ILLUSTRATION AND VISUAL NARRATIVE // TASK 1

1.4.2022 - 29.4.2022 (Week 1 - Week 5)

Ang Shin Er / 0355231 

Bachelor Of Design (Hons) In Creative Media / Taylor's University

ILLUSTRATION AND VISUAL NARRATIVE // Task 1: Vormator Challenge

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LECTURES

WEEK 1 - SUBJECT OUTLINE AND EXPECTATIONS 

In week 1 lecture class,  the lecturers which are Miss Anis and Mr. Hafiz explained what we will learn in the module and briefed us on where the class material and important announcements will be posted. Next, we were told to set up an e-portfolio by using Blogspot. This e-portfolio is not only used to record all the work that has been done in this course but it is also used to submit all the tasks and assignments. 

After that, we were told to play a fun game, called "Bézier Game". This game can help us to familiar with the pen tool.

 And here is my game result.😛 

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WEEK 2 - CHARACTER DESIGN BASIC

     

STYLIZED DESIGN - A design with modified or abstracted elements that give the design a more decorative look.

| Iconic - you can immediately recognize them even in black silhouettes 

| Simplicity - allow viewers to understand the purpose of the characters 

| Unique - make an impact on the viewers 

PRINCIPLE OF CHARACTER DESIGN

SHAPES |  use to design a character's silhouette 

COLOUR | to separate and establish the basic characteristic of heroes, villains and etc

EMPHASIS, CONTRAST| to differentiate the personality between characters and contrast the visual element 

HARMONY | every design element should complement each other.

EXPRESSIONS, POSES |  a clear visualization of the character and creates attention from the audience

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WEEK 3 - CHIAROSCURO

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

An Italian term which means 'light-dark -  In paintings, the technique refers to clear tonal contrast to suggest three-dimensional volume and modeling of objects and figures.

TENEBRISM :

The purpose of chiaroscuro is to increase the scene's dramatic tension by exaggerating the subject's importance using color or light contrast.

A certain types of painting methods in which significant details such as faces and hands are illuminated by highlights which are contrasted with a predominantly dark settings

In other application of chiaroscuro for visual artworks such as comics, films, digital works - this is an artistic lighting choice in which the focus point or subject of a scene is bright, colored.

LOW-KEY LIGHTING:

A style of lighting for photography, film, or television. It accentuates the contours of the subject by throwing areas into shade while a fill light or reflector may illuminate the shadow areas to control contrast.

You can see this in-screen lighting for movies where they use lights to create emotions.  The character Don Vito Carleone seldom showed emotions except during the scene where he sent Sonny's body to the funeral home director that owes him a favor.

CHIAROSCURO IS USED IN VISUAL NARRATIVE BECAUSE...
This method is an excellent lighting choice to differentiate positive vs negative spaces

WHAT IS POSITIVE SPACE? - Refers to subject matter or object of interest in a visual

WHAT IS NEGATIVE SPACE? - Refers to filled space or background surround matter or object of interest in a visual

This method is an excellent lighting choice to differentiate positive vs negative spaces

• INCREASE DRAMATIC TENSION: Gives thrilling emotive depth to the look and feel of the scene
• CREATE SENSATIONAL 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

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WEEK 4 - COMPOSITION 1: VISUAL SHOT & COMPOSITION & LIGHT & SHADOW

Composition in design simply means the arrangement of the elements in your visual.For example, each time you take a photo, you end up making conscious decisions about what items to include or exclude.

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 meaning.Your composed shots should consciously arrange the focus of the scene to stand out, even in the subtlest manner

BASIC COMPOSITION VISUAL RULES :

| VISUAL NARRATIVE : Your composition should complement your subject focus and reflect the narrative. / Think of the look and feel of the scene. Get their emotions on the same page.

| VISUAL FLOW : Your composition also determines the path of a viewer's eye through the visual

| VISUAL BALANCE : Even though you can't know the exact path a viewer's eye is going to take, you can nudge things one way or another.

| VISUAL HIERARCHY : The way you visualize and focus your subject matters can have huge effects
on the composition, the artists make and sometimes can even affect the course of history.

Different Types of Shots: 

|  ESRABLASHING: Wide shots were often used to establish not just the setting, but to portray spectacle and give audiences the chance to take in all the splendor and grandeur of a location, while still giving them enough information to process what's going on.

| BIRD'S EYE VIEW: Also known as overhead shots, is when the POV is placed directly above the subject. It's somewhere around a 90-degree angle above the scene taking place.

| FRAME WITHIN A-FRAME: A well-composed frame within a frame can fracture screen space, add depth, and create visual interest in your cinematic compositions.

| MEDIUM SHOT: The shot is also called a three-quarters shot which, obviously, frames three-quarters of the character.  This is one of the standard camera angles used to frame a character. It's the shot in-between a close-up and a long shot.

| CLOSE UP: The close-up is an intimate moment, a look into a character's mind. It causes us to "catch" emotions, so as the rest of the scene plays out, we're already invested in the characters' well-being. Therefore, this type of shot should emphasize emotions and thoughts within a grander context.

| WORM'S EYE OVIEW: The close-up is an intimate moment, a look into a character's mind. It causes us to "catch" emotions, so as the rest of the scene plays out, we're already invested in the characters' well-being. Therefore, this type of shot should emphasize emotions and thoughts within a grander context.

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WEEK 5  - COMPOSITION 2: FORE, MIDDLE & BACKGROUND

| INTRO

Composition essentially refers to how your image is put together, and there are tricks you can keep in mind that, if used in the right way, can take your art to the next level and make a piece really grab your audience's attention.

When composing a scene, creating an effective sense of the space is very important. Together with the other theories, illustrating elements of

1. foreground (close to the viewer),
2. middle-ground, and
3. background (far away)

within your image will immediately communicate a sense of scale to the viewer.

| FOREGROUND: Objects that are nearest to the viewer
| MIDDLE-GROUND: Objects in between foreground and background
| BACKGROUND: Objects that are the furthest away from the viewer

You can arrange the matter to be on the foreground. Example by using different size and colour contrast to highlight the foreground as main focus.

Or arrange the focus to be in the middle ground.Example by using size differences and light/shadow contrast to highlight the main focus

Or in the furthest view of the visual in the background. Example by using shapes and light/shadow contrast to highlight the main focus

| DESIGN FLOW

Good arrangement of visual focus using foreground, middle-ground and background should also indicate a sense of movement, and rhythm in your design. This is known to be Design Flow.

Design flow is the way that your eye moves or are led around a composition. A design with good flow will lead the viewers' eye throughout the layout, moving from element to element with ease

Your visual should be able to influence the way the viewer will digest your content. This is especially important in interface and information design types where you need to combine type, line, contrast, color, and imageries.

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INSTRUCTION:

TASK 1 

WEEK 1 | EXERCISE 1: VORMATOR CHALLENGE

F.g.1.1 vormator challage rules

For the first task, we were given a set of the vormator shapes and we were told to use the shape to create our own character that is unique with our creativity.

F.g.1.2 vormator shapes

The rules that have to be followed when creating our own character : 

• Allowed to rotate, flip and duplicate the shapes
• all the Elements Scaling is allowed, but proportionally
• The use of color is unrestricted and can create our own color schemes 
• filters or effects are allowed
• Oblique or free transforms such as adding, subtracting, intersecting and combining elements are allowed

Here is my first rough sketch of my character design:

F.g.1.2 vormator character sketch

My concept of my character was a marshmellow or candy girl beacuse I like something cute and sweet so I descided to create a cute girl character.

F.g.1.3 progress of creating character

F.g.1.4 outline for my vormator character and some reference

The colour scheme that I use for my character is more on paster colour. The pastel colour would make the character look more cute.

F.g.1.4 The colour scheme of my character 

| The final submission of Vomator challenge : 

Name: Candy

Personality : Introvert, but friendly to the people they know and the new people they meet. 
Likes: something sweet, drawing, sleep, full of imagination.

WEEK 3 | EXERCISE 2: VECTOR ILLUSTRATION

F.g.2.1 vector illustration rules

Character description: 

Name: Candy

Personality : Introvert, but friendly to the people they know and the new people they meet. 
Likes: something sweet, drawing, sleep, full of imagination.

For the background I that suit for Candy I choose to do a candy land with the cupcake, lollipop, the cream and some colourful candy topping.

F.g.2.2 candy land background

I use a simple way to design the character card and let the character look more stand up. Its inspired by a story book cover.

F.g.2.3 candy character card

| The final submission of Vomator challenge : 

Card Size : 750 x 1050 pix

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