Illustration and Visual Narrative ✦Project 3✦

Project 3 of Illustration and Visual Narrative involve the illustrating of a digital triptych while showcasing individual skills in Adobe Illustrator learnt during previous classes. It is instructed to select one of the stories written by Edgar Allan Poe followed by the break down of the narrative into 3-act structures including Introduction, Climax and Epilogue. A 3 panel digital triptych is then created based on each of the act.

The challenges of this assignment are as followed:

Stories are to be selected from the provided website.
Visuals are displayed in a series of three.
Include short non-spoiler text for each act.

Week 10

This week we were taught about the concept of Chiaroscuro, which is defined as the technique of using light and shade in pictorial representation. It is commonly used to assist in the creation of:

Visual depth
Atmosphere and mood
Symbolism and metaphor
Visual hierarchy and focus
Contrast and conflict

During the practical, we learnt about the tools in Adobe Illustrator that is able to help in the application of Chiaroscuro. The tools include the knife tool, shape builder tool as well as the clipping mask tool. These were utilized to create bold contrasting parts of an image which helped in visual depth, resulting in an improvement of visual experience.

Figure 1.1: Practical exercise done on Week 10 to practice the application of Chiaroscuro.

We traced out an image using the Pen tool, followed by the creation of shadows using the shape builder tool. Finally, clipping mask is applied to give texture to certain paints of the image.

Week 11

Week 11 covered the application of patterns, drawing modes and the width tool in Adobe Illustrator.

A. Pattern Creation

Patterns can be created in AI using self-made shapes by utilizing the pattern maker function in the Object tab. Patterns can be edited freely in the pattern editing mode in which how the geometric shape layers as well as its distinctive colors can be changed. The factors that needs to taken consideration of in pattern making include the tiling and seamlessness of the pattern which can be determined through trial and error.

Figure 1.2: Exercises done in Week 11.

B. Drawing

There are multiple ways to draw in Adobe Illustrator in which the brush tool and the blob brush tool can be utilized to give easy and free-flowing strokes.

Brush tool - draws as a stroke.
Blob brush tool - draws as a fill that is available in three drawing modes as below.

Draw normal: The shape is drawn on top of a selected shape.
Draw behind: The shape is drawn behind a selected shape.
Draw inside: The shape is drawn and automatically clipped inside the selected shape.

C. Individual Practice

I have made a pattern as practice as preparation for the creation of my digital triptych. The pattern is inspired by traditional Chinese woven patterns on formal fabrics.

Figure 1.3: Self practice on development of patterns.

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✦INSTRUCTIONS✦

Figure 1: Assignment guidelines for Illustration and Visual Narrative.

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✦1.0 IDEA DEVELOPMENT✦

1.1 Design Research

Prior to ideation, I have selected some of the stories provided and read through those in which I am interested in. Therefore, I have chosen my digital tryptych to be illustrating the narrative of the story titled, 'Ligeia' , written by Edgar Allan Poe.

Setup	Once upon a time, there was a married women named Ligeia with dark hair and eyes. She was described as perfect but her life was cut short. Everyday. her husband, grieved by his wife’s death, consiumed opium. Although he heavily misses his dear, he quickly remarries to a woman with blond hair and blue eyes, Lady Rowena Trevanion, who appeared as the opposite of Ligeia. It was said that the man detested his new wife yet marries for money.
Conflict	One night, Rowena fell ill causing her to faint. Because of that, the husband poured her a cup of wine to ease her pain, however, the side effects of the opium began to become significant, resulting in hallucinations. The husband saw ruby fluid drops forming in the air and fall into the goblet. Because of that too, he saw shadowy yet angelic figures in the room.
Resolution	Until finally, Rowena’s condition worsened and passed. Followed another wife’s death, the husband’s illusions worsen along with his opium addiction. He often hallucinates that Rowena came back alive. During the funeral, the husband saw the corpse Rowena raised from the dead and transformed into a familiar face. The husband suddenly expressed delightfulness as standing right before him now was his first passed wife Ligeia.

I have also done further research on the story selected in order to understand the underlying tone as well as the desired message conveyed by the author.

Story Analysis

This story revolves around the theme of the underlying causes of hallucinations in which Poe cleverly depicts the blurred boundaries between drug-induced visions and supernatural sightings. The ending of the story may seem like a magical miracle in which the narrator’s beloved came alive and returned to him when he was in his lowest moments. In reality, the story mainly consists of dark elements in which it progresses as his opium addiction worsens, hence, increasing the ridiculousness of hallucinations which caused magical-like scenes such as the revival of his dead wife.

1.2 Ideation

Based on the 3-act structure in which I have summarized the story of Ligeia, I have brainstormed and created a character reference sheet based on how they were described in the story. The main inspiration is from the 1850s fashion trends as the story is written during the 1800s.

The narrator's outfit was based on the common wear of victorian men.
Ligeia's outwear was inspired by the Victorian Gothic Clothing worn by widows.
Rowena's outfit was inspired by the 1850s ball gown worn by the upper class.

Figure 2.1: Character reference sheet of each character appeared in the story.

The main occurring element in the story is the usage of opium. Opium comes from the poppy plant, which produce a strong narcotic. Hence, I found image reference to apply them to my digital triptych.

Figure 2.2: Photo reference of the poppy plant.

Then, I started sketching thumbnails for each act and tried out various composition to compare which allows the ideal balance and harmony between three parts. I have included the poppy plant as a repeated element throughout the canvas to represent the increase usage of opium as the story progresses.

Figure 2.3: Draft of Digital Triptych illustrating the narrative of Ligeia.

The second sketch was created in which less elements were added to put focus on the current storyline of each triptych. However, the repeating poppy plants remained as they are the main element of the story.

Figure 2.4: Draft 2 of Digital Triptych illustrating the narrative of Ligeia.

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✦2.0 DESIGN PROCESS✦

2.1 Digitalization

Based on the sketch, I started the digitalization of the triptych in Adobe Illustrator. As I was designing the triptych, I have made sure to constantly refer to the Elements of design as well as the Principles of design to ensure a good composition of the illustration.

Figure 3.1: Elements of Design (left) and Principles of Design (right).

I started by bordering each frame of the triptych to determine the working area for each act. Then, I have added bushes which grows through each frame as though it is connected.

Figure 3.2: Progression #1 of Digital Triptych.

The main summary of Act 1is that the narrator's wife, Ligeia have passed away in which he remarries another woman, Rowena, although she is the complete opposite of Ligeia as the motive of marriage was money.

The colour scheme is dark and gloomy to represent the sorrow the narrator felt when his beloved wife passed.
Ligeia is seen at the back of the artwork, with a blue hue and an angel's halo indicating that she have passed and left behind sadness. This is further emphasized by the chrysanthemums beside her, which is a flower commonly used in funerals in the west.
The narrator is caressing his new wife's face, however, a tear drop is added to show that he is still in grief.

Figure 3.3: Progression #2 of Digital Triptych.

Act 2 builds up as the narrator's opium addiction start to worsen along with his hallucination caused by the drug. One of the most notable scene in which it became clear to the viewers that his mental have deteriorated was when he tried to pour a cup of wine for his current wife. However, the side effects of the drug start to show causing a hallucination that the wine became ruby red droplets flying around him.

The backside of the narrator is shown as he looks out the window while his hallucination worsens. This is to show confusion as to what is currently happening.
The dark sky becomes lit as though the sun is lifting. This is not only to show progression throughout the acts but also to represent the crazy world seen by a drug addict.

Figure 3.4: Progression #3 of Digital Triptych.

Finally, Act 3 starts with the narrator's current wife passing as well. Swallowed by grief, he consume more opium resulting in constant hallucinations. The story ends with the most ridiculous hallucination in which his first wife, Ligeia have came alive during the Rowena's funeral.

The colour scheme of Act 3 contrasts Act 1 as Act 3 emits hopeful and cheerfulness as the narrator "reunites" with his beloved in contrast to Act 1 where they were separated by death.
Ligeia is now in a red hue as it represents life. Her angel halo appeared to be disappearing representing that she is no longer dead.
Rowena is drooped down in the narrator's arm to show that she have passed.

Figure 3.5: Progression #4 of Digital Triptych.

I have also made a pattern which is slightly visible in the suit of the narrator. It have the shape of the poppy flower to represent his hidden opium addiction.

Figure 3.6: Self creation of pattern of poppy flower.

The story of 'Ligeia' by Edgar Alan Poe is illustrated in a 3-Act Digital Triptych.

Figure 3.7: 3-Act Digital Triptych featuring the story 'Ligeia' by Edgar Alan Poe.

2.2 Animation

After the completion of the Digital Triptych, I exported the Adobe Illustrator file into After Effects with the layers grouped and arranged based on the desired animation.

Figure 4.1: Animation process in Adobe After Effects.

I have applied some of the principles of animation while animating my digital triptych. Animations on the Digital Triptych were created using keyframes along with the following functions:

Puppet pin
Position
Scale

The sky was the most challenging part of the animation as I wanted to give it a wave-like motion. Hence, I redrew the shapes of the sky so that it works as a loop as it moves along the canvas.

Figure 4.2: Animation process of sky.

Moreover, the droplets were the most time-consuming part as there were over 10 separate drops of wine that had to be animated as it floats in the air. Minor deformities were applied using puppet pin to give flexibility and volume to the liquid droplets.

Figure 4.3: Animation process of wine droplets.

2.3 Final Outcome

Figure 5.1: Digital Triptych of 'Ligeia' - JPEG.

Figure 5.2: Outline View of Digital Triptych of 'Ligeia'.

Figure 5.3: Digital Triptych of 'Ligeia' - PDF.

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✦REFLECTION✦

Project 3 of Illustration and Visual Narrative is linked to the final project in which we are required to create a digital triptych consisting of three panels followed by the animation of small elements in one of the panels. The main challenge of the assignment was story building as the stories provided for selection were quite lengthy causing difficulty in fitting the entire storyline into three acts. However, Mrs. Anis provided guidance by introducing us the Set up, Climax and Epilogue technique which aid in story summarization. Moreover, I have researched on literature reviews based on the sotyr, 'Ligeia'. This allowed me to understand the context of the story and summarize it into three acts.

The final assignment was also slightly intimidating as I had little experience in animating vector arts. I searched up on many online tutorials regarding animation techniques to aid with this particular assignment.

Nonetheless, the assignments of the Illustration and Visual Narrative module has significantly given me many new skills in the aspect of design which I could have never learnt in my major, Food Science. I mainly gained new knowledge in the utilization of the application, Adobe Illustrator in which I am now familiar with the workspace and tools as compared to the start of the semester. I am able to create diverse vector art using the techniques and functions introduced during the lectures as well as improved my creativity in designing themed artworks. Moreover, I have development observational and critical thinking skills through the challenges in each assignment as I now have experience to identify a good design.

In conclusion, this module have given me many new experiences and knowledge that I may not ever come in contact in my Major. I appreciate this valuable learning experience and will continue to hone my newly acquired skills as a designer.

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✦Ariel Chin Bei Yi 0343651✦