ILLUSTRATION AND VISUAL NARRATIVE

31/08/2022-  30/11/2022 / Week 1 - Week 14
Chew Zhi Ern / 0358995
Illustration and Visual Narrative / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor's University

Exercises & Project

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INSTRUCTIONS

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LECTURES

Week 1: PUBLIC HOLIDAY

No Class!

Week 2: Introduce to the Module & Pen Tool

Mr. Hafiz has introduced us to some important information and we've been requested to join the group in Google Classroom. Then, he demonstrated how to use the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator. After the explanation, we started to practice with the tool and trace some shapes that were given by him. Task 1 -- Vormator Challenge was also assigned to us using the given 8 shapes. 

My practice outcome:

Tracing the shape using the pen tool in Illustrator

Week 3: Introduce to Pathfinder 

This week, Mr. Hafiz taught us various opacity effects and the use of pathfinder.  In practical class, we have introduced by Ms. Noranis to Task 2 -- Digital Triptych, which is an assignment but also a competition held by Honor. We were asked to start working on it. 

Below is my exercise for opacity effects and pathfinder using:

The outcome of the exercise

Week 4: Introduce to Shape Builder & Icons

Mr. Hafiz introduced us to the shape builder tool this week. He has explained while hands-on to show us the steps and some example results. Some relevant shortcut keys also had shared by him with us.

Outcome following the youtube instruction

Result of using the shape builder tool and shade effects

Week 5: Honor Competition Milestone & Introduce to Composition Theory

Ms. Anis introduced us to the theoretical knowledge of composition after the face-to-face consultation on the Honor Project. The most challenging part of the composition is how to arrange the elements in your visual effectively -- and the answer is to arrange them in a way that brings out the meaning. Composed shots also should consciously arrange the focus of the scene to stand out, even in the subtlest manner. There have some basic composition visual rules which are: Visual Narrative, Visual Flow, Visual Balance and Visual Hierarchy. The different types of shots are Establishing,  Bird's Eyeview, Frame within a frame, Medium Shot, Close-up and Worm's Eye View. There are different types of planes too: Foreground, Middle-Ground and Background. 

Week 6: Honor Submission & Introduce to Chiaroscuro

In the week 6 class, Mr. Hafiz gave us the last assist before submitting the competition entry. Then, he started the topic of the week which is chiaroscuro. He explained and demonstrated so that we could understand clearly. Also, our task for this week is to do the exercise assigned by him.

Shortcut key for simplifying a shape: Object > Path > Simplify

First Exercise Outcome

Second Outcome of Chiaroscuro

Week 7: Briefing to Project 3

In week 7, Ms. Anis has introduced to project 3, which required students to come up with their own stories and create a comic with the cover page as well. Then, we have to begin brainstorming our ideas using the three-act structure and make some visual research for the comic page references. Apart from that, Mr. Hafiz taught us how to make chiaroscuro using Illustrator too. He has also talked about the Honor Competition.

Week 8: Independent Learning Week

No Class!

Week 9: Discussion on the Preliminary Ideas

Consult with the lecturer.

 

Week 10: Project 3 Progression

Work In Progress. Artwork Showcase and Critic on it.

1. Share the story and the artwork in the comment section.
2. Present the design.
3. Explain the rationale of the design based on the story 
• Who are the characters
• What are the symbolisms on the cover page
• Why to chose the motif, design elements, layout arrangement etc.

Week 11: Progress Checking on Act 1 Storyboard & Design of Cover Page

Work In Progress. In class consultation. Online Lecture.

1. Show the progress of the Act 1 storyboard.
2. Show the design of the cover page.

Week 12: Project Consultations

Show progress and get feedback from the lecturer.

Week 13: Online Tutorials

Online Tutorials Only.

Week 14: Final Consultations

Last chance to show and consult the works before submitting for submission.

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Task 1: Project 1 - Vormator Challenge

Vormator is the ultimate challenge of students' creativity: the aim of the project is to give each artist the chance to show their ability to create a stunning piece with limited means.

Each person will get the exact same set of  8 shapes, the elements. With these shapes, students are challenged to create their own unique designs, within the limitations provided in the Rulebook. Designers are thus challenged to create a unique piece within a strict set of rules. It all comes down to pure skills and creativity in this project.

The following rules have to be followed when creating our artwork: 

1. We HAVE to use all the elements
2. Scaling is allowed, but ONLY proportionally, so NO skewing or free transform
3. You CAN add, subtract, intersect and group elements as you see fit 
4. The use of color is also UNRESTRICTED and we can create our own color schemes (e.g. use Adobe Colour)
5. We are ALLOWED to use gradients 
6. The elements MAY BE filled and the use of strokes is ALLOWED
7. We are ALLOWED to use filters or effects (e.g. drop shadows)

Below is my character design using the shape elements given:

The character I have created

Task 2: Project 2 - Digital Triptchy

In this task, we have been assigned to the Honor Talent Competition. There are two design themes to choose which are Cultural Prosperity · Celebration and Renewal of life · Return. The submission will be in the Open Design category. Which is a 6,000 x 3,000 px dimension and the format will be in JPEG at a maximum size of 20M. The resolution could be between 200 - 300 ppi.

My idea was inspired by the multiracial culture of Malaysia. Malaysia has a complex multiracial population, predominantly defined by three major ethnic groups: Malay, Chinese and Indian races, with diverse cultural backgrounds, which are very interesting.

Hence, here is my outcome for it:

The outcome of my design

Task 3: Exercise - Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro is a high-contrast lighting technique that uses a key light to achieve dark backgrounds with starkly lit subjects. We had to use the provided image and do it in Illustrator.

Below is my outcome: 

The image that has been provided

Outcome for Chiaroscuro

After Mr. Hafiz's explanation and demonstration, here is the final outcome of chiaroscuro.

Final Outcome

Task 4: Project 3 - Original Comic Pilot Story

Cover Page

Animated comic page

A puppet penguin accidentally exploded during production and was discarded as a defective product due to defects. It very much hopes to meet a kind master like other puppet companions. But it feels very inferior due to its physical defects. So it goes through the crowds, across the alleys, looking for ways to heal its flaws and places where it can accept itself. In repeated disappointments, it finally found someone who could heal it, that is a kind tailor and lived in a place that could reflect my pure value.