Illustration and Visual Narrative - Exercise

01/04/19 – 30/05/19 (Week 1 – Week 9)
Chan Qian Hui 0334447

Illustration and Visual Narrative
Exercise

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EXERCISE

04/04/19 (week 1)

For our very first class, Mr Hafiz gave us a briefing through our modules. Then we learnt the basics of  Adobe Illustrator, such as pen tool to draw and trace.

Mr Hafiz introduced us to Vormator Challenge, which is tracing out the shapes given, and creating your own character with the shapes given. The rules are we are not allowed to stretch or cut the shapes, we are only allowed to rotate and adjust the size of the shapes.

Fig 1.0 Vormator Challenge Template

Fig 1.1 Traced shapes

This is the first character I created using the vormator shapes, I find the spine part to be quite interesting but the legs are weird, so I am planning to change it.

Fig 1.2 Outline of shapes of vormator character

Fig 1.3 First Vormator Character

11/04/19 (week 2)

For week 2, Mr Ridzwan taught us that on drawing with basic shapes. He also taught us on shadows and perspective of objects. For the shadow exercise, we were tasked to get 30%, 50% and 70% grey marker for different shades of shadow on object. After we were done, we were tasked to practice drawing one of the objects around us and also shadow a figure given by him.

Fig 1.4 practicing drawing and shadow boxes

Fig 1.5 practicing drawing and shadow curved shapes

Fig 1.6 Practicing drawing perspecitve

Fig 1.7 Shadowing exercise

18/04/19 (week 3)

This week's lesson is conducted by Mr Hafiz, he taught us on how to create shadow in Adobe Illustrator and also knife tool. We first traced the shape of a pear and it's shadow, then we separated the pear in to different parts using the knife tool.

Mr Hafiz also taught us how we could use images to create interesting shadows as well, such as skull shadow on a pear.

Fig 1.8 Cut pears with Knife tool

Fig 1.9 Pear shadow with skull

After learning our class, we were tasked to apply shadow into our vormator character. I also changed my previous character design.

Fig 1.10 2nd Vormator Character

Fig 1.11 2nd vormator character with shadow

25/04/19 (week 4)

For this week, the class is conducted by Mr Ridzwan. He taught us how to draw facial expressions. First we drew simple round shaped faces with expression with reference. Then slowly we draw harder face shapes like girl face and a baby face. 

Fig 1.12 Facial expression (round)

Fig 1.13 Facial expression (girl)       

Fig 1.14 Facial expression (baby)

After then, we were tasked to draw different facial expressions on one animal and one everyday object.

Fig 1.15 Facial expression (dog)

Fig 1.16 facial expression (salt)

09/05/19 (week 6)

For this week, Mr Hafiz taught us how to create our own custom brushes. We searched online for ink splat images, converted the image into black and white and traced the image. Then we create the brush and we can use it to draw artwork.

Fig 1.17 custom brush

Fig 1.18 custom brush artwork

16/05/19 (week 7)

For this week, the class is conducted by both Mr Hafiz and Mr Redzwan class. We started with Mr Ridzwan's class which is drawing lines.

Fig 1.19 Lines

Fig 1.20 Lines

Fig 1.21 Lines

Fig 1.22 Lines

After that it was Mr Hafiz's class. We were tasked to draw 6 different styles of shadows for a pear.

Fig 1.23 Pear 1

Fig 1.24 Pear 2

Fig 1.25 Pear 3

Fig 1.26 Pear 4

Fig 1.27 Pear 5

Fig 1.28 Pear 6

30/05/19 (week 9)

For this week's exercise, we were taught about clipping mask, which is adding texture to a shape in Adobe Illustrator. We were first tasked to trace a person's shadow and then using clipping mask, we place the texture on the chosen shape.

Fig 1.29 reference picture

Fig 1.30 texture

FIg 1.31 outcome of tracing and clipping mask exercise

Blockbuster Movie Plot Diagram

For this exercise, we were required to select one blockbuster movie and analyze it into 5 different parts according to Plot Diagram.

Plot Diagram :

The movie which I chose for this exercise is Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し). It is a 2001 Japanese animated film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki from Studio Ghibli.

Fig 2.0 Poster of Spirited Away

The movie talks about a 10-year-old girl, Chihiro who is moving to her new home with her family in the car. When her father got lost after trying to take a short cut, the family stumble upon a abandoned amusement park with a small town. Chihiro's parents discovered an empty restaurant with great-smelling food but no staff, they decide to eat and pay later. However, Chihiro refuses to eat and decides to explore the theme park a bit more. She meets a boy named Haku who tells her that Chihiro and her parents are in danger, and they must leave immediately. She runs to the restaurant and finds that her parents have turned into pigs. She discovered that the theme park turns out to be a town inhabited by demons, spirits, and evil gods. At the center of the town is a bathhouse where all these creatures go to relax. The owner of the bathhouse is the evil witch Yubaba, who is intent on keeping all trespassers as captive workers, including Chihiro. Chihiro must rely on Haku to save her parents in hopes of returning to their world.

Exposition:

The exposition in this film introduces Chihiro and her parents when they are on the journey moving to their new house. Along the way Chihiro's father tries to find an alternative route to the new home and takes a back road through some woods.

Fig 2.1 Chihiro inside car moving

The family come across a man made tunnel, and despite Chihiro's reluctance they decided to explore it.

Fig 2.2 Chihiro's father car in front of tunnel

The family find what appears to be an abandoned theme park, where there is a food stand. Chihiro's parents help themselves even though she warned them not to. This already separates Chihiro as a character as she acts differently to her parents. She then goes and explore the other buildings, when suddenly everything becomes dark and ghostly figures appear in the street.

Fig 2.3 Street filled with ghosts

Rising Action :

Chihiro has now crossed into another world and sets the story's events into motion. She can find no way in getting back and to her horror finds that her parents have been transformed into pigs.

Fig 2.4 Chihiro's parents turned into pigs

Frightened and alone she starts to panic when she realizes that her body is slowly disappearing, fading into nothing. It's at this moment when a boy about the same age as her called Haku stops her disappearance from happening.

Fig 2.5 Haku helping Chihiro that is slowly disappearing

He then leads her to the bath house, where she can find safety. The plot point at this stage is that Chihiro now needs to find a job at the bath house to maintain her safety and ultimately find a way to save her parents and return home.

Chihiro manages to get herself a job at the bath house for spirits by repeatedly asking Yubaba, the woman in charge. The first obstacles that Chihiro now faces are chores and errands that she must carry out in the bath house.

Fig 2.6 Chihiro working at the bathtubs

 At one point she finds a masked figure waiting outside in the rain, which she lets into the bath house.

Fig 2.7 No face outside of bathhouse

Conflict :

One of the jobs Chihiro does is to help bath a spirit made of dirt and sludge. It is later revealed that the client turned out to be a powerful river spirit, and Chihiro receives high credit from not only the client but also from her fellow workers and Yubaba.

Fig 2.8 Chihiro trying to wash dirty spirit

However things start to turn bleak as Haku is attacked whilst in the form of a dragon. He is seriously injured and the only way to help him is to repay the debt he owes to Zeniba, the twin sister of Yubaba.

Fig 2.9 Chihiro trying to help injured Haku

Before Chihiro can help Haku, Yubaba requests her assistance as the masked figure called No Face has turned into monster, and has started attacking the staff of the bath house.

Fig 2.10 Chihiro being chased by No-Face

This stage of the film is the mid point of the story. At this moment all of Chihiro's problems to solve have been revealed, which leaves the story to start resolving and finish. Chihiro travels along with No Face and two other characters to see Zeniba. This character is calm and collected and acts almost like a mentor to Chihiro. In this scene the problems start to resolve and Chihiro gets closer to her goal.

Fig 2.11 Chihiro in train going to see Zeniba

Climax :

When Chihiro returns from seeing Zeniba she is faced with a task. Yubaba has agreed to let Chihiro go home if she can pass a test. This is the climax of the film as everything that the hero has worked for now balances on this moment. If Chihiro doesn't pass the test she will be trapped in that world for the rest of her life.

Fig 2.12 Yubaba giving test to Chihiro

Falling Action :

Chihiro passes the test and is able to return to her parents and her world.

Fig 2.11 Chihiro guessed the test correctly

 Haku sent Chihiro to the edge of the town and tells her to leave and rejoin her family. When Chihiro reunites with her family, her parents don't have any recollection of what happened, which leaves the question if it was real.

Fig 2.12 Haku sending Chihiro away

Conclusion :

Chihiro walks with her parents back to their car, and before she gets in, she takes one last look back at the tunnel that lead to the world that only she seems to remember.

Fig 2.13 Chihiro looking back at the tunnel before leaving