Illustration and Visual Narrative - Exercises / Lectures and Tutorials

COM613104 - Illustration and Visual Narrative
Week 1 - Week 9

Hong Ze Yee / 0335678

Exercise / Lectures and Tutorials

Bachelor of design in Creative Multimedia

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INSTRUCTION

MIB :

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LECTURE NOTES 

Week 1 

 Character Design

We have our first lecture and tutorial in Discord. We learn about how to create shapes by using pen tool to create Vormator. Besides, there is also demo during tutorial session and we were asked to create our own character design. Other than that, we were given a pear picture to to draw a pear as well as create the light and shadow of the pear by using knife tool.

How to make a character design unique :

1. iconic
2. created easily
3. profitable

Shapes are recognizable objects and forms and are usually composed of other elements of design :

figure 1, shapes

figure 2, Aladdin style

 Harmony refers to the visually satisfying effects of combining similar or related elements :

1. adjacent colours
2. similar colours
3. related colours

Harmony in a design or artwork helps bring about unity. Harmony does not men there is totally no contrast. However use the colour within the artwork can create harmony as well.

figure 4, emphasis and contrast

Expressions and poses are important as well. We often express our personality through poses, gestures and facial expressions. An artist need to create a character that should be able to connect with the script and use the elements that can better illustrate the spirit of the character.

figure 5, expressions and poses

The application of a complementary colour is a key aesthetic consideration, as it can create a pleasing contrast and can be a sense of balance

figure 6, colour

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Week 2 

Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro is about the treatment of light and shade on drawings and painting as well as the effect of contrasting areas of light and dark in an artwork. (combination of light an dark)

Why chiaroscuro is used?
- increase dramatic tension
- create sensational effect
- pull your attention to a subject in an intense way
- create a tasteful composition of negative vs positive space

figure 1, chiaroscuro

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Week 3

Composition

This week lecture we have learn about composition.
The types of composition including :

1. Establishing shot
2. Bird's eyeview (high eye level)
3. Worm's eyeview (low eye level)
4. Framing (elements that are in front, keep the viewer's focus on the framed object)
5. Medium shot (waist shot, a medium distance of the object)
6. Close-up (focus on face)

figure 1, type of composition

Composition rule :

1. A balance distribution of positive and negative spaces
2. Visual hierarchy (what we see first), lightning, rhythm movement (object that leads your eye from one to another)

figure 2, balance distribution of positive and negative space

figure 3, visual hierarchy

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Week 4

Composition 2 (Perspective)

In this week, we have learn what is perspective in art.
Perspective is :

1. creating depth and volume
2. the light and shadow
3. buildings recede into distance

(basically from 2D surface to create a 3D optical illusion.)

figure 1, perspective

We also learn parallax effect means :

1. it is a very simple method of perspective
2. often used in comics
3. have different layers to depict depth

figure 2, parallax effect

figure 3, parallax effect

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Week 5

Composition 3 (Rhythm and Movement)

figure 1

figure 2

Basic visual elements (tools) to create movement :
1. shapes
- shapes is something that are close with lines, which are its boundaries.
- shapes can be geometric (rectangle), realistic (animals), or abstract (icons), and they have two dimensions which are height and width
2. lines
- we will often see that lines are also used to create perspective or evoke a certain feeling. They can be thick, or thin, vertical, horizontal, or diagonal, or they can create texture. A straight line can send the feel or order and neatness, while a wavy line can create movement.

Maximize overlap & establish rhythms and patterns
You have to maximize overlap to create depth, to make a picture looks real and have rhythms.

figure 3, maximize overlaps

figure 4, establish patterns and rhythms

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Week 6

Transition

Today's lecture is about transition. How to create comics? Sometimes artist have a lot of ideas but cannot organize it in their mind. First thing first, you need to have an idea, but where the idea come from? An good idea comes from your experience. Of course if you want to create a good artwork, you need to put effort and heart but not browsing google aimlessly. Good idea will never came from that way.

How do I get my idea :
For me, its depends on the task. If I am familiar with the task or have did something similar with it before, I will try to come out with an idea randomly. But if that is something new to me, I will definitely do some research on it and to observe how people did it and why they are doing in this way. Sometimes I will also came out with my own idea randomly but not often.

How to come out with ideas ?
1. brainstorming (what do I like)
you have to create something that you liked if not who will like it?

2.  mind map (1 husband 4 wife)

• how is it used?
• what is this?
• when is it used?
• who will use it?
• where will it be used?

3. the concept :
what is your burning desire that you want the world to see?
what's so special?

figure 1, how to come out with ideas

Therefore, Miss Yvonne suggest us to watch more movies and cartoons, read more comics, mangas and graphic novels to stimulate our brain and to come out with ideas.

Project 2 brief - Decisive movement
We need to develop an animated  illustration for an editorial represent the chosen text. we need to interpret the narratives decisive moment or the climax of the narrative.

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Week 7

No lecture for this week due to public holiday.

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Week 8

Understanding Comic & Effective Visual Communication

Miss Yvonne said since most of us came and consult our project 2 decisive moment and we did it wrongly such as layout but no concept and no keyword. So, today's lecture will be about how to create comic.

How to create comic?

1. inspiration
2. concept (keywords)
3. image references - visual style, layout, character reference
4. sketching

figure 1, 3-ACT STRUCTURE

set up, confrontation and resolution

To create a good sentence for your comic, you must think about the 3 act :

We need to think about the story to come out with a sentence that describe whole story.

1. beginning
2. climax
3. ending

American beauty as an example :

figure 2, 3 act in American Movie

Moodboard :

1. the mixture of your concept
2. collage consisting of images, texts and samples of object in a composition
3. can based on a set topic
4. is a general idea or feeling about a particular topic

Original ideas = remix

Original ideas are stolen from somewhere but steal with honor. For example, create remix, study the concept of it and then come out with your own idea, take many references and create a different layout. Try to do more research and look for more references to get inspiration.

figure 3, original idea

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Week 9

Expression and Gesture

The expression of a character can demonstrate by :

• the arching of the eyebrows
• the eyes widening / squinting
• the frown / smirk of the mouth
• their jaws dropping / clenching

All these facial features are exaggerated to create expression

figure 1, comic character's facial expression

Expression anotomy :

• pay attention to form
• rules to apply - squish and stretch the expression

Expression can define a character's personality - show more, tell less

Gesture :

• drawing good poses
• clear silhouette of the poses
• refer to the real life picture
• identify the lines within the poses / gestures

 figure 2, gesture analysis

figure 3, gesture analysis

Tutorial session :

Mr Kannan will show us the demo of using Adobe Illustrator and more additional information for us.

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Week 10 - Week 14
Consultation for Final Project

These weeks we are having consultation for final project to make sure that we are all on the right track. We will have introduction to Adobe After Effect, demo and question session for Photoshop with Mr Kannan and Miss Yvonne. Additional information are provided for us such as applying effect to animation and to add something interesting into out project.  We have to share and present our every week progress to get feedback to improve while creating the comic.

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CLASS EXERCISES

Tracing pear :
This exercise is to practice our pen tool as well as chiaroscuro, where is the shadow and highlight should be.

figure 1 

This is the pear that given us to trace it by using pen tool and knife tool to separate the bright and the dark part of the pear

figure 2

This is the process of tracing the pear then cut the pear by using knife tool.

figure 3 

After I have done the first pear(green), I copy it and re-edit the colour of another pear, use knife tool to do the slicing effect. After all, combine it together.

figure 4

Apply texture

Another exercise to practice chiaroscuro :

figure 1

figure 2

figure 3

Composition
This week is the briefing of our project 2, so we were asked to do this exercise together during tutorial session in order to let us practice our Photoshop layering as well as composition skill.

Photoshop exercises :

figure 1

figure 2, progress

figure 3, my own version

figure 4

figure 5, my own version

Photoshop exercise
In tutorial session, we learn how to draw digital outline in both Photoshop and Illustrator as well as to learn how to colour it by using polygon lasso tool and brush to create shadow.

figure 1, sketches that given by Miss Yvonne

figure 2, choose two character to practice