Illustration and Visual Narrative - Task 1 - Exercises (Vormator Challenge)

Lecture: Sir Hafiz briefed us about the important URLs that we had to check out like the URLs to help us get access to our Adobe Resources and such. Within the URLs, we also got the link to our Google Classroom. Overall, our lecture was mostly general housekeeping to keep everyone on the same page.

Tutorial & Practical: After our lecture, Sir Hafiz gave us our first lab task which was learning the Pen Tool. This was to prepare us before fully getting into Adobe Illustrator, which would be our main application for this module. After showing us the link to a site called "Bezier Game", Sir set up a challenge for us to try to create the car outline with the Pen Tool using less than 10 nodes.

When I first tried it out, I could admittedly only get around 13 nodes and no less. But after I think 4 more tries, I managed to get 9 nodes! \( •̀ᴗ•́ )/

Fig. 1.1.1 Bezier Game, Car Section

After posting my results to the TEAMS chat, I was intrigued to continue the game so I also did the Airplane Section of the game and got 9 nodes! Though the ideal amount of nodes was 10 so I'm not really sure if I was doing it correctly or not... (>﹏< '')

Fig 1.1.2 Bezier Game, Airplane Section

1.2 Week 02 Vormator Shapes

Lecture: We started off the class with Sir Hafiz briefly going through the Character Design lecture slides since it correlated with what we were going to do for tutorials. He then demonstrated to us how to attempt the Vormator Tracing exercise where we had to trace 6 shapes; the Zerk, Drop, Badge, Chevron, Bar, Wurst, Cobra and Tentacle. And after he said that we can start playing with the shapes to create our monsters.

Tutorial & Practical: For the whole session, Sir gave us ample time to get used to tracing the shapes and instructed us to upload said tracing into the TEAMS chat after we were done. At that time, I was experiencing trouble with my Illustrator, though; so I did have to somewhat improvise and use an online Illustrator-like website to do my tracing exercise, Vectr. (・–・;)

Surprisingly, even though I experienced troubles, I ended up being the first one to upload my tracing. When I uploaded it, Sir gave the picture a thumbs up and said that it was a very sharp tracing! (ᵔᵕᵔ)

Fig 1.2.1 My Vormator Tracing exercise using Vectr.

Since my Illustrator wasn't properly set up yet, I, unfortunately, wasn't able to play around with the shapes to create my monsters (╥_╥)

1.3 Week 03 Light and Shadows

Lecture: This lecture was the introduction to Chiaroscuro, the method of using shapes, establishing light and dark; thus, giving it weight. We were given pre-recorded videos to watch by Sir Hafiz; they were videos of how to basically achieve Chiaroscuro using a pear. Additionally, Sir added another challenge for us to do which was essentially merge the shadows of a picture of a skull (given in the Google Classroom) with the pear shape that we'll make.

We were introduced to the Pathfinder tool, Shape Builder and Knife Tool.

Tutorial & Practical: The session was done off-call like last week. I found the exercise to be quite fun! Honestly, any activity that involves colours automatically catches my interest. The pear tracing went very smoothly along with the Pathfinder sections. Plus cutting up the pear into parts and creating the illusion of 3D on a 2D object was just overall very satisfying I'd say! (๑>◡<๑)

Fig. 1.3.1 Chiaroscuro Pear. Left: Tracing and Shadows; Right: Cut and turn into a 3D object.

Next, I worked on the skull shadows. I kept things simple since I wanted the shadows to imply the main contours/shadow shapes of the skull. If I added more shadows, I feel like it'd look too detailed and weird. For colours, I used blues and pinks for a nice contrast and colour cohesiveness.

Fig 1.3.2 Skull shadows applied to pear.

Sir said our pears were all very nice ( ◡̀_◡́)ᕤ Other than that, we also had a feedback session for our progress on our Vormator Challenge.

1.4 Week 04 Colours and Blending Modes

Lecture: We were briefed on Blending modes to aid in our applying said blending modes in our Vormator works. In Illustrator, there are six blending modes: Normal, Darken, Lighten, Contrast, Inversion, and Component. Each of these modes works a little differently, so it's important to know which one to use for which effect. You can find them in the “Appearance” section under the “Properties” tab on the right menu.

Fig 1.4.1 Visual demonstration of how each blending mode works.

Tutorial & Practical: Sir demonstrated to us how to try these blending modes by using a picture of a man (or Vin Diesel wannabe according to Sir). Essentially, we had to use what we learned in the previous week (Pear Exercise) and apply it to our tracing of the guy. Additionally, he showed us how to add textures to the shadows/the elements in general.

Fig. 1.4.2 Vin Diesel wannabe (right) that we had to trace.

It was initially frustrating for me to trace the guy since his back was fully in the shadows so I just had to make assumptions of how his back/waist would be.

Fig 1.4.3 Attempt #1 and Attempt #2 of my tracing and texturing.

Attempt #1 has a slightly wider silhouette than the others as this was my initial attempt at tracing; though I'd fix it slightly in my following attempts. I chose a teal background with an orange background because I really liked the contrast and theme of it.

Attempt #2 has a watercolour texture to the shadows and a gradient as the background. I set the colours up so that it would look like light is shining really brightly from the top and slowly fade to darker shadows at the bottom. The background gradient was set the complete opposite (dark to light) to create a better silhouette of the guy. I chose pastel purple for this because I usually associate it with soft watercolour (｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )

Fig. 1.4.4 Attempt #3 and Attempt #4 of my tracing and texturing.

For both of these attempts, I was really inspired by Persona 5's (a popular JRPG game) art style which uses a lot of halftones. That and also their main colour palette is red and black which I really like.

Attempt #3 has a simple but effective colour scheme; the shadows and background are all black, giving great contrast to the parts of the guy that are hit by light. I did a similar effect as Attempt #2 where the light gradually fades into shadows but this time I used interesting halftones.

Attempt #4 is basically of combination of everything I learned from Attempt #2 and #3; I applied the gradient background from Attempt #2 (this time using halftones) and I used the fading halftones from Attempt #3 on the shadows.

Fig. 1.4.5 Persona 5, a popular JRPG game; is my inspiration for my third and fourth attempts.

1.5 Week 05

Sir Hafiz was unfortunately on medical leave so we did not get to have our class for this week. But we were encouraged to continue our Vormator Challenge.

Lecture: -

Tutorial & Practical: -

1.6 Week 06

Lecture: Since we missed our previous week's class, Sir advised us that we should see him every Tuesday 6-9pm at D7.04 (Computer Lab 19) for one-to-one sessions about our exercises/assignments. We were given our exercise deadline; Friday, November 3rd. Then, Sir started introducing us to our first proper assignment: The Decisive Moment; but I'll include the info in my Assignment 1 post.

We were provided resources to help with our current exercise which included info about the Rule of Thirds; a crucial design element that determines the quality of the composition.

Fig. 1.6.1 Example of the Rule of Thirds (not applied)

Fig 1.6.2 Example of the Rule of Thirds (nicely applied)

The lecture slides given were also related to the importance of composition and depth, using many different media (live-action, anime, paintings etc.) as examples.

Tutorial & Practical: Feedback session.

For a higher quality look into my weekly exercises, check out My Google Drive!

2. PROGRESS WORK FOR VORMATOR CHALLENGE

When I heard we were going to create our own monsters AND make a fake Pokémon card for them... To say I was HOOKED is an understatement ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و I'm a long-time fan of Pokémon fan so anything Pokémon-related instantly catches my eye. But before I get too excited I of course need to do a bit of research to create my monsters.

2.1 Research

I was keen on making my monster either a Psychic/Ghost or Water type. So I did a bit of research on some Pokémon of which silhouettes I really loved. Most of these entries are taken from Bulbapedia, a fan-made online encyclopedia of the whole of the Pokémon franchise.

Psychic/Ghost

Fig. 2.1.1 Mismagius, Gen. IV, Pokémon

INFO

Name: Mismagius

Type: Ghost

Appearance: Its head is spherical, and on top of it are intricate tufts that resemble a witch's hat. The tufts' tips are paler than the body's majority. Its lips is crimson and narrow like the letter "W." Mismagius has a small hump below its head that resembles a thorax and links to its body. Three red elliptical circles encircle Mismagius's upper body. Its lower body has extensions on the sides, the front ones being more ragged than the back ones. Mismagius appears to be wearing a cloak as a result of this.

Description: Usually appearing out of the blue, Mismagius wreaks devastation on gullible people or Pokémon. Mismagius can utilize advanced incantations to cause happiness or misery, among other things, if they are powerful enough. Because of this, individuals frequently pursue Mismagius as if their lives depended on it, with the express purpose of manipulating a person to fall in love with them.

Pre-evolution: Misdreavus

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Fig. 2.1.2 Espurr, Gen. VI, Pokémon

INFO

Name: Espurr

Type: Psychic

Appearance: Espurr is a cat-like, bipedal Pokémon. Its paws and ears are both white, and its fur is a light grey colour. The fur on its head, face, shoulders, chest, and hips is ruffled. It features a small nose, a small mouth, and broad, pale purple eyes with deeper purple pupils. Its top jaw displays two pointed teeth when its mouth is open. It has a fluffy, slightly curled tail.

Description: The ears of an Espurr are folded and very large compared to its size. Its ears are covered in two yellow organs that resemble rings. These organs radiate the powerful psychic energies of Espurr. If the ears were not protecting the organs, it would seep out as it has no control over its power. Its psychological energy is sufficient to produce a 300-foot-radius burst (90 meters). Even a trained wrestler can be sent skyward by this psychological energy. Its countenance remains blank, yet underlying that is a fierce fight to master its psychic abilities.

Evolves into: Meowstic (male and female designs are different)

Water

Fig 2.1.3 Kingler, Gen. I, Pokémon

INFO

Name: Kingler

Type: Water

Appearance: Kingler is a Pokémon that looks like a crab. Its body is covered in a robust shell that has a light tan lower half and a red upper half. There are six tall, thin spikes that resemble a crown on top of its upper half. Its arms, which have a light tan colour, are joined to its upper body. Its lower jaw, which has six fangs that overlap its upper body, doubles as its jaw. Its two outer fangs are about half the height of Kingler's whole body, and they are significantly larger than the inner four. Its lower body is clearly visible at the hips, which join its four long, slender legs. Its orange pincers are the main features of Kingler. Its left claw is as hard as steel and about twice as big as the right one.

Description: Kingler is typically found near bodies of water, primarily the ocean. With ten thousand horsepower, its formidable claws can crack open a Shellder and Cloyster's shells. Although the left claw of the Kingler is its primary offensive weapon, Kingler can hardly lift it due to its size and weight. Kingler has trouble balancing, and prolonged use can quickly wear him out. It can, however, be demonstrated to communicate with other Kingler by indicating with its pincers.

Pre-evolution: Krabby

~~~

Fig 2.1.4 Crabrawler, Gen. VII, Pokémon

INFO

Name: Crabrawler

Type: Fighting (not Water type but still aquatic inspired)

Appearance: Crabrawler is a crustacean Pokémon resembling a crab. Its shell is mostly purple with accents of blue and yellow. Above its eyes are two long, yellow antennae. Usually, one blue eyelid is half closed, giving the impression that it is a black eye. Its purple shell seems to be composed of three pieces: one plate with blue stripes running across it on the underside, and two plain plates covering the shoulders and a portion of the chest. Three pairs of legs make up a Crabrawler. The two smaller rear pairs have blue tips and yellow joints. Big blue pincers on the front pair of legs resemble boxing gloves.

Description: This Pokémon, which is competitive and detests defeat, uses its large claws to shield its belly and face as it closes in on opponents. Pincers on Crabrawlers can break off from overuse, but they grow back quickly; the pincers are a common addition to Paella (dish) and make a flavorful stock for soups. Crabrawler aspires to both a high social status and a physically superior position. It can be seen clinging to tall people or buildings, and it will punch anyone who tries to take it down from its perch. If it does lose, it will froth its mouth before it passes out.

Evolves into: Crabominable

2.2 Ideation

Designing the Monster

After researching, I started playing around with shapes we were given; the Zerk, Drop, Badge, Chevron, Bar, Wurst, Cobra and Tentacle. I decided to go for more a cartoony and simple design for my initial designs. Additionally, I actually made short backstories for each of my designs to really give them ✧˖°. character ･°˖✧

Fig. 2.2.1 Crabenous - The first design I created

Fig. 2.2.2 Crabenous - The first design I created (Outlines)

INFO

Name: Crabenous

Type: Water and Dark

Appearance: Crabenous is an aquatic Pokémon that's usually found in the depths of the ocean. It has a tall body with two pairs of small skewer-like legs supporting its frame; the tips of the legs are darker. Its abdomen can open up, revealing a second, larger mouth that bears sharp teeth and three dark tongues. Crabenous has two claws; one is 20 times larger than the other. Both claws are coated in a dark unknown material. Two lanky antennas protrude from its body with warm yet creepy eyes.

Description: Although unusual, this Pokémon can sometimes be seen at shores during early morning hours feeding on sleeping Slowpokes; however, upon approaching Crabenous, witnesses claim to see huge clouds of smoke emanating from both its mouth and abdomen that leave the witnesses blinded for enough time for it to escape into the darkest depths of the ocean. Assumedly, this Pokémon uses its big claw to strongly grab hold of prey. A popular assumption seems to be that Crabenous uses its smaller claw to pick out leftover food stuck in both its mouths. Quite a hygienic Pokémon!

NOTES

Crabenous was the first character I created with the shape given. Essentially, I used every shape except of the Badge. Clearly, you can see that I took heavy inspiration from Crabrawler and Kingler; but, I added my own elements like the sharp teeth and gaping mouth stomach. Overall, I liked this silly crab.

~~~

Fig. 2.2.3 Sorcerglare - My second design

Fig. 2.2.4 Sorcerglare - My second design (Outlines)

INFO

Name: Sorcerglare

Type: Psychic

Appearance: Known as the Dread Pokémon, Sorcerglare is a bipedal witch-like creature. Its head is spherical and has wavy tentacle-like hair. Its arms and feet bear dark claws; they can extend and stretch out to a record of 50 meters. The feet resemble those of boots but is in-fact just how its legs look like. It dons a small cape and a witch's hat of which their origins are unknown. Lastly, the main reason why it is named Sorcerglare is its glaring eyes. Luminescent in the night, Sorcerglare's eyes take up most of the space on its face; it has no visible mouth.

Description: Witnesses who have unfortunately been gazed upon by Sorcerglare faint and are put into a minor coma for 2-3 days. Victims describe feeling like they were in a lonely and endless void when they were in the said coma. These accounts have led people to speculate on the nature of Sorcerglare. Is it intentionally harming people? Do victims get the intense feeling of loneliness in the coma because Sorcerglare themselves are lonely? Could this somehow be related to the out-of-place witch hat and cape? All remains a mystery.

NOTES

Sorcerglare was the most fun for me to create! I really like making "gremlin" characters and I managed to use a favourite colour palette of mine that I've used for my previous college works. I've grown quite attached to Sorcerglare so I decided to choose it for my fake Pokémon card. ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ The shapes used were everything except for the Bar.

~~~

I unfortunately was not able to record my shading progress for Sorcerglare because my files kept getting corrupted and I only managed to get the end result of the shading.

Fig 2.2.5 Sorcerglare shaded.

I decided to go for mysterious moonlit lighting with the eyes of Sorcerglare being lit up even in the shadows. I went for a stylistic choice of lighting whereby I made the parts of the shadows actually lighter than the original colour.

It was particularly interesting to use gradients in parts of the shadows since it managed to give off the feeling of light faintly casted on the shadows.

Designing the Card Background

Since I chose decided to go for moonlit lighting, I would need to design a background to try support said lighting. Therefore, I sketched up a few ideas on the composition of the card background. I hope you appreciate the silly Sorcerglare sketches! (´｡• ω •｡`)

Fig. 2.2.6 Card Background Sketch #1

For Sketch #1, I wanted to try the classic Pokémon composition in which the Pokémon sits at the very center. Behind Sorcerglare, there would be a dense forest, with the trees curving slightly to give the notion of perspective. In the middle-ground where Sorcerglare is, would be a clearing, with bushes surrounding it. Lastly, there would be branches in the foreground.

I didn't make it clear here but I wanted the moonlight to shine from above to give a mysterious spotlight to Sorcerglare.

Fig. 2.2.7 Card Background Sketch #2

In Sketch #2, I went for a more "dynamic" approach to the composition whereby instead of the normally centered Pokémon, I put Sorcerglare slightly off to the side. As you can see, I put great emphasis on the moonlight casting onto Sorcerglare and the surroundings. Similar to Sketch #1, I made it so that behind Sorcerglare would be a forest and Sorcerglare would be in a clearing surrounded by bushes.

Here though, I made it so the foreground would contain a tree with a few bushes. I positioned the tree to the opposite side of Sorcerglare so that more attention would be put on Sorcerglare.

Fig. 2.2.8 Card Background Sketch #3

Going even further into the classic Pokémon card aesthetic, I went for a simpler background for Sketch #3. In most older Pokémon cards, I found they used a lot of gradients and simple shapes to convey the vibe of the presented Pokémon. So, to match Sorcerglare's mysteriousness, I added branch-like elements that point towards Sorcerglare.

It can be viewed as this being the perspective of a person coming into contact with a wild Sorcerglare and getting caught in its gaze; with this sketch as an illustration of what the victim might see before they fall into a coma. I am getting slightly off-topic but I just wanted to add slight lore to the designs! (⌒_⌒;)

~~~

In the end, I decided to go for Sketch #2 because I liked the composition (＾▽＾)

Next, I began to properly draw out the backgrounds in Illustrator.

Fig. 2.2.9 Background Progress #1

I started blocking out the shapes of the trees, the clearing and the forest in the background. In total, I used the rule of foreground, midground and background to create depth. The colour scheme is a cool purple to match with Sorcerglare but still have it be the main focal point with its bright pink.

Fig. 2.2.10 Background Progress #2

I added the sharp moonlight that illuminated Sorcerglare's surrounding to really add to the fact that the viewer's eyes should be looking at Sorcerglare.

Fig. 2.2.11 Background Progress #3

I added some simple finishing touches like the textures of the leaves on the bushes and trees as well as the grass in the clearing.

3. FINAL OUTCOME

Fig. 3.1 Sorcerglare Card

I added my own creative ideas to its moves and backstory :-)

4. REFLECTION

I had a ton of fun with this task! Being limited to designing a character using limited shapes was interesting to do and seeing everything piece together into a final Pokémon card was enthralling (especially since I love Pokémon haha). Creating Sorcerglare from nothing to a creature with an actual backstory really helped me understand how much work goes into character designing and development! Overall, I'm just glad I got to geek out in this assignment >:)

🌊

Qistina Nuralya Maria Binti Azly (0354180)

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