28/6/2024-26/7/2024 (Week 10-Week14)
Liu Yitong/0370907
ILLUSTRATION & VISUAL NARRATIVE / Bachelor of Creative Media Design /
Taylors University
LECTURES
Week11
Mr.Hafiz Zamri explains to us how the final task should be
accomplished.
A motion comic (or animated comic) is a form of animation combining
elements of print comic books and animation. Individual panels are
expanded into a full shot while sound effects, voice acting, and
animation are added to the original artwork. (wikipedia)
To complete
1. Comic Cover Page
2. Animated One Page Intro
Animated scope:
1. Parallax (to create depth)
2. Secondary Action
3. Animated Background
Fig.1.0 Reference
We were given some references to give us ideas to create our own
sketches.
Week12
Acts Structure
Central Theme
Definition:
o The theme is the main idea or underlying meaning of the story. Often,
it represents the storyteller’s personal opinion on the subject
matter.
o Major Theme: An idea intertwined and repeated throughout the whole
narrative.
o Minor Theme: An idea that appears more subtly and doesn’t necessarily
repeat.
Conflict
Definition:
o The conflict drives the story, creating tension and building suspense,
making the story interesting.
o Without conflict, the audience will not care, and there will be no
compelling story to tell.
o Conflict engages the audience, keeping them on the edge of their seats,
waiting to see if the protagonist will overcome the obstacle.
Storytelling Basics
Characters
Central Characters: Vital to the story's development; the plot revolves
around them.
Protagonist: The main character with a clear goal or conflict to
overcome. Must command an emotional involvement from the audience.
Antagonist: Opposes the protagonist, representing a significant
obstacle.
Three-Acts Structure
1.Setup:
o Introduces the protagonist's world before the journey begins, ending
with the conflict's revelation.
2.Rising Tension:
o Series of obstacles the protagonist must overcome, each more difficult
and with higher stakes.
3.Conflict:
o The point of highest tension and the major decisive turning point for
the protagonist.
4.Resolution:
o Conclusion of the conflict. The protagonist overcomes, accepts, or is
defeated by the conflict, ending the journey.
Traditional Three-Acts Structure Chart
Fig.1.1 Traditional Three-Acts Structure Chart
Source: Reedsy Blog on Three-Act Structure
Short Narrative Exercise
Format:
"Once upon a time, there was ____. Every day ____. One day, ____. Because
of that, ____. Because of that too, ____. Until finally, ____!"
Example
Act 1 - Setup: Two princesses, one with secret magic powers, live in a
faraway land.
Act 2 - Conflict: Eldest princess loses control of her magic, people
accuse her of witchcraft, she abandons her throne.
Act 3 - Resolution: Younger sister saves her, magic bond protects them,
eldest embraces her powers and becomes a good ruler.
Transitions
3-Act Structure
Recap from Last Week
Brief review of the three-act structure covered previously.
Hieronymus Bosch
Overview of the artist and his contributions to visual
storytelling.
Continuity in Visual Storytelling
Key Elements:
Frames: How frames are used to maintain continuity.
Background: Importance of consistent background elements.
Characters: Maintaining character consistency across frames.
Closure: Ensuring narrative closure within scenes.
Gestalt Law of Closure
Explanation of how this psychological principle applies to visual
continuity and storytelling.
Notes on Visual Layouts
The layout of visual elements affects how the story is perceived and
understood.
Examples from graphic novels and children's books illustrate how page
layouts and transitions influence reader experience.
Fig.1.2 Example
Participation of the Reader
Reader involvement is crucial for interpreting and finding meaning in
visual transitions.
Scott McCloud’s Transitions
Six types of transitions identified by Scott McCloud:
Fig.1.3 Moment to Moment
1.Moment to Moment: Very little closure required.
Fig.1.4 Action to Action
2.Action to Action: For every action, there is an equal and opposite
reaction.
Fig.1.5 Subject to Subject
3.Subject to Subject: Requires reader involvement to be meaningful.
Fig.1.6 Scene to Scene
4.Scene to Scene: Deductive reasoning needed; transports readers across
time and space.
Fig.1.7 Aspect to Aspect
5.Aspect to Aspect: Bypasses time and location, building mood and
allowing imagination to wander.
6.Non Sequitur: No logical relationship between the panels.
Point of View in Storytelling
The importance of selecting the right point of view for telling a
story.
Emphasizing specific threads of the narrative or the most noticeable
points.
Examples and Applications
Practical examples from various media, including:
o"The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!"
o"Madeline's Rescue"
o"Clover vol. 1"
Conclusion
Fig.1.8 Conclusion
Effective use of visual transitions enhances storytelling, engages
readers, and ensures continuity and coherence in visual narratives.
Homework
I've written a summary of it using the stories I've chosen.
Act 1 - Setup
Exposition, Inciting Incident, Plot Point One Once upon a time, there was
a man noted for the docility and humanity of his disposition. Every day,
he showed a conspicuous tenderness of heart and a particular fondness for
animals.
Act 2 - Conflict
One night, returning home much intoxicated, he fancied that the cat
avoided his presence. He seized Pluto, and in the cat’s fright, it
inflicted a slight wound upon his hand. The fury of a demon instantly
possessed him, leading him to a fiendish act where he cut one of the cat's
eyes from its socket. Despite feeling a half-hearted sentiment of horror
and remorse, he soon drowned all memory of the deed in wine, continuing to
mistreat the cat until one morning, in cold blood, he hung it from a tree.
This act of violence led to a series of supernatural events and growing
paranoia.
Act 3 - Resolution
Pre climax, Climax, Denouement Until finally, driven by guilt and terror,
he attempted to kill another cat that resembled Pluto but accidentally
killed his wife instead. He hid her body behind a wall in their cellar.
Days later, police officers arrived to search his house, and his false
sense of security led him to tap the wall concealing his wife's body. To
his horror, the sound of the cat’s cry from within the tomb revealed the
hidden crime, and the police uncovered his wife's body, leading to his
ultimate downfall and arrest.
INSTRUCTIONS
EXERCISE
Final Project: Comic cover and Animated One Page intro
A motion comic (or animated comic) is a form of animation combining
elements of print comic books and animation. Individual panels are
expanded into a full shot while sound effects, voice acting, and
animation are added to the original artwork. (wikipedia)
To complete
1. Comic Cover Page
2. Animated One Page Intro
Animated scope:
1. Parallax (to create depth)
2. Secondary Action
3. Animated Background
Visual Research
Fig.2.0 The black cat cartoon
Narrative Writing
I chose "The Black Cat" (1845) Horror story about a cat.
So I began to try to summarize the story according to the summary table
given by Mr.Hafiz.
But the story inside (homework in the lecture) was too complicated
to be expressed in a single comic, so I began to try to select only a short
story that I wanted.
Act 1 - Setup
Exposition, Inciting Incident, Plot Point One Once upon a time, there was
a man noted for the docility and humanity of his disposition. Every day,
he showed a conspicuous tenderness of heart and a particular fondness for
animals.
Act 2 - Conflict
Rising Action, Midpoint, Plot Point Two One day, he became influenced by
the Fiend Intemperance, causing a radical alteration in his character for
the worse. Because of that, he grew more moody and irritable, mistreating
his pets and even offering personal violence to his wife. Because of that
too, his favorite pet, a black cat named Pluto, also began to experience
his ill temper.
One night, returning home much intoxicated, he fancied that the cat
avoided his presence. He seized Pluto, and in the cat’s fright, it
inflicted a slight wound upon his hand. The fury of a demon instantly
possessed him, leading him to a fiendish act where he cut one of the cat's
eyes from its socket with a pen-knife.
Act 3 - Resolution
Pre climax, Climax, Denouement Until finally, the morning brought reason
and a half-hearted sentiment of horror and remorse. However, his soul
remained untouched, and he soon drowned all memory of the deed in wine,
leading to further excesses and a continued downward spiral into madness
and horror.
Comic Cover Page
· Sketches
About the cover of the comic, because I chose the story of the Black cat.
So I decided to make the main character a black cat, with the alcoholic and
violent male owner as the secondary character. Secondly, because there was a
fire in the story, I decided to simulate the cover in the color of a
flame.
Fig.2.1 Comic Cover Page Sketch
· Digitization
In order to restore the oil-like texture of the sketch, I chose to use the
brush tool to add strokes.
Fig.2.2 Comic Cover Page process1
I then added texture to the paths to make it look more oil painting and
add more content to the cover.
Fig.2.3 Comic Cover Page process2
Finally, use the pen tool to highlight the figure, the bottle and the
person.Chose the right font to write the title, and use the brush tool for
"Cat" added Cat tail. Finally completed the cover of the below.
Fig.2.4 Comic Cover Page
·Panel layout
Fig.2.4.1 Comic Cover Page
· Sketches
I'm a little confused about the animation one-page introduction. Because I've never tried to draw comics before.
I'm a little confused about the animation one-page introduction. Because I've never tried to draw comics before.
I first chose the piece of story that I want to introduce. I want to tell
the part where the alcoholic man comes home and, under the influence of
alcohol, gouges out the black cat's eyes. So I started my sketch.
Fig.2.5 Animated One Page Intro Sketch
I'm going to use the pen tool to fill in the lines and then the utility knife tool to create the shadows.
Fig.2.6 Process
Then I started to apply what I had learned in the Chiaroscuro Exercise to my
shadow making. I had a little trouble with the color matching, but other
than that I had fun doing it.
Fig.2.7 Final One-Page Introduction
· Comic Panel Layout
Fig.2.8 Panel layout
Then I started to create animations, and I decided to use Ae. After Mr.
Hafiz's feedback, I decided to animate the cat's tail wagging, wound blood
dripping and eyeball blood flow.
In order to make these three processes more smooth, I decided to extract
the part to be animated separately for supplementary frames and create a
frame-by-frame animation.
Fig.2.9 The animation process1(After Effect)
Fig.2.10 The animation process2(After Effect)
It was a little difficult for me to use the new software Ae, but I was
able to overcome it.
Final Animated One-Page Introduction
Fig.2.11 Final Animated One-Page Introduction
Feedback
Week10
This week I on the Internet looking for inspiration, I found the black cats have some creative cartoon before, so I used as a reference for the similar art style restoring ancient ways of creation.
Week11
The cover is good, the manga looks very good, Great. The chiaroscuro exercise lighting setup could help alot with this style.
Week12
You can decide how to do it before you do the animation, the animation needs to be short and circular.Maybe for animation the cat blinking and the tail moving a bit ..and also the knife with that shine.
Week13-14
Great. The chiaroscuro exercise lighting setup could help alot with this style.Other than that it looks good.
Reflections
The last task put my skills in illustrator to the test. I needed to skillfully use pen tool, box cutter tool and other skills to complete my cartoon. I encountered more difficulties in the animation process, because this was my first time to use the After Effect software, but fortunately, I was very satisfied with the final animation.
Posing as the feedback of Mr Helped me a lot, I'm happy to improve my work in this mode.
In general, this task was more free than the previous one, and I was very happy to finish it.
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