Illustration & Visual Narrative/ Task 1:Vormator Challenge

25 Sept 2023 - 3 Nov 2023 (Week 1 - Week 6)

Natalie Chu Jing Xuan, 0354589

Illustration & Visual Narrative, Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media

Lectures, Tutorials & Practicals

Week 1: Info (27/09/2023)

There is no lecture in the first week, but there is some introduction and briefing on the overview of this module. We practised The Bezier Game to get familiar with the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator before beginning our tasks and assignments in the coming weeks.

Fig.1 The Bezier Game

Week 2: Vormater Challenge (04/10/2023)

The Vormator Challenge was our first project this week. We must first trace out the following elements in Adobe Illustrator using the pen tool before we can use them to create our own characters.

Fig.2 Vormator elements

After finish tracing out the elements, I started to brainstorm character following these rules:

Allowed to rotate, flip and duplicate the elements.
Elements scaling is allowed, but proportionally, so skewing or free transform.
You can add, subtract, intersect and group elements as you see fit.
The use of colour is unrestricted.

Week 3: Light and Shadows (11/10/2023)

We learned about chiaroscuro this week. We practised with a pear and a skeleton. After watching the lecture tutorial video on how to draw a shadow on a pear, we'll create an exercise skeleton with Adobe Illustrator's pen tools: Pathfinder, Shape Builder, and Knife Tool.

Fig.3 Chiaroscuro

Week 4: Colours and Blending Mode (18/10/2023)

There are six blending modes in Illustrator: Normal, Darken, Lighten, Contrast, Inversion, and Component. Each of these modes works slightly differently, so knowing which one to use for which effect is important. This week, we learnt how to add textures on images.

Fig.4.1 Textures

Fig.4.2 Outlines

Week 5: - (25/10/2023)

Mr.Hafiz was on medical leave this week, therefore he will conduct a replacement lesson in the following weeks. Meanwhile, I am still working on my Vormator Challenge.

Vormator Challenge

Sketches

I wanted to make something cute that seems harmless but is extremely powerful. At first, I started looking for inspiration on Pinterest. Then I began with my first sketches (Fig.5.1).

Fig.5.1 First sketch

Its power button is represented by the 'X' on its belly. Because of the droplet shape on top of its head, I imagined a monster with water power. I quickly came up with an initial concept of my character: a cute little monster who loves eating donuts and has control over the power of water and the creation of tsunamis. The second sketch were then created (Fig.5.2).

Fig.5.2 Second sketch

The tentacle elements were then removed from Fig.5 because I wanted it to be completely harmless when people first saw it. Then I enlarged the drop element and added its leg. Because this is a character who has the power of water, I chose a background of it laying on a swimming ring in a swimming pool.

I had two choices for names for it: Tsunamo and Maroonami. Tsunamo is named after the tsunami because this character's ultimate power is to create tsunamis. Then there's Maroonami, which is a combination of maroon and tsunami. But after some consideration and thought, I decided to name it Nanonami, a combination of both Tsunamo and Maroonami.

Digitalisation Progress in Adobe Illustrator

After completing the Nanonami sketches, I proceed to Illustrator to combine the elements to form the character for my Vormator Challenge. I had three attempts at first but was unsatisfied.

Fig.6.1 1st, 2nd, 3rd attempt in Illustrator

So, I make some changes to the colour and mouth to achieve greater harmony on the fourth and fifth attempts.

Fig.6.2 4th, 5th attempt in Illustrator

I was satisfied on the fifth attempt. The elements I use for creating Nanonami are:

7 badges for the tiara and eyes.
7 wursts for the highlight of the water drop on the tiara, eye browns, hands and legs.
3 bars for the nose, face and belly.
2 chevrons for the 'X' power button.
1 zerk for the body.
1 drop for the water droplet on the tiara.