Illustration and Visual Narrative Decisive Moment Poster and Animation

November.1.2023

Lin chenyi / 0367008 / week6-week10

Bachelor of Design in Creative Media / Illustration and Visual Narrative

Task 2 : Exercises

 INSTRUCTIONS

1. LECTURES 

Summary:

Week 6

Mr. Hafei explained Project 2 - The Decisive Moment to us in this week's class.

We are required to find and read local or international urban legends after class, select story lines or fragments, extract highlight moments and create posters of decisive moments (turning points, highlight points of stories or fragments).

PPT slides:

Week 7 

In the new class, Mr. Hafiz introduced us to the theory of composition - front, middle and background. Explain that the composition is composed of these three scenes and placed in the right position to attract the audience.

The importance of a sense of space.

Lecture Slides:

Foreground - closer to the viewer

Main focus, (contrast through size difference and color highlights)

middle ground

Or focus on the middle ground (through size difference and light and shadow contrast)

Background - furthest from the audience

placed in the background (contrast through shape, light, shadow)

During the design process, we need to arrange the visual focus to reflect the sense of movement and rhythm in the design. Follow the perspective and reflect the visual focus in the layout.

The teacher showed us an example, "Soloist".

Soloist Video

In this scene, the three sisters are used as the middle shot, allowing the audience to grasp the center of the vision. Because of this, it forms a sharp contrast with the background. Increased contrast and shadows.

Soloist Video

In this scene, the table is used as the foreground, giving a visual extension, and the other three characters are in the middle shot. The light in the background is warm and bright. It draws the viewer's attention to the center of the scene.

Soloist Video

In this scene, the distant view dominates and the characters are scattered. The lighting is on the low side and contrast and shadows are used well.

Soloist Video

2.Project 2 - Decisive Moment Poster and Animation 

Part1 Mood Board and Research 

Regarding the climax of the Ghost Mother clip, I made a mind map of the animation plot.

On the recommendation of my teacher, I also read and watched many urban legends from different countries and cities.

 I chose "Ghost Mother", which originated from the Gothic style of medieval Europe. The story is a typical dark fairy tale style, and is set in reality. and the constant shuttle and transformation in the illusion. I found the decisive moments in the story, which are two climaxes: 

• The "door" connecting the outside world and the inner world. After Caroline moved to a new house, she entered a new and unfamiliar environment and faced her parents who were busy at work. The separation of old friends makes her long for "rebirth". Behind this small door is a picture of a short blue-purple tunnel. 
• The ghost mother wanted Caroline to stay in another world, but after the deal failed, she revealed her true face - her well-proportioned and beautiful body turned into a tall, sickly and thin torso. This distinctly Gothic figure is similar to the representation of women in the European Middle Ages. Wearing a black deep V suit Wearing a collared top, a long skirt and pointed high heels, the ghost mother is fighting with Caroline. The angry ghost mother violently transforms into a spider.

I observe character through clothing

At the beginning of the story:

Coraline: Yellow raincoat, orange socks, lively and active. (The overall color is warm, but the nail polish is blue, which brings melancholy and loneliness)

Coraline's mother: black pants, white top. Workaholic nature.

Coraline's dad: Wearing an olive green top and gray-blue flip-flops, the overall tone is darker. There is a sense of decadence from overwork.

The true face of idealized parents

Ghost mother: bright red nail polish and lipstick, red shoes. Warm yellow clothes. It's completely different from what Coraline's mother wore originally

Ghost Dad: Exaggerated orange nightgown, cute monkey slippers, (giving people a lively and enthusiastic feeling)

Coraline's final outfit: a dark gray sweater, black trousers, and blue short boots, revealing the cowardice, melancholy, and dark side of her heart.

The ghost mother's final form is a gorgeous dress with white polka dots on a black top and red fabric. (Create an arrogant, dangerous, and weird atmosphere)

PDF:

 Mind map 

After understanding the climax clip, pay attention to the details of the picture and other aspects, create a new mood board, use the eyedropper tool in Photoshop to absorb the color part of the animated picture, and select the main colors to be used later.

Fig 2.1 Mood board

Based on the description in the mind map, I drew two sketches to represent the climax of the decisive moment of the animation.

Sketch describes the scene：
After the ghost mother suddenly appeared, she grew larger and larger, stretched out her magic claw, and chased Coraline.

Fig 2.2 Sketch of the chase scene

Digital posters

I digitize my sketches in Adobe Illustrator,

Digital poster (final version):

I took out the main layout and made a detailed drawing of the little girl with a frightened expression on her face, applied some shading, and background texture. The ghostly figure behind leads its paws to the little girl. I added a gradient to the cabinet to give it a more layered feel.

Fig 2.3 Digital poster

Final version of animation：

The ghost mother behind slowly stretched out her thin and slender hand, and the black figure gradually grew larger until it gradually approached the little girl. The little girl ran forward, but unfortunately one of the ghost mother's hands was already shrouded in front of her.

Fig 2.4 Design animations

After my teacher’s guidance, I made the following corrections:

Completely simplify the background, use a solid color background, add a two-step color gradient effect, and use a noise brush to add the shadows of the characters and shadows.

Fig 2.5 Decisive Moment Poster

Final screen:

Fig 2.6 Decisive moment gif

Feedback

Week 6

General feedback

After we select and study an urban legend, we select and understand the highlight moments in the article, write down the key words, and apply them to mind maps and sketches.

Week 7

General feedback

Decisive moments and turning points don't stand out, and the background is confusing.

specific feedback

I need to add a bit of blur to the background to enhance the atmosphere of the image. Ghost mothers often appear in children's dreams, and most scenes are vague when recalled. I can add some spooky elements to the illustrations.

Week 8

Week in review

Week 9

Mr. Hafiz thought that my sketch of the decisive moment was passable, but the animated background pattern added too many and was unnecessary and complicated. The animation was unnatural and some shadows of the characters should be added to make a connection.

Reflection

I found the theme of this assignment very interesting, because urban legends are a supernatural assignment theme, and there are many designed stories, allowing us to freely choose urban legends from various countries and produce different animation content. We learned a lot during this process.