Emphasis, Contrast: Exaggerate to moderate - exaggerates on the emphasis and contrasting visual elements to make the design stand out by using colours and different shapes.

Harmony: Every elements in your design should compliment each other. THINK VISUAL HIERARCHY- and how it reflects with the narrative of the characters

Expressions, Poses: Expressive emotive characters win the audience - Clear visualization of your characters behaviours, quirks, and personalities make it easier to appeal to your viewers.

Figure 1.0 Darth Vader (Stylized) Character Design

LECTURE 02 - Chiaroscuro

slides - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CEso-7v1Nb4ICduPF-wXIsCjL2P5LBG3/view

Chiaroscuro

The use of light and dark to create the illusion of three-dimensional volume on a flat surface. The purpose of chiaroscuro is to increase the scene’s dramatic tension by exaggerating the subject’s importance using color or light contrast.

Figure 1.1 Use of Chiaroscuro in a painting

Tenebrism: 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.

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.

Positive Space: Refers to subject matter or object of interest in a visual

Negative Space: Refers to the filled space or background that surround subject matter or object of interest in visual

Figure 1.2 Demonstration of Positive vs Negative Space

Why Chiaroscuro is used in Visual Narrative

To Increase Dramatic Tension - Gives thrilling emotive depth on the look and feel in the scene

To Create Sensational Effect - Helps elevate fantastical viewpoints to emphasis on the narrative

To Attract Attention - Establish visual hierarchy, the main point of the scene

To Make Tasteful Composition - The play on negative VS positive spaces creates attractive scenes

LECTURE 03 - Composition Theory 1 // Visual Types and Shots

slides - https://drive.google.com/file/d/15j9IQa_pXtRFa1WU0kI8nuSzV20cZcQ9/view

Composition: the arrangement of the elements in your visual. The most challenging part of 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.

Basic Composition Visual Rules

Visual Narrative: The visuals in the scene complements all aspect of the narrative

Visual Flow: The scene has clear flow of visual that directs viewer's eyes

Visual Balance: The visuals in arrange to balance the composition in the scene

Visual Hierachy: The visuals are arrange in such ways that directs viewer's eyes to specific details first

Figure 1.3 Different types of Composition

Different Types of Shots

Establishing

Bird's Eye View

Frame within a Frame

Medium Shot

Close-Up

Worm's Eye View

Figure 1.4 Different types of Shots

LECTURE 04 - Composition Theory 2 // Perspective

slides - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L4E3dqGcQQdtu60rIn-qhE3aty9Cq-_1/view

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

Construct Perspectives

One-Point 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 to each other.

Two-Point Perspective: There are vanishing points on either side of the horizon, and the objects and buildings within the scene are drawn to both. This can help create a greater sense of space in a scene and helps give objects more of a sense of dimension and place.

Three-Point Perspective: Usually consists of two vanishing points on opposite sides of a horizon (as in two-point perspective), but with the addition of another vanishing point high above or below the horizon. This is most useful to achieve a sense of drama and scale, or to show more objects in a single scene.

Isometric: For creating detailed concepts of individual buildings, it’s more beneficial to use a simple isometric view, since it allows you to clearly present three sides of your design without distorting perspective or obscuring details.

Dynamic Application: While perspective is extremely useful and can be applied to almost any illustration or scene, it doesn’t need to be rigid or boring, and you don’t need to adhere to the perspective method in a strict way.

Figure 1.5 Types of Perspectives

LECTURE 05 - Composition Theory 3 // Fore, Mid and Background

slides - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sMZmSkhFa_UuPO1Qitxpv4d31aWI5kDw/view

Fore, Mid, Background

Foreground: Objects that are nearest to the viewer DIFFERENT TYPES OF PLANES

Middle-ground: Objects in between foreground and background

Background: Objects that are the furthest away from the viewer

You can arrange the subject matter to be at the foreground. Or arrange the focus to be in

the middle-ground. Or in the furthest view of the visual in the background.

Figure 1.6 Foreground, Middle-ground, and Background explained

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. Design flow is the way that your eye

moves or is 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.

LECTURE 06 - 3 Acts Structure

slides - https://drive.google.com/file/d/19FjJdCQQx-LjO9qtGSCAMttfOJiiGKCx/view

Central Theme

The theme is what the story is really about. It’s the main idea or underlying meaning. Often, it’s the storyteller’s personal opinion on the subject matter. A story may have both a major theme and minor themes.

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

Minor Theme: An idea that appears more subtly, and doesn’t necessarily repeat.

Conflict

The conflict is what drives the story. It’s what creates tension and builds suspense, which are the elements that make a story interesting. If there’s no conflict, not only will the audience not care, but there also won’t be any compelling story to tell. Conflict is what engages an audience. It’s what keeps them white-knuckled, at the edge of their seats, waiting impatiently to see if the protagonists will overcome their obstacle.

Charcters

A story usually includes a number of characters, each with a different role or purpose. Regardless of how many characters a story has, however, there is almost always a protagonist and antagonist.

Central characters: These characters are vital to the development of the story. The plot revolves around them.

Protagonist: The protagonist is the main character of a story. He or she has a clear goal to accomplish or a conflict to overcome. Although protagonists don’t always need to be admirable, they must command an emotional involvement from the audience.

Antagonist: Antagonists oppose protagonists, standing between them and their ultimate goals. The antagonist can be presented in the form of any person, place, thing, or situation that represents a tremendous obstacle to the protagonist.

Three Acts Structure

Setup: The world in which the protagonist exists prior to the journey. The setup usually ends with the conflict being revealed.

Rising tension: The series of obstacles the protagonist must overcome. Each obstacle is usually more difficult and with higher stakes than the previous one.

Conflict: The point of highest tension, and the major decisive turning point for the protagonist.

Resolution: The conflict’s conclusion. This is where the protagonist finally overcomes the conflict, learns to accept it, or is ultimately defeated by it. Regardless, this is where the journey ends.

Figure 1.7 3 Act Structre graphed

LECTURE 07 - Transitions

slides -https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1e91WFdMgNGLtgEvCM1E4rdCgqSs2ONGes2PoN9CtpP4/edit#slide=id.p14

Figure 1.8 Types of Transitions #1

Figure 1.9 Types of Transitions #2

INSTRUCTIONS

EXERCISES

Lab 1: The Pen Tool

Week 1 we learnt how to use the Pen tool on Adobe Illustrator using simple game sites. This helps us perfect our curves and straight lines, and find innovative ways to use as less points as possible, for smoother shapes.

: The bezier game

This game consists of a series of stages to help master the pen tool.

The Bezier Game - https://bezier.method.ac/

Here are some screenshots of my progress:

Figure 2.0 Screenshot of homescreen of Bezier Game

This was the first exercise on the website. With practice, we moved on to more complex levels.

Figure 2.1 Final level completed in class

This stage was an illustration of a car. With more nodes, the car is more accurate, but fewer nodes are ideal for a smoother, and less complicated vector illustration.

: Adobe Illustrator games - The Pen Tool Game

This simple game helps with pen tool control as you quickly create a path to direct the rocket.

Pen Tool Game - https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/games/pen-tool-game/

Figure 2.2 Homescreen for pen tool game

Figure 2.3 Gameplay

The pen tool game is more straightforward and helps with quick handwork, aiming for speed rather than accuracy.

Lab 2: Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro refers to the potrayal of light and shadow in an artwork. For Labs, we learnt how to apply Chiaroscuro in our work using the tools in adobe illustrator. It involves breaking down light and shadow into shapes (can be practiced through tracing bold lines from still life).

Figure 2.4 Pear Still Image

Figure 2.5 Pear Illustration using Chiaroscuro

Afterwards, we dove into more complex work and started on human figures with textures. This was a new tool learnt on Illustrator.

Figure 2.6 Person Still Image

Figure 2.7 Person Illustration using Chiaroscuro and Texture

Lab 3: Transparency Gradient and Noise

Lab 3 consisted of 2 video tutorials on how to make Transparency Gradient masks and add Texture Gradients (aka Noise). This adds more shading and dimension to our work, making the colours feel less flat and add character.

I made my own custom character to practice these exercises. Using the video tutorials provided, I followed exactly to get desired results.

: Transparent Gradient Mask

Transparent Gradient Masks help to show bright lighting and is the basic tool for gradient masks.

Figure 2.8 Screenshot of Illustrator workspace with Transparent Gradient Mask

Figure 2.9 Final Transparent Gradient Mask applied on character

: Texture Gradients

Texture Gradients can help with shadows and noise. It is more advanced than Gradient Masks.

Figure 3.0 Screenshot of Illustrator workspace with Texture Gradients

Figure 3.1 Final Texture Gradients applied on character

Lab 4: Illustrated Type

Illustrated Type is the process of using fonts and making certain changes to them to make them personalized. Others will not be able to steal work from you and this can help in the long run with branding.

: The Pencil + Smooth Tools

I started off with some worksheets to practice using the type and pencil tools. I also experimented with the smooth tool.

Figure 3.2 Screenshot of Adobe Illustrator interface with practice pencil tool worksheet

I applied what i learnt through tutorials onto a typeface, being purely experimental and practicing each tool with new additions such as curvature and width tool etc..

Figure 3.3 Customizing a Typeface

: Envelop Distort Tool

Another tutorial we learnt was how to envelope distort text through a shape on top. We also brush through other forms of distorting and warping text. This was the first YouTube tutorial:

Figure 3.4 Envelope Distort YouTube tutorial

This was a tutorial by Mr Hafiz:

Figure 3.5 Envelope Distort Mr Hafiz tutorial

FINAL REFLECTION

Illustration and Visual Narrative was a module I held close to my heart because it consisted of activities I was passionate about. Adobe Illustrator and InDesign were two applications I have grown quite fond of, and it was a pleasure learning these tools and the theory behind them. Everything was straightforward and provided at my disposal to learn. I had to take the time to self-teach and portray my findings in my work. I found the Album cover assignment to be my favourite: mixing Frank Sinatra and art was quite the move. My favourite lecture was about understanding composition. As sir has advised me before, making my work more visually interesting was something I struggled with, and I needed to improve how I tell stories. I appreciated every ounce of feedback I got, and how considerate Mr Hafiz was with my submissions. I lacked and needed to work on being prompt and on track. Overall, Illustration and Visual Narrative is one of my top modules and something I can see applying in future work and career.

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Insha Thahirah Rajab (0360671)

Illustration and Visual Narrative - Exercises & Final Reflection

CONTENTS

LECTURES

LECTURE 01 - Character Design Basics

slides - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VT19guZr2hhxCFZy5eQzgvTwFmFef-hp/view