illustration and Visual Narrative- Task 1

 23/09/24 - 10/10/24 ( Week 1- Week 3)

Kek Kai Wei, 0363513

Illustration and Visual Narrative / Bachelor of Patisserie Arts ( Hons)

Task 1: Exercises and Lectures

---

Lectures

CLASS SUMMARY

Week 2

• This week, Mr. Hafiz briefed us on the requirements and objectives of this module.  The module aims to transform ideas into visual concepts, focusing on illustration communication techniques and workflows, while exploring relevant media and techniques.
• We learned about the workspace and tool panel in Adobe Illustrator.
• Mr. Hafiz provided an overview of the exercise and requirements for the Vormator Challenge.
• Introduction to Pen tool and Curvature tool.

Week 3

Character Design Basics

• Iconic

 Stylized designed characters are often iconic even in black silhouettes.

• Simplicity 

Due to simplicity of the design, which enables viewers to easily comprehend and grasp the purpose of the characters.

• Unique

Which, in turn, makes them unique characters that are not only memorable but also leave a lasting impact on the viewers.

👉 Character design principles 👈

Figure 1 

💠Shapes

Fig 1.2

- Identify a character from one another.

- Explore the possibilities of combining various interesting shapes in your design.

- Characters persona as the basis of the shapes for design.

🖌Color 

Fig 1.3

-Establish the basic roles of the characters. Colors play a crucial role in defining and distinguishing the characteristics of heroes, villains, and background characters.

Fig1.4

-Consider color psychology!!

Different colors evoke different emotions, making them easily relatable for viewers.

👾Emphasis contrast

- A good character stands out in design by emphasizing and contrasting visual elements.

👾Harmony

- Every element in your design should complement each other. All shapes, lines, colors, motifs, and patterns must be arranged tastefully.

👾Expressions, poses

- Expressive, emotive characters win the audience. Clear visualization of characters' behavior, quirks, and personalities makes It easier to appeal to viewers.

Week 4

Composition

Arrangement matters= Composition

• Composition means how thing are arranged in artwork.

First compositional technique

• Create a foreground, middle ground, background.
• This technique helps to create a sense of depth and highlight the different characters.

Fig 1.5 Foreground, Middleground and background example

Second Compositional technique : Symmetry

• An invisible line running in the middle
• Anything on the left of this line will be mirrored on the right.
• to create a balanced image that is pleasing to the eye.

Fig 1.6 Symmetry example

Third Compositional technique: Framing

• Use background to frame the character
• Draw attention to the character in the frame.
• Emphasize the character.

Final Composition technique

• Contrast you arrange two objects together and change characteristics to show how different they are.
• Show a clear difference between 2 characters.
• Create tension

Chiaroscuro //

• Use light and shadow to create the illusion of three-dimensional volume on a flat surface

Fig 1.7 CHIAROSCURO example.

• This technique uses strong contrasts of light and dark to create a sense of three-dimensionality and bring out the sculptural quality of objects and figures.
• The purpose of chiaroscuro is to enhance the dramatic effect of a scene and emphasize the prominence of the subject through contrasts of color or light.

Fig 1.8 Predominantly illuminated

TENEBRISM: 

• This is a painting technique that highlights important details such as the face and hands with bright highlights, creating a contrast against a predominantly dark background.

Fig 1.9 example of Tenebrism

• In other applications of chiaroscuro in visual arts, such as comics, films, and digital works, it serves as an artistic lighting technique that highlights the focal point or subject of the scene with bright colors.
• Low- Key Lighting: A lighting style used in photography, film, or television. This style emphasizes the contours of the subject by placing certain areas in shadow while using fill lights or reflectors to illuminate shadowed areas, thereby adjusting the contrast.

Fig 1.10 example of Low-Key Lighting

• In screen lighting for movies, you can see how they use lights to convey emotions.
• In screen lighting for movies, you can see how they use lights to convey emotions and create impactful scenes.
• Chiaroscuro is often applied in visual narrative because it effectively differentiates positive and negative spaces, making it an excellent lighting choice.

Fig 1.11 Chiaroscuro in visual narrative

• Positive space refers to the subject matter or object of interest that draws attention in a visual, while negative space refers to the filled space or background surrounding the subject matter or object of interest.

Purpose of Chiaroscuro:

Week 5: 

💁COMPOSITION THEORY 1// VISUAL TYPE AND SHOTS

• The arrangement of the element in your visual.

👉Introduction:

• The most challenging part of composition is arranging visual elements in a way that is both effective and meaningful.
• The composition of your shots should deliberately arrange the focus of the scene, allowing it to stand out even in the subtlest way.

COMPOSITION 1: VISUAL NARRATIVE 

• Your composition should work in harmony with your subject focus and convey the narrative.
• Envision the visual style and atmosphere of the scene, ensuring their emotions are aligned.

Fig 1: examples of visual narrative

COMPOSITION 1: VISUAL FLOW

 

• Your composition also influences the movement of the viewer's eye through the visual work.

Fig 1.1 examples of visual Flow

COMPOSITION 1: VISUAL BALANCE

• Although it is impossible to fully predict the viewer's visual path, designers or creators can influence and guide the viewer's attention and eye movement through composition and the arrangement of elements.

Fig 1.2 examples of visual balance

COMPOSITION 1：VISUAL HIERARCHY

• The way an artwork is expressed not only affects the audience's perception but can also have a profound impact on society and history.

Fig 1.3 example of visual hierarchy

📸Different type of shot: 

1. Establishing

Wide shots play a balancing role in films or works, presenting visual impact while ensuring that the audience can follow the progression of the story.

Fig 1.4 establishing shots

     2. Bird's Eyeview

It refers to the point of view being directly above the subject, positioned at an angle of approximately 90 degrees above the scene.

Fig 1.5 bird's eyeview shots

   3. Frame within a frame

• A well-composed frame within a frame can enhance spatial perception, add depth, and increase visual appeal.  
•  This effect can be achieved through the use of shapes in the foreground or background.  
• This technique can highlight the deeper meanings in your story while effectively breaking up the information in the frame, enhancing visual impact.

Fig 1.5 Frame within frame shots

   4. Medium Shot

• The three-quarters shot frames three-quarters of the character.  
• It is a standard camera angle.  
• It falls between a close-up and a long shot.

Fig 1.6 Medium shots

 

   5. Close-up

The close-up shot captures emotions by delving into a character's mind, allowing the audience to focus on the character's well-being and thoughts within a broader context.

Fig 1.7 Close-up shots

   6. Worm's eye view

The close-up shot reveals the character's inner emotions, allowing the audience to resonate with their well-being and highlighting feelings and thoughts within a broader context.

Fig 1.8 Worm's eye view

WEEK 5: 

💁COMPOSITION  THEORY 2:  PERSPECTIVE

• The art of depicting three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface aims to accurately convey their height, width, depth, and positional relationships with one another.

Construct Perspectives:

COMPOSITION 2 : One-point perspective

Draw objects from a single vanishing point on the horizon; the closer they are to the vanishing point, the smaller they become until they completely disappear.

Fig 1.9 one-point perspective

COMPOSITION 2: Two-point perspective

• There are vanishing points on both sides of the horizon, with objects and buildings in the scene drawn toward these two points. This enhances the sense of space in the scene and gives the objects a greater sense of dimension and placement.
• This network of lines allows objects to recede toward two different points, providing a more dynamic perspective than a single vanishing point.

Fig 1.10 Two-point perspective

COMPOSITION 2: Three-point perspective

• This perspective typically includes two vanishing points on opposite sides of the horizon (as in two-point perspective), along with a third vanishing point positioned high above or below the horizon.  
• This arrangement helps create a sense of drama and scale, or showcase more objects within a single scene.  
• If the third vanishing point is far from the horizon, the angle will appear less intense; however, if it is closer to the horizon, it will create a more exaggerated view.  
• The third vanishing point on the vertical axis provides a wider range of angles, allowing viewers to look down upon the city.

Fig 1.11 three-point perspective

COMPOSITION 2: Isometric View

The isometric view clearly displays three sides of a building without causing perspective distortion or obscuring details, thus helping to convey the design intent more accurately.

Fig 1.12 isometric view

COMPOSITION 2: Dynamic Application

Perspective in illustrations or scenes doesn't need to be strictly followed; designers can apply it flexibly to create more interesting and dynamic visual effects.

---

Instructions

<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-pGmPecEhdz5oz-PcdyT4Mvx-Kc9RRSU/preview" width="640" height="480" allow="autoplay"></iframe>

TUTORIAL AND PRACTICAL

Week 2 

This class is designed to help us familiarize ourselves with the basic tools in Illustrator: the Pen Tool and the Curvature Tool. First, Mr. Hafiz introduced us to a game called "The Bezier Game" and had us open it to play. The purpose of this game is to help us become familiar with and master the use of the Pen Tool and the Curvature Tool.

Fig 1.12 The Bezier Game

After completing the game, our next task was to open Adobe Illustrator and use the Pen Tool to trace the shapes of the Vormator.

- Pen tool and Curvature tool

Pen tool: used to create precise paths and shapes by placing anchor points and drawing straight lines or curves. 

Curvature tool: create smooth curves and straight lines easily by placing points, automatically generating curves between them.

Exercise: tracing Vormator shapes using the Pen tool

Fig 1.13 Vormator Shapes

Fig 1.14 Vormator shapes tracing

Week 3

Pathfinder and Shape builder:

Fig 1.15 Exercise

In the third week of class, Mr. Hafiz introduced us to the "Pathfinder" and "Shape Builder" tools. To help us better understand these functions, we were tasked with using them to trace the Adidas logo. These two tools will be used to fill and create shadow effects for our Vormator characters.

Week 4

Color and Gradient:

 

Fig 1.16 Exercise

This week, Mr. Hafiz first briefed us on the upcoming assignment, Task 2, and advised us to start with sketches for his review. After that, the main focus of the class was learning about color and gradient. Mr. Hafiz mentioned that if we need inspiration for colors, we can log in to Adobe Color, where we can explore various color schemes generated from different images. Additionally, we can upload our desired images to automatically generate the colors we need. Mr. Hafiz taught us how to use color and gradients in Adobe Illustrator to help us better understand color combinations and visual effects. Through hands-on practice, we learned how to create and adjust color palettes, use the gradient tool, and master the application of color fills and strokes.

Fig 1.17 The "water" image in Adobe Color.

---

TASK 1: Vormator Challenge Exercise ( Week 2- Week 3)

The Vormator Challenge is a design exercise that encourages participants to create artwork using a limited set of shapes and forms. The goal is to foster creativity and innovation by challenging designers to build complex designs from simple geometric shapes, often promoting the use of tools like Adobe Illustrator.

We were asked to create a black outline of a character using the provided Vormator shapes that we had drawn ourselves.

Challenge Guidelines and Rules:

• Use only the 8 Vormator shapes; rotation, flipping, duplication, and combination are allowed.
• No new shapes; creatively combine existing shapes.
• Experiment with colors and sizes while maintaining proportions.
• Develop a backstory and theme for the character design.

Example of Vormator Challenge: 

Fig 1.18 Monster world

1. Visual Research

Before seeking a series of inspirations, I first sketched some rough drawings to capture the ideal image of the creature.

Figure 1.19 very rough sketch

However, the sketches I drew did not meet my expectations and seemed to fail in capturing the ideal form of the creature I had in mind. So, I continue searched for inspiration.

👉Inspiration

• The nine- tailed fox

Fig 2.0 The nine-tailed fox

The nine-tailed fox is a Chinese mythical creature . The Southern Mountains in the Classic of Mountains and Seas says: "In the mountain of Qingqiu , there is a beast that looks like a fox but has nine tails." The Eastern Classic of the Overseas says: "The country of Qingqiu is to the north, and its foxes have four legs and nine tails." The Eastern Classic of the Great Wilderness says: "There is a country of Qingqiu, and there are foxes with nine tails." The Classic of Mountains and Seas describes the nine-tailed fox as having a cry like a baby. Although it eats people, eating it can also help people ward off evil spirits. -Taken from the Wikipedia page for the nine-tailed fox.

• Pangolins

Figure 2.1 Pangolins

Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters, are mammals of the order Pholidota. Pangolins have large, protective keratin scales, similar in material to fingernails and toenails, covering their skin. - Taken from the Wikipedia page from the Pangolins.

• Blue-eyed white cat

Figure 2.2 Blue-eyed white cat

This is a blue-eyed white cat. While it doesn’t have any other notable features, what I value most are its enchanting eyes.

Therefore, I continued my research, focusing on the structure of each part to ensure that my creation would not appear odd when presented.

The tail:

Figure 2.3 Nine-tailed

Scales：

Figure 2.4 scales of different creatures.

While researching scales, I noticed that most creatures, such as pangolins, snakes, fish, and mythical beings like dragons, typically have scales that are round or oval in shape. This observation inspired me to come up with a new idea: to design the scales in different shapes.

2. Design Exploration:

Based on my research on these three creatures, ideas gradually began to take shape in my mind. So, I translated these ideas into drawings.

Figure 2.5 Optimization of the draft

👀Process:

After gathering research materials and drawing a rough draft, I started designing in Adobe Illustrator. First, I used the Pen Tool to draw the cat's body and set the shapes aside. Then, I copied these shapes and combined them to create a complete cat body.

Making the tail and scales was a bit complicated. For the scales, I decided to use squares and circles. While working on the tail, I noticed the top looked empty, so I added a shape provided by my teacher to fill the gap. Although this was different from my sketch, I moved the tail to the back of the body and added the cat's eyes and nose. I didn't add a mouth because I couldn't find a suitable shape.

The last step was to add the scales. This part took some time because I had to arrange them in a row. After making some adjustments, I finally finished the design.

Figure 2.6 the outline of the character 

Next is the coloring part. I researched online to find colors that I was satisfied with. Most nine-tailed foxes are mainly all white or have a fire-red color at the tips of their tails. Since we were required to use no more than three colors, I chose white and black as the base colors, and finally added light blue to represent water. This aligns with my earlier idea of setting the nine-tailed cat as a water element creature. To avoid a cluttered appearance, I plan to deepen the colors in the later stages.

Figure 2.7 Character after colouring.

Final submission: The Nine-tailed cat's

<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EHlS6idEEoIsiezYunY7QsKXzVVnPyxi/preview" width="640" height="480" allow="autoplay"></iframe>

I named the creature I drew "the nine-tailed cat", It may appear fragile, but in reality, it is a highly intelligent creature that possesses both offensive and defensive abilities. Below is an introduction to the nine-tailed cat.

This nine-tailed cat's body is covered in blue, hard scales that can effectively resist enemy attacks. The scales have a smooth texture, like the surface of water, providing both strong defense and agility. Its nine tails are equipped with offensive abilities, able to move swiftly and precisely, striking like flowing water, showcasing its powerful water-based powers

SELF REFLECTION

This was my first experience with the theme of illustration. In the second week of the semester, I was asked to complete Task 1, the Vormator Challenge, by the third week. At first, I felt a lot of pressure, but I also saw it as a challenge. Although I have always loved drawing, I still felt some difficulty before starting this task.

Before I began the assignment, I kept searching for information, hoping to find the perfect monster in my mind. However, as I searched more, I started to feel confused. My emotions were all over the place during the preparation process. At first, I was excited and passionate about creating, but as time passed, I faced a lot of information and uncertainty, which made me feel anxious and worried that I wouldn’t meet the class requirements.

However, this research process allowed me to discover many different illustration styles. After finishing the assignment, I felt relieved. I realized that I had been too focused on perfection at first, but later learned to just “do my best.” I found that striving for perfection added a lot of pressure and made me feel restricted in my creativity.

Through this reflection, I understood the true meaning of the Vormator Challenge: it encourages students to explore different shapes and combinations, helping us realize that the creative process is more important than the final result. This experience has been very valuable for me, as I discovered many interesting and beautiful illustrations during my research, which provided me with a lot of creative inspiration.