Illustration & Visual Narrative / Task 3 / Digital Triptych

7.6.2023 - 30.6.2023 (Week 10 - Week 13)
Elysa Wee Qi En / 0355060 / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Illustration and Visual Narrative
Task 3 / Digital Triptych

LECTURES / Tutorials

Week 10 / Light and Shadow

This week, we learnt about visual depth and how light and shadows can affect it. We also were taught some more techniques in Illustrator. Some exercises were given for us to practice tracing and expand out knowledge on shadows.

Fig. 1. Light and shadow exercises (7/6/2023)

These exercises also taught us ways to add texture to our illustrations. This can be done by using image trace and increasing the smoothness so there are fewer lines, or by overlaying a texture onto a certain part of the image to create cool effects.

Week 11 / Ornaments

This week we were shown how the width tool works and how we can use it to adjust the width of a shape in specific sections rather than the whole shape at once. 

The tutor also explained the 'draw behind' and such functions that allowed the brush and blob brush tools to draw only behind or within a shape. 

Finally, we were that patterns can be added to swatches too and were taught how to create our own patterns turn them into swatch presets so we would be able to create and sample a pattern whenever we want.

INSTRUCTIONS

Fig. 2. Module Information Booklet (5/4/2023)

Task 3: Digital Triptych

For this assignment, we were tasked with creating a 3-panel digital triptych based on one of the provided Edgar Allan Poe short stories. 

The story that I chose for this assignment is called 'Manuscript in a Bottle', and is about a sailor whose ship one day gets caught in a whirlpool. Somehow, he survives, but a larger ship rising a wave crashes down onto the ship wreckage that he's on and throws him onboard. There he finds that the crewmates don't notice him at all and are all quite old, and the ship seems to be old too. The story (and therefore the manuscript written by the sailor) ends with this second ship getting caught in another whirlpool.

We were instructed to first split the story into three acts and write them out following a structure (the bold words):

Fig. 3.1. The story in three acts (16/6/2023)

After establishing these three acts, I was easily able to determine what to depict in each panel of the triptych - one panel per act. I then began sketching my first idea draft:

Fig. 3.2. Idea sketches 1 (21/6/2023)

These were the first two ideas that I sketched. I wanted to be able to convey most of the story through the triptychs, but I realised that drawing so many human figures would take too long, so I decided to change my idea and tried sketching a second row of panels. These were clearer and a lot simpler, but the first panel seemed too plain compared to the second and third.

Fig. 3.3. Idea sketches 2 (21/6/2023)

These were drawn after some advice from my tutor. The panels in this idea are much more united, as the first and third panels are very similar, and appropriately show the main point of each act of the story. This is the idea that I decided to go with for my triptych.

Fig. 3.4. Development of first two panels (27/6/2023)

Of course, I started by creating a simple illustration of the first two panels. At this stage, when adjusting the perspective of the sail, I was just going based on guessing.For the whirlpool, I used the brush tool to create different types of paths that I then overlayed with a radial gradient on a separate layer with lowered opacity to blend in more. 

Fig. 3.5. Development of the third panel (30/6/2023)

For the third panel, I copied and pasted the ship from the first panel and recoloured it to have a black-based colour scheme as described in the story. I added hints of red to keep the colours less boring and to contrast each other. I used the same technique as the second panel to create the whirlpool in the third panel.

Fig. 3.6. Further development of the second panel (30/6/2023)

I figured that using a 3D model for the sail in the second panel would be easier than trying to figure the perspective out on my own, so I decided to turn the 2D shapes into 3D shapes. However, I was not content with the colours used on the 3D model, but I was unable to figure out how to change them. Later on in the development stage, I remembered what I did in the last assignment, and decided to trace over the 3D model using the pen tool to give myself more control over the colours.

Fig. 3.7. Reference picture for the sails (30/6/2023)

Fig. 3.8. Changing the sails (30/6/2023)

I was not satisfied with how the sail looked either, so I went on Google to look for references. Based on Fig. 3.7, I changed the sails to look more accurate to those on ships in real life. I also made the sails longer to follow the ratio of sail to boat as seen in the reference photo.

Fig. 3.9. Adding shading to the ships and details to the waves (30/6/2023)

To make the panels more detailed and realistic, I added some shading based on the contours of the ships. I also added some white shapes on the waves with the blob brush tool to make the water more realistic.

Fig. 3.10. Adding waves and perspective to the second panel (30/6/2023)

I added the same type of waves to the second panel since the ship is getting carried around by the water and no doubt is getting splashed. Later on I realised that I did not add perspective to the back half of the ship, so I added that in.

Fig. 3.11. Adding borders (30/6/2023)

Finally, I wanted to add some borders to unite all of the panels and make them more interesting. I created some simple borders and then decided to have the colours be decreasing in brightness each panel, to have some contrast but also establish an order and the way the story gets darker as it goes on.

FINAL Digital Triptych Submission

Fig. 4.1. Final Digital Triptych Panel 1 (30/6/2023)

Fig. 4.1. Final Digital Triptych Panel 2 (30/6/2023)

Fig. 4.1. Final Digital Triptych Panel 3 (30/6/2023)

Fig. 4.1. Final Digital Triptych Panels (30/6/2023)

Fig. 4.1. Final Digital Triptych Outline View (30/6/2023)

FEEDBACK

Week 12
Specific Feedback
- Agrees that the first idea is too complicated and the first panel in the second idea is too plain
- Tutor suggests a different approach, and plans the third idea with me

REFLECTIONS

Experience
I'm grateful to my tutor for setting a deadline for a progress check in week 12, as it motivated me to complete some work before then. I'm quite happy with how my final triptych design turned out, as I think it successfully tells the story. There is a lot more to the story than is shown, but the main points are there. I can tell that my skills in Illustrator have improved, and my experience has grown, as shown by how I knew to trace the 3D model.

Observations
Sometimes less is better. The design doesn't have to be complicated to be good, in fact sometimes too much is detrimental. A minimalist approach isn't necessarily bad, it can be beneficial in situations such as this. My panels are much more united and feel more consistent like they're actually part of the same story. 

Findings
Doing research and finding ways to make the illustrations more realistic really helped make it better. From getting a reference photo for the sails to using a 3D model to determine the perspective of them, such techniques are useful to ensure that your design is accurate even if you're going for a more cartoonish style.