Illustration and Visual Narrative - Task 1: Exercises
⭐ 25/9/2023 - 2/11/2023 (Week 1 - Week 6)
🎀 Yan Zhi Xuan | 0369425
💜 Illustration and Visual Narrative | Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media | Taylor's University
📚 Task 1: Exercises
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Lectures
2. Instructions
My work documents are in Google Drive.
1. LECTURES
WEEK 1 (27/9/2023): CHARACTER DESIGN BASICS
Character Design Basics
- Stylized Design: Interesting narratives and lore writing, Appealing characters.
1. Iconic: The audience can immediately recognize them even in black silhouettes!
2. Simplicity: This is because the simplicity of the design allows viewers to digest and understand the purpose of the characters easily.
2. Unique: In return makes them unique characters that are not only memorable, but makes an impact on the viewers!
Fig. 1.1 Stylized Design.
Principles of Character Design
1. Shapes: Think iconic. Add some weight to their personality.
2. Colour: Establish the basic roles of the
characters. Think Colour psychology.
3. Emphasis, contrast: Exaggerate to memorise.
4. Harmony: Every element in your design should complement
each other.
5. Expressions, poses: Expressive emotive characters, win the audience.
Fig. 1.2 Principles of Character Design.
WEEK 2 (4/10/2023): CHIAROSCURO
Chiaroscuro
- An Italian term which means 'light-dark'.
- In paintings, the technique refers to clear tonal contrast to
suggest three-dimensional volume and modelling of objects and
figures.
- Purpose: increase the scene’s dramatic tension by
exaggerating the subject’s importance using colour or light
contrast.
- Tenebrism: A term derived from the Italian 'tenebroso' which means darkened and obscuring. A predominantly dark setting.
- The focus point or subject of a scene is brightly coloured.
- Contrasted with a Dark Background (Low-key lightning).
- Convey emotional image: Don Vito Corleone, a character rarely displays emotions, exemplifies this when he sends Sonny's body to the funeral home director, who owes him a favour.
- Create impactful scenes: Coppola and Kubrick are known to use this approach in their movies and these scenes are the most memorable ones in screen media history.
Fig. 1.3 The Matchmaker (Honthorst, 1625).
Reasons That Chiaroscuro is used in visual narrative
- This method is an excellent lightning choice to differentiate
positive vs negative spaces.
- Positive Space: Refers to subject matter or object of
interest in a visual.
- Negative Space: Refers to the filled space or background of
the surrounding subject matter or object of interest in visual.
Fig. 1.4 Positive space VS Negative space.
Fig. 1.5 Reasons That Chiaroscuro is Used in Visual Narrative.
WEEK 3 (11/10/2023): COMPOSITION THEORY 1
Composition Theory 1/ Visual Types and Shots
- Arrange the elements in your visual effectively and the answer is to arrange them in a way that brings out meaning.
Fig. 1.5 Basic Composition Visual Rules.
Different Types of Shots in The Scene
1. Establishing: (Wide shots) used to establish the setting, portray spectacle, and provide ample information for audiences to fully appreciate the splendour and grandeur of a location.
2. Bird's Eyeview: Overhead shots (vertical shots), the
subject's perspective is directly above the scene, typically at a
90-degree angle.
3. Frame Within a Frame: Can fracture screen space, add
depth, and create visual interest in the cinematic
compositions.
4. Medium Shot: Also called a 3/4 shot which, obviously frames three-quarters of the character.
5. Close-up: Capture a character's mind, emotions and
thoughts within a larger context, enhancing the overall emotional
investment.
6. Worm's Eyeview: When looking up, objects look tall, strong, and mighty while the viewer feels childlike or powerless.
WEEK 4 (18/10/2023): COMPOSITION THEORY 2
Composition Theory 2/ Perspective
1. One-point perspective: Draws objects from a
single horizon point, shrinking as they approach the vanishing
point.
2. Two-point perspective: Uses vanishing points on either side of the horizon. Enhances the sense of space and dimension.
3. Three-point perspective: A vanishing point, typically two on opposite sides of a horizon,
combined with another high above or below it, is used to create
drama and scale in a scene.
4. Isometric view: For creating detailed concepts of individual buildings, it’s more
beneficial to use a simple isometric view, since it allows you to
clearly present three sides of your design without distorting
perspective or obscuring details.
5. Dynamic application: Perspective is versatile and can be applied to various
illustrations or scenes, but it doesn't have to be rigid or strict;
experiment with different perspectives.
Fig.1.1 Las Meninas (Ladies in Waiting) is a 1656 painting
in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, by Diego Velázquez, the leading
artist of the Spanish Golden Age. Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKRKrpz09Fk
2. INSTRUCTIONS
This module aims to introduce the students to the process of creating visual concepts from ideas and its pictorial communication to an audience in the form of illustrations. Through studio assignments and demonstrations, students will understand the history of visual communication, the essential skill of telling stories via images and the work processes of professional illustration. A variety of relevant media, materials and techniques are explored. Lectures on the working methods of successful illustrators will support the practical aspects.
Task 1: Exercises (20% - Individual)
Time Frame: Week 1 - Week 4
Description: In Class Exercises. Digital and Analogue. To show competencies in; tacit making skills, digital proficiencies as well as analogous abilities. You will be provided with some techniques for exploration of the digital and analogue medium. Assessment is done on a weekly basis.
Learning Goals:
1. Generate and communicate design concepts and solutions through manual and digital skills effectively and skillfully. (LO1)
2. Use creative thinking skills and methodologies to explore, generate and test a wide range of conceptual ideas. (LO2)
3. Use information and communication technology to source navigate, select, retrieve and manage information. (LO3)
Doc. 2.1 Module Information Booklet - Illustration & Visual Narrative.
3. CASE STUDY 1: MALIKA FAVRE (WEEK 1 - 27/9/2023)
Malika Favre
- French illustrator and graphic artist based in
Barcelona.
- Her bold, minimal style – often described as Pop Art meets
OpArt – is a striking lesson in the use of positive/negative space and
colour.
- Her unmistakable style has established her as one of Europe’s most
sought-after graphic artists. Malika’s clients include The New Yorker,
Vogue, BAFTA, Sephora and Penguin Books, amongst many others.
4. LAB 1: THE PEN TOOL (WEEK 1 - 27/9/2023)
Goal of this exercise: Learn how to use the Pen Tool to trace over pre-existing pictures, drawings, or hand-drawn artwork to turn it into editable vector graphics. This can be used to transform raster images into vectors that are high-quality and scalable.
Reflection: I learned how to use Pen Tool with the
shortcut keys Shift and Alt.
5. TASK 1: VORMATOR CHALLENGE (WEEK 2 - 4/10/2023)
Goal of this challenge: Provide each designer with an
opportunity to demonstrate his talent for producing a beautiful
piece.
Reflection: I learned from this ultimate challenge to create artwork with
creativity, every shape has the potential to build a creative
artwork.
Fig. 5.1 Tracing Vormator shapes
Fig. 5.2 Silhouette/ character proportion and final outcome.
Fig. 5.3 The story behind the character.
Fig. 5.4 Experimental designs.
6. LAB 2: CHIAROSCURO/ LIGHT & SHADOW (WEEK 3 - 11/10/2023)
Goal of this exercise: create a sense of depth, volume, and three-dimensionality in designers' digital artwork.
Reflection: I learned how to use the Pathfinder Tool. It is useful to create irregular shapes.
Concept of chiaroscuro: Means 'light-dark'. Refers to clear tonal contrasts that are frequently employed to imply the volume and modelling of the subjects portrayed.
Shape modes: Unite, Minus Front, Intersect,
Exclude
Pathfinders: Divide, Trim, Merge, Crop, Outline, Minus
Back
Compound shapes Hold down Alt when
clicking on any Pathfinder commands to get a
compound shape.
Expand button: Press when want to remove the compound shape
to get the final shape.
Fig. 6.1 Chiaroscuro execise.
Fig. 6.2 Chiaroscuro execise.
Fig. 6.3 Chiaroscuro execise.
7. TASK 2: CHIAROSCURO/ LIGHT & SHADOW ON CHARACTER DESIGN (WEEK 3 - 11/10/2023)
Goal of this task: To create depth, dimension, and three-dimensional quality to characters, making them more visually striking and engaging.
Reflection: I learned Chiaroscuro can be a storytelling tool. It guides the viewer's eye to specific areas of the character.
Fig. 7.1 Experimental designs.
8. COLOURS AND BLENDING MODES (WEEK 4 - 18/10/2023)
Goal of this exercise: Know how to create visual impact, convey emotion, improve realism, and enhance texture and details.
Reflection: I learned that the use of colours and blending modes in design can have a profound impact on the visual appeal, mood, and message of the artwork.
Fig. 8.1 Colour blending exercise.
9. TASK 3: TEXTURE ON CHARACTER DESIGN (CLIPPING MASK) (WEEK 4 - 18/10/2023)
Goal of this task: Emphasize design elements, tell a story about the character, and convey the character's personality.
Reflection: I discovered the characters can be given more visual intricacy and appeal without overpowering the design by using clipping mask patterns. They give the image an additional level of richness and detail that can captivate the audience.
Fig. 9.1 Texture on character.
Fig. 9.2 Textures in design.
Fig. 9.3 Work in Illustrator.
Fig. 9.4 Final Outcome.
10. TASK 4: VORMATOR CHARACTER DESIGN - POKEMON CARD (WEEK 6 - 1/11/2023)
Fig. 10.1 Final Pokemon Card/ Vormator Card.
11. REFERENCE LIST & BIBLIOGRAPHY
Farve, M. (n.d.) 'Malika Farve'. [Online] Available at: https://www.malikafavre.com/ [Accessed: 11 October, 2023].
Ferguson, E. (2011) 'The Basics of Storytelling'.
The Daily Texan. [Online] Available at: https://thedailytexan.com/blogs/words-and-pictures/2011/10/23/the-basics-of-storytelling [Accessed: 11 October, 2023].
Gilmore, J. (2014) 'Top 10 Storytelling Basics'.
Story Science. [Online] Available at: https://storysci.com/2014/04/25/top-10-storytelling-basics/ [Accessed: 11 October, 2023].
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