ILLUSTRATION & VISUAL NARRATIVE / VORMATOR
1.4.2021 - 2.5.2021 (Week 1 - Week 5)
Jodi Yip Mei Kei / 0340542 / BMC
Illustration & Visual Narrative / Taylor's University
Exercise 1 & 2 / Vormator Challenge & Landscape/Background
LECTURES
Week 1:
This week we were introduced to our lecturers, Ms Noranis & Mr Kannan, and briefed on what to expect as the weeks approached. The more they briefed, the more I felt worried as the assignments felt so heavy BUT also very fun. A lesson I learned from my previous design modules was that the more challenging the exercises/projects are, the more I am going to learn even if it means making mistakes. At least they are good mistakes.
We were just tasked with sketching out our first exercise: the Vormator Challenge. To summarise, the Vormator Challenge challenges us to create a brand new or 'inspired by' character with the catch of only using 8 different shapes:
Figure 1
Vormator Challenge Shapes
Frankly, this was quite the challenge for me as on one hand I did not want to
create an existing character nor do I have the creative juices to create a
whole new one. It was frustrating and it was clearly shown in my sketches
which will (sadly) be revealed next week.
Week 2:
This week, we are finally starting our first proper class beginning with Mr
Kannan. We went through a warm up by playing the Bezier Game before he
taught us the basics of Adobe Illustrator and Chiaroscuro.
Figure 2
Screenshot from Week 2's class
It was really interesting to watch and follow along. Usually I would not as
I find it really difficult to switch between screens and concentrating, but
I felt that I needed to this time round. Mr Kannan made this whole process
so easy and seamless, making the intimidation of this module a little bit
better.
Chiaroscuro is defined as an art form/effect whereby the artist uses strong
contrasts between light and dark to affect the whole composition. This
effect is usually very bold and stark as can be seen here:
Figure 2.2
Pear Chiaroscuro
In this class alone, not only was I reminded of the basics in Illustrator
but also learned a few things I missed out. Mr Kannan was happy to answer
our questions and repeating the process time and time again, making sure
that we understood and managed on our own. We were taught how to trace using
the pen tool, gradient/blending, resizing, fill/stroke and etc. We were
shown that the basics of illustrator like above, can also translate into
amazing artworks. It is not always necessary to have complicated strokes and
details to convey what we want our viewers to see.
This is my version of Chiaroscuro:
Figure 2.3
Chiaroscuro (my ver.)
Figure 2.4
Chiaroscuro (my ver.)
Next week, we will further develop our pear and were tasked to capture a
portrait of ourselves with a direct spotlight coming from a specific
angle.
Moving on, we had Ms Noranis next for our lecture. Started off easy with a
Padlet exercise of what is our favourite character and why. I chose Lim
Joo-Kyung from the webtoon and now K-Drama 'True Beauty'. Ms Noranis then
went to explain as to why we like certain characters and the psychological
design behind them.
Figure 2.5
Ms Noranis' Lecture
It was really interesting to learn why I like the characters that I do.
She explained that most protagonists or heroes have an overall
rectangular shape that invokes a sense of stability and strength. In
comparison to villains, they mainly have a triangular shape invoking a
sense of unease. Then you have characters which are happy and 'bouncing'
with the round or oval shapes giving a sense of wholesomeness or as I
like to think of the sound 'boi-ng boi-ng'.
Apart from Shapes, there are also other elements such as
Colour, Harmony and Expressions/Poses. These
elements all come together to form a well-round character which we draw
attention to, be it good or bad. Some villains do have a mesmerising
aura about them and that is because of the elements!
We were then given consultation on our sketches.
Week 3:
Starting off immediately with Mr Kannan's practical class, we were
introduced to Texturising, Pattern Making, & Swatches. It
was not a particularly heavy class, just that we had to digest a lot
at once.
Figure 3 to Figure 3.3
Texturising using Clipping Mask, Pathfinder Texturising of
Different Aspects & Swatches/Pattern Making
Texturising using clipping mask was simple as it was similar to
Photoshop. For me, Pathfinder & Pattern Making was new so it
took me a while to understand them. I will probably rewatch that
part of the lesson again. Pattern Making using Swatches is a
lifesaver! I can already foresee how it is going to save time in the
future. Overall, it was a really good and insightful class!
We then moved on to Ms Noranis' class where she briefed and taught
us about our background for our Vormator character. It was a really
fun and creative class! She got us to sketch out five background
sketches after she went through the lecture of
Compositions - Visual Hierarchy, Light & Shadow, Positive
& Negative Space, & many other design principles. This too encompasses the type of shots/angles we look at -
Bird's Eye, Worms' Eye, Establishing & etc.
Figure 3.4
Week 3 Slides
Ms Noranis explained how the way certain picture/movies are shot
evoked a sense or feeling the person behind the camera wants us to
see. For example, in Framing, we are kind of hidden behind the
bushes making us seem like we were peeking at the couple which
helped enhanced the romantic feeling. It is intimate and private,
and paired together with the colours and setting created that
feeling of 'I should not be here, this is intimate' or
romantic.
Figure 3.5 & Figure 3.6
Excerpt from the book Compositions by Jazza
Figure 3.7
My Background Sketches
I took some inspirations from the book by Jazza while sketching
out the backgrounds such as Mixing Shapes & Foreground
Frame. Overall, Ms Noranis said my sketches were good and I can
somewhat get started on digitising my background.
Week 4:
For this week, we started off with Ms Noranis' lecture first. It
was a continuation from last week's lecture on composition. Here,
we focused on analysing paintings and some historical art works
that, no doubt were beautiful, but lacking Perspective.
When adding perspective, it creates Visual Hierarchy. It
helps draw the viewer into looking what the artist's wants them to
look at first.
However, in Las Meninas, the artist creates three different
perspectives for the viewer:
Figure 4
Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez
What perspective does is that it adds Depth, & Add Illusions.
Figure 4.2
Slides
Also, when a picture/artwork of any kind has a
3-Dimensional
phenomenon or it mimics something 3-Dimensional, it
automatically adds depth. 3-Dimensional refers to the
Foreground, Middle Ground & Background. Ms
Noranis also included extra reading from the same book by Jazza
that included some addition information:
Figure 4.3
Book by Jazza
Ms Noranis then gave us another sketching exercise to practice
our understanding on perspectives but mine turned out really
messy. Hence, I will be sketching some background for my
Vormator instead. I did three digital sketches. The
layout was inspired by one of my classmates, Fiona,
because when she presented her in-class exercise sketches, she
did it so neatly and detailed.
Figure 4.4
Digital Sketches of Perspectives
These backgrounds are also the ones I am debating on for my
Vormator challenge. The first and third ones have only one
point while the middle one has a two point perspective. I got
some inspiration from travel books at home. The more I
sketched, the more I feel that I do not want my character to
be a power card but more of a support card or an additional
skill card for the player.
Week 5: N/A - Holiday
Unfortunately, my Illustrator crashed halfway. Thus, I had to
redo my entire design process which was long and painful but
it gave me new creative ideas.
INSTRUCTIONS
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src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mZcXgVVwT6Aqf7fhF67zmnmvBoq0RilH/preview"
width="640" height="480"></iframe>
EXERCISE 1 & 2 // VORMATOR CHARACTER & BACKGROUND DESIGN
I was extremely nervous to show mine because of how ugly and weird they were. Frankly, I did not know what I was drawing and everyone else's looked so good and well-thought out, but I knew I needed Ms Noranis' help more than my insecurities. Hence, I showed her and the class:
Figure 1
Vormator Challenge Sketches
*Feedback can be read in the feedback section*
After heeding Ms Noranis' feedback, I started working on digitising the character:
Figure 1.2 - Figure 1.4
Digitising Mr Bok Choy's Progress
I wanted Mr Bok Choy to be funky, weird and quirky which is why I chose those colours. I will probably take a look at the colour palettes to see if I can find a better one. At that moment, I was debating if I should layer its tails or just make them solid and singular.
For a while, I really lost my way but I continued to ideate. Furthermore, my illustrator crashed causing me to lose all my progress but I had to keep going for the sake of my module. In the end, the unexpected restart helped start my creative juices again.
In week 5, I created The Growth Spirit or Harvest Spirit. The ideation and step by step process can be seen here:
Figure 1.5
Outcome of my Vormator & Background Design
As mentioned in the embed pdf, I wanted my card to be versatile. It is inspired by tarot cards which I absolutely love due to their designs. There are many different type of tarot cards in terms of style, messages and even interpretations. I felt that my design had too many details to be wasted in a vertical card. Thus, I left it horizontal but that means there will not be room for a description. So I thought why not make it both sides. Both sides of the card can be the front or the back.
Figure 1.6 & Figure 1.7
Final Outcome of the Growth Spirit
I wanted this card and its picture to be interpreted in many different ways. How a character can tell different stories. It is supposed to be metaphorical & descriptive not literal. In the end, this turned out better than I expected and I really love it.
FEEDBACK
Week 1:
N/A
Week 2:
Ms Noranis and I were laughing at how I described my sketches. I had Mr Bok Choy, Mr Wifi Angel Thing, A Hybrid Dog-Dragon and some other weird psychedelic creatures. Then, I shared with her my struggles of finding inspiration to draw and how I looked at it as the perspective of creating a symbol rather than a character (explains the faceless creatures). She understood and encouraged me to keep sketching and to alter my perspective to character designing rather than symbol creating. She also told me I could just expand on Mr Bok Choy by giving him a face because it is more or less a character already. Furthermore, she suggested to not completely throw my sketches away incase I might need them for future projects.
Week 3:
N/A
Week 4:
N/A
Week 5:
Due to my illustrator crashing, I had to delay my feedback session until Sunday to redo my work. Ms Noranis kindly replied via WhatsApp saying that she thinks this is nice and she loves the scene. I asked if there is anything else I needed to add, she said this is already alright.
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