Illustration and Visual Narrative - Task 2: Decisive Moment
3/11/2023 - 8/12/2023 / Week 6 - Week 11
Cindy Clarissa Leslie / 0367677
Illustration and Visual Narrative / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Task 2: Decisive Moment
Illustration and Visual Narrative / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Task 2: Decisive Moment
LECTURES
Lecture 4
Composition Theory 2
Perspective
Figure 1.1 Different types of perspectives
Perspective - representing three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface by giving accurate impression of height, width, depth and position.
One-Point Perspective - three-dimensional image emerging from a single point on the horizon.
Two-Point Perspective - Vanishing points on either side of the horizon, objects within the scene are drawn to both of these vanishing points.
Figure 1.2 Use of three-point perspective in a scene
Three-Point Perspective - Usually consists of two vanishing points on opposite sides of a horizon with the addition of another vanishing point high above or below the horizon.
Figure 1.3 Use of isometric view to illustrate buildings
Isometric View - allows to clearly present three sides of your design without distorting perspective or obscuring details, commonly used to create detailed concepts of individual buildings.
Dynamic Application - mixing different perspective methods to illustrate a scene.
Lecture 5
Composition Theory 3
Fore, Mid and Background
Figure 2.1 Background, middleground and foreground of an image
Foreground - objects nearest to the viewer.
Middle-ground - objects between foreground and background.
Background - furthest away from the viewer.
Using:
- size difference
- colour contrast
- size difference
- light/shadow contrast
- shapes
Can help manipulate which ground to emphasize.
Design Flow
Figure 2.2 Good design flow in a movie
Design Flow - using fore, middle and background to indicate a sense of movement and rhythm. Affects the way that the viewer's eye moves or is led around in a composition.
INSTRUCTIONS
Task 2: [Decisive Moment]
Concept Mood Board
Figure 3.1 Mood board for 'Rokurokubi'
I've been long interested in Japanese urban legends, especially the monsters referred as yokai. These folklores have been long existing in Japan ever since the Edo period, playing a part in their traditions and there are certainly several known ones including the Rokurokubi, also known as the long necked woman.
The Rokurokubis were believed to once lived as a normal human being, however as a result of breaking the rules of Buddhism or due to their inner immoral desires, they have been cursed to manifest this long necked form to become an evil monster. Most of these monsters are unaware of their own condition. During the day, they manifest the form of a beautiful woman, mostly prostitutes and seem normal. They would seek their pray at night, elongating their necks and terror humans. Some of these monsters are gentle, where they find joy in scaring people however some are murderous, feeding off of humans by devouring them, sucking their blood or vital energies. These monsters are seductive and would trick men into sleeping with them at night, to which they eventually reveal themselves and let their victims fall into doom.
In the concept board, I gathered a specific warm-toned colour palette which is rather fitting since I had to integrate the art deco artstyle. I specifically wanted my illustration to be art deco however, have this atmosphere of an ancient painting close to the ukiyo-e artstyle by dominating it with a mostly yellow tinted design. Though I'm attempting an art deco style, I wanted to integrate the Japanese culture into my design mostly by the setting and the monster's physical appearance.
Sketches
Figure 3.2 Sketches of different composition
Using Adobe Photoshop, I came up with a total of 3 different rough sketches. I wanted to create this surprise element that could represent the nature of the Rokurokubi. I eventually chose the first composition.
Figure 3.3 Revised sketch
I chose this composition since I wanted to create a narration where the viewer is the victim who fell for the monster's seduction, eventually led to her room only to be surprised by the sighed of her elongated neck and her face in the viewer's face while her body stays in the middle of the room to which I think is able to show the character of the monster itself being playful.
Figure 3.4 First process of illustrating
Using the clean sketch I did, I made 2 artboards to make my tracing process easier. I started out with the setting first, using layers to create the illusion of a background, middle ground and foreground. I placed in the basic colours and shapes, mostly the main sillhouette. For the tool, I mostly used the pen tool to create these shapes, there weren't much complicated techniques needed.
Figure 3.5 Adding in details into the design
After the basic shapes were done, I put in the decorative aspects of the illustration, using various tools such as spiral tool to create the patterns, brush tool, knife and the pen tool to correct some of the small details that were lacking. This eventually serve as a proper base for further detailing in the colours.
Figure 3.6 Using the gradient tool for shading
To add in value, I copied the solid colours to the other artboard so that I could easily colour in the gradient tool using the picker and set the tint to blue for the shadows. I was able to use all kinds of gradient and play around with the settings.
Figure 3.7 Adding grain texture
As the final part of the illustration, by using effects gallery, I used grain mostly only on the room to create a more natural setting. I tried to replicate the same textures that could portray the room more accurately as it is in real life and create a rather eerie atmosphere.
Animation
Figure 4.1 Exporting images to After Effects
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| Figure 4.2 Animation process in After Effects |
I set the composition as 15 frames per second, making the whole animation consisting of 45 frames in total. Using keyframes, I mostly transformed each of the position and changed the speed by manipulating the value graphs. I then renderred the animation as a gif.
Digital Triptych
Figure 5.1 Creating sketches for the triptych
Figure 5.2 Process of creating the first panel
Using the sketched, I outlined the basic shapes and colours first before adding in details (values) by using the freeform gradient tool. I added the final details by adding the background and necessary shadows.
Figure 5.3 Process of making the third panel
For the last panel, I focused on creating the setting before outlining the shapes of the figures using the pen tool. I used darker colours to create the rough shadows before going onto the details again by using the freeform gradient tool.
Task 2: [Decisive Moment Final Illustration]
Figure 6.1 Final jpeg of illustration
Figure 6.2 Pdf of illustration
Figure 6.3 Final gif animation of decisive moment
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| Figure 6.4 Final triptych |
FEEDBACK
Directed Feedback
For the animation itself, change the door to slide all the way through and close it again at the end to create a continuous loop effect. The sketch for the triptych is good enough, just make the man fall further into the ground.
REFLECTION
For this task, I have thoroughly enjoyed the whole concept since I was always interested in urban legends all around the world. This task allowed me to explore darker themes which I personally think is a strength of mine. Another strength I had was the process of animating the decisive moment, since I already have experience with Adobe After Effects I didn't have much struggle in completing the animation efficiently. However what I struggled with was mostly with the composition itself, I did not have much knowledge of what a good composition should look like, I wanted to make sure that my artwork isn't just flat, therefore I had to use references and ask the lecturer for feedbacks in order to have a satisfactory one. One thing I could improve is the composition itself, I feel like I didn't ask for much feedback and it could still be done better. The references such as the transition books and lectures were very helpful, it helped me as a guide and inspiration of how my decisive moment should look like in the end, though the lectures were short it helped me understand the whole concept of compositions and such knowledge would definitely help when I create new artworks in the future.
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