Illustration and Visual Narrative / Task 1: Vormator Challenge

27.09.2023 - 3.11.2023 (Week1-Week6)
Gunn Joey / 0366122 
Illustration and Visual Narrative / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media

Taylor's University / Task 1

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LECTURES

WEEK 1 :

Character Design Basics

•  Iconic : Stylized designed characters are often iconic that you can immediately recognize them even in black silhouettes.

•  Simplicity : Simplicity of the design allows viewers to digest and understand the purpose of the character easily.

•  Unique : Not only memorable, but make impact on the viewer.

Principle of Character Design

Shapes

1. Silhouette 
It is used to identify a character from one another.

2. Think iconic 

 Explore the possibilities of combining different shapes for your design.

3. Add weight to personality

Use character's persona as the basis of the shapes for your design.

Colour

1.  Establish basic roles of the characters 

Colours plays an important role in determining and separate the basic characteristics of heroes, villains and even background characters.

2. Think color psychology

Different colours give impressions of different emotions and is easily relatable.

Emphasis, Contrast

1. Exaggerate to memorate

Emphasis and contrast visual elements to make design stands out with colours.

Harmony

1. Every elements in your design should compliment each other

- All shapes, lines, colour, motifs, patterns must be put together in a tasteful manner.

- How it reflects with the narrative of the characters.

Expressions, Poses

1. Expressive emotive characters, win the audience

Clear visualization of your character behaviours, quirks, personalities make it easier to appeal to viewers.

WEEK 2 :

Chiaroscuro

- The use of light and dark to create the illusion of three-dimensional volume on a flat surface.

• In paintings, the technique refers to clear tonal contrast to suggest three-dimensional volume and modeling of objects and figures.
• The purpose of chiaroscuro is to increase the scene's dramatic tension by exaggerating the subject's importance using colour or light contrast.
• A certain type of painting method in which significant details such as faces and hands are illuminated by highlights which are contrasted with a predominantly dark setting.
• In other application of chiaroscuro for visual artworks such as comic, film, digital works - focus point or subject of a scene is brightly coloured or contrast with dark background. 

Chiaroscuro is an excellent lightning choice to differentiate positive vs negative spaces.

What is positive space?

- refers to subject matter or object of interest in visual

What is negative space?

 refers to the filled space or background that surround subject matter or object of interest in visual.

1. Increase dramatic tension

Gives thrilling emotive depth on the look and feel in the scene.

2. Create sensational effect

Helps elevate fantastical viewpoints to emphasis on the narrative.
3. Attract attention

Establish visual hierarchy the main point of the scene.
4. Tasteful composition

The play on negative vs positive spaces creates attractive scenes.

WEEK 3 :

Visual Types and Shots

- Composition in design simply means the arrangement of the elements in your visual.

Basic Composition Visual Rules

1. Visual Narrative

The visuals in the scene complements all aspect of the narrative.

- complement subject focus and reflect the narrative

- Think of the look and feel of the scene.

2. Visual Flow

Has clear flow of visual that directs viewer's eyes.

3. Visual Balance

Balance the composition in the scene.

4. Visual Hierarchy

The visuals are arrange in such ways that directs viewer's eyes to specific details.

Different Types of Shots

1. Establishing

2. Bird's eyeview

3. Frame within a frame

4. Medium shot

5. Close-up

6. Worm's eye view

WEEK 4 :

Perspective

- The art of representing three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface so as to give the right impression of their height, width, depth, and position in relation to each other.

1. One-point perspective

- Drawing objects emerging from a single point on the horizon.

- As images get closer to the vanishing point the smaller they become.

2. Two-point perspective

- Help to create a greater sense of space in a scene.

- Help to give objects more of a sense of dimension and place.

- Place two vanishing points on the horizon and establish two sets of overlapping perspective lines fanning out from them.

3. Three-point perspective

- Two vanishing points on opposite sides of a horizon, but with the addition of another vanishing point high above or below the horizon.

- Useful to achieve a sense of drama and scale, or to show more objects in a single scene.

- Give a far broader range of angles, allow viewers to "look down" into your city.

4. Isometric view

- Clearly present three sides of your design without distorting perspective or obscuring details.

5. Dynamic application

- Mixing different perspective methods

WEEK 5 :

Fore, Mid and Background

• Foreground (nearest to the viewer)
• Middle-ground ( in between foreground and background)
• Background (furthest away from the viewer)

Use shapes, light/shadow contrast and size differences to highlight the main focus in foreground/middle-ground/background.

Design Flow

• A design with good flow will lead the viewers' eye throughout the layout.
• Able to influence the way the viewer will digest your content

WEEK 6 :

3-Acts Structure

Storytelling basics

Central theme : main idea or underlying meaning

1. Major theme

An idea that is intertwined and repeated throughout the whole narrative.

2. Minor theme

An idea that appears more subtly, and doesn't necessarily repeat.

Conflict : what creates tension and builds suspense

Characters

1. Central characters

The plot revolves around them

2. Protagonist

Main character of the story

3. Antagonist

Oppose protagonist, standing between them and their ultimate goals. (can be any person, place, thing, situation)

Three-acts Structure

1. Setup

2. Rising Tension

3. Conflict

WEEK 7 :

Transitions

Continuity

• How was continuity maintained?
• Frames?
• Background?
• Characters?
• Closure?

Transitions

• Moment to moment
• Action to action
• Subject to subject
• Scene to scene
• Aspect to aspect

Point of View

• Who's point of view?
• You can tell the story from a specific characters point of view
• Emphasise one thread of the story
• Get the most salient points (most noticeable) of the narrative down as they have been told

Week 1 :

The Pen Tool

In the first lesson, Mr. Hafiz introduced himself and explained to us what Illustration and Visual Narrative is. He mentioned that we need to use Adobe Illustrator to complete exercises and projects in the future. Mr. Hafiz asked us to join Google Classroom. We are required to learn 'pen tool' and finish the Bezier Game. It was really interesting and fun.

I finish the Bezier Game using 12 nodes.

Figure 1: The Bezier Game

Week 2 :

Vormator Shapes

In the second week, we started tracing vormator shapes using pen tool in Adobe Illustrator. Mr. Hafiz asked us to install the 10 Vormator shapes picture to trace on it. Mr. Hafiz traced all the shapes to make sure all of us are clear. The purpose of this exercise is to let us create our own character with those shapes.

Figure 2.1: 10 Vormator Shapes

After tracing all the Vormator shapes that given by Mr. Hafiz, I started to create my own character. 

Figure 2.2: Example of Vormator Character

Week 3 :

Light and Shodows

• Using shapes, establishing light and dark. Giving it weight.

In Week 3, we learned about Chiaroscuro. Mr Hafiz showed us tutorial of using pencil tool, pathfinder, as well as knife tool to trace a pear in Adobe Illustrator. We learned about shadow and colour.

Figure 3: Light and Shadows

Week 4 :

Colour and Blending Mode

• In Illustrator, there are six blending modes: Normal, Darken, Lighten, Contrast, Inversion, and Component. Each of these modes works a little differently, so it's important to know which one to use for which effect. You can find them in the “Appearance” section under the “Properties” tab on the right menu.

Figure 4: Colour and Blending Mode

Task 1 : Exercise 1 - Vormator Character Design

This simple character is my first attempt. I choose light colours to make it looks cute.

Figure 5.1 Character with shapes and colours 

Figure 5.2 Character with gradient colour

Other than adding gradient on the character's body, I use more 'Drop' shape on wings with different colours. I also added a texture for the wings to look clear and sharp. This is my final character.

Figure 5.3 Final character with gradient and more colourful shapes

I created the background with different shapes and lines using different tools. This colourful background matches the colours which I used for the character.

Figure 5.4  Final Character with background (31.10.2023)

Figure 5.5 Pokemon card (31.10.2023)

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REFLECTION

Experience

This module is really interesting and fun. I get to know the use of all tools that the lecturer taught us in Illustrator app. I learned that simple shapes and lines can create and design a beautiful illustrator. By designing the Vormator Character and put it into the Pokemon card, I learned to use gradient tool in Illustrator app.

Observations

Mr.Hafiz is very patient and polite every week. I understand it's not easy to teach online. In the consultation session, Mr. Hafiz will let us consult for his feedback after the lecture every week.

Findings

I found that this module is very interesting and free to let students to show their creativity. Mr.Hafiz will told us the requirements of the task before we started doing it, then we digitalised our idea.