Illustration and Visual Narrative Lectures
26.8.20 - 21.10.20 (Week 1 - Week 9)
Sajiya Mir (0340836)
Illustration and Visual Narrative
Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Taylors University
Exercises
Wednesday, 26 August 2020
Today was our introduction to Illustration and Visual Narrative, where we met with our lecturers Ms. Noranis and Mr. Fazal. Ms. Noranis guided us through the MIB and gave us an outline of the assignments to come. Then she began our lecture, where she explained to us what illustration is.
After that, Mr. Faizal showed us how to trace characters on
Illustrator.
Lecture 1: Introduction
An illustration is human-made pictures or designs that are used to indicate colors and beauty. Illustrations :
- Create Space: used by architects and Interior Designers.
- Showcase Intricacies and the Unseen
- Breakdown complex ideas making it easier to understand and visualize.
[Principles of Character Design]
Stylized Design: are characters created to resemble nonhuman shapes and colors.
1. Shapes: a lot of times, characters are derived from basic shapes. For example, the tree character is derived from a square shape.
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| Fig.1 Character principles 'Shapes', Art by Sam Nassour source: https://yesimadesigner.com/10-principles-of-character-illustration/ |
2. Colors: certain colors have the ability to invoke emotions.
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| Fig.1.2 Character principles 'Colour', Art by Tanya Karpo source: https://yesimadesigner.com/10-principles-of-character-illustration/ |
3. Emphasis and Contrast: Emphasis on certain details makes the character stand out. For example, how the blue nose contrast against the red body.
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| Fig.1.3 Character principles 'Emphasis and contrast', Art by Greg Abbott source: https://yesimadesigner.com/10-principles-of-character-illustration/ |
4. Harmony: Shapes, lines, colors must complement each other. How in character below the line are not perfect, straight lines, they are all rounded to go with the character's textures.
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| Fig.1.4 Character principles 'Harmony', Art by Greg Abbott source: https://yesimadesigner.com/10-principles-of-character-illustration/ |
5. Expression and poses: Gives the character's personality and can tell a story.
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| Fig.1.5 Character principles 'Expression and Poses', Art by Alexandra Zutto source: https://yesimadesigner.com/10-principles-of-character-illustration/ |
Task 1: Character Study
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Fig.1 Character shape study 'Phineas Flynn' Triangles will display the hero's ambition, motivation, and opportunism, just like Phineas, who is confident, optimistic, and someone who boosts those around him. He retains a positive attitude when dealing with obstacles and can be seen saving others from danger. |
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Fig.1.2 Character Shape study 'Baljeet Tjinder.' Circles are used in characters to make them feel gentle, friendly, and harmless, much like the characters of Baljeet in Phineas and Ferb. Baljeet is quiet, very polite. He is usually seen assisting the two main characters with their big ideas and being bullied by his friend/bully Bulford. |
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Fig.1.3 Character Shape study 'Ferb Fletcher' Rectangles are associated with something stable, dependability, and confidence. Ferb character, for example, can be seen exhibiting these traits. He rarely speaks but is very focused and always there alongside Phineas on his ventures. He takes on all the tasks given by Phineas and always succeeds. |
Wednesday, 2 September 2020
In today's class were introduced to Chiaroscuro and given multiple examples to aid our learning of the topic. We learned about the rule of thirds and the golden ratio and how to apply them in our composition. Then Ms. Anis demonstrated how to turn a picture black and white and manipulate the curve tool. Later, Mr. Fazal demonstrated how to create a vector landscape using Illustrator and use the knife tool.
Lecture 2: Chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro is applying light and dark to create an illusion of 3-dimensional volume to a flat surface. It is used in movies, comics, and arts. Chiaroscuro is used by artists for :
- Increase Dramatic Tension and a change in Narrative. As seen in the picture below, the man walking under one light, surrounded by darkness, creates a tense and eerie atmosphere.
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| Fig.1 A scene from The Killing Source: https://film-grab.com/2014/08/13/the-killing/ 2. Creates Sensational Effect 3. Pull the attention to a subject in an intense way. As seen in the picture below the scene from Star Wars: Force Awaken, the scene is quite dark with only little light shining from the top on to Kylo Ren. This pulls the views eyes from Snoke to Kylo Ren. |
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| Fig.1.2 A scene from Star Wars: Force Awaken source:https://cinematicpaintings.com/post/136754461133/star-wars-episode-vii-the-force-awakens-2015 4. Create a tasteful composition of negative vs. positive. |
Task 2: Chiaroscuro study
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| Fig.1.4 Chiaroscuro Study 1 |
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| Fig.1.5 Chiaroscuro Study 2 |
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| Fig.1.6 Chiaroscuro Study 3 |
Wednesday, 9 September 2020
Today's class started with Ms. Anis, explaining to us how to submit our Vormator Challenge. The lecture was on composition, where we were introduced to the terms background, midground, and foreground. Ms. Anis showed us examples from comics and mangas to show how composition can be applied differently. Later, Mr. Fazal showed us how to sketch our ideas on Photoshop and gave us more advice on how to make our sketches look better.
Lecture 3: Composition
The composition is how your image is put together. One way to make your composition even more eyecatching is by the rule of third. The rule of thirds states that if an image is divided into nine equal parts, the image more visually pleasing. Arrangement of the elements of the use of light can help with the composition.
Background, Midground, and Foreground are arrangements of elements of visual hierarchy. It helps give your design a sense of depth and space. The visual that is closest to the viewer is known as the Foreground, the visual that is the furthest back is called the Background, and thus the visual in the middle is the Middleground. Any narrative that requires visual utilizes the background, midground, and foreground.
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| Fig.1 background, midground, and foreground Task 3: Landscape  Fig.1.2 Landscape 1  |
Wednesday, 23 September 2020
The week 5 lecture was on Perspective. Ms. Anis explained the perspective and different points of perspective, such as 1 point, 2 point, 3 point, and fish eyes. We analyzed some old paintings and pictures to identify which perspective it showcases. Then she briefed us on Project 2, which is on a Decisive moment. She also told us the genre for our graphic novel, which is Isekai. Then Mr. Fazal demonstrated on Illustrator how to draw perspective and use the tools available to our advantage.
Lecture 4: Perspective
Perspective in art is to create depth, size, and tangibility. It's to create an illusion of 3D on a 2D surface. Perspective can be formed at 1 point, 2 point, 3 point, and fisheyes. It gives a sense of realism and can make an artwork more interesting.
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| Fig.1 School of Athens - Raphael One Point perspective is the the the simplest method. First, you have to identify the horizon line and then draw out the three-dimensional shapes using that one point in the horizon line. As the point is referred to as the vanishing point,. As your image gets closer to that point, the objects become smaller.  Fig.1.2 one point perspective Two-point perspective is where there are two vanishing points on either side of the horizon. This helps create a greater sense of dimension and depth. The point where the lines from the two vanishing points intersect is known as the anchor points. Having objects of different sizes bring variety to the design.  Fig.1.3 Two Point perspective The three-point perspective consists of two vanishing points at each side of the horizon and one vanishing point either above or below the horizon line. This helps achieve a sense of drama and scale. |
Fig.1.4 Three-Point perspective
Wednesday, 30 September 2020
This week the lecture was on Movement and rhythm. We discussed how movement and rhythm can be brought about in artwork and how we can apply it when making our own comic. We looked at a few examples to identify the focal points and the direction of the lines. Then we got 20 min to find motion line comics examples and identify the movement and rhythm there. Afterwhich Mr. Fazal demonstrated how to create gif animation on photoshop.
Lecture 5: Movement and Rhythm
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| Fig.1 Motion Line from One punch man In this particular scene from One Punch Man, you can see the focal point is one punch man as the motions line in the background are all coming towards him. This shows the movement of the black-haired man as he punches Saitama. This can also be seen with the line used to display Saitama's face movement reacting to the punch as he is being pushed away. Another motion line is created from the explosion of the punch. These lines are moving away from the Saitama's face to show the impact of the punch. This, combined with the words which I am assuming, says pow gives the whole scene a sense of movement and makes the artwork more dynamic. Wednesday, 7 October 2020 Ms. Anis started the class by answering our questions for Project 2. Then she let us know that our deadline has been extended to October 18, 2020, YaY! Next, she started the lecture which was on transition, this was to get us familiar with a few types of transition and understand how it affects readability so that we can apply this knowledge when doing our project 3. She briefed us on projects 3 and 4. After that, we did a small quiz to see our understanding of the sequence of the panels. Then it was Mr. Fazal's class where he explained to us how we can improve the layout of our blog and how we can improve our work process. |
Lecture 6: Transition
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| Fig.1 Salgood Sam |
Action- to-action is most common, it focuses on a significant even, movement or action from panel to panel.
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| Fig1.2 Ruth Alyett |
Subject to Subject is where the panels show the different subjects in the same scene. This could be like when two people are talking, one panel is for the guy and the other panel shows the girl.
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| Fig.1.3 Salgood Sam |
Scene to Scene; A Scene is a collection of events that happen in a single place. A change of position or a large time jump between the panels is known to be the end of the scene and the start of a new one.
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| Fig.1.4 |
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| Fig.1.5 Salgood Sam |
Rolling Transition this transition happens all in one panel. There are no constraints of the panel form, the designer is allowed to choose they direct the story flows.
Wednesday, 21 October 2020
Class started with Ms. Anis updating us on what's new on Times. Then she answered the most asked questions about our final project. She helped us brainstorm a few ideas for teleportation. Then she explained in what ways we can come up with ideas for our comic, one of those ways was a mindmap. Next, she introduced the three act structure to help us come up with our story.
Lecture 9: Storytelling
Central Theme: The theme is the main concept or the basic purpose. It's the storyteller's personal opinion on the subject. A story may have a main theme as well as minor themes.
- Major Theme: a concept that is interconnected and replicated throughout the entire story.
- Minor Theme: an idea that emerges more subtly and does not generally repeat itself.
Conflicts: Conflict is what is driving the plot. It creates tension and builds suspense, and makes a story more interesting. Conflict allows the viewer to engage and builds up their emotions.
- Protagonist: The protagonist is the main character in the plot. He or she has a simple goal to achieve or a conflict to solve.
- Antagonist: Antagonists are opposed to the protagonists, standing between them and their goals. Antagonist can be portrayed in the form of any person, location, thing or circumstance that is a major obstacle to the protagonist.
- Setup: The setting in which the protagonist lives before the journey. Typically the setup ends with the conflict being exposed.
- Rising Tension: The set of challenges that the protagonist must resolve. Each obstacle is typically more challenging and has a higher stake than the previous one.
- Conflict: the highest point of conflict and the most decisive turning point for the protagonist.
- Resolution: The end of the dispute. This is where the protagonist eventually overcomes the conflict, learns to embrace it, or is inevitably defeated. In any case, this is where the journey ends.
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