WACOM tablet

week 9
"Pears sketched"

This week we learned how digital art is actually done! From fan art to sketches on a digital screen for fun. We used a device  called the Tablet. Branded mainly Wacom.

This is a wacom tablet, it acts like a sketch book but the only difference is whatever you sketch on the tiny box in grey center here, actually shows up on your computer screen! like magic.

A system like this takes time in getting a hang of, some people may take a couple weeks to months and some, several years. 6 years for my lecturer (;

Moving on! we started off by getting a pear image. 

We were given a couple of examples on types of sketching

first being 'hatching' and second, 'stippling'.

we started off by lowering the opacity of the image and on a new layer, we sketched the outline.

i used a hard brush with less flow to give a pressure difference.

First the outline and then the shading.

 This is what it looks like after hiding the image of the pear we traced. I would say not bad for a second time user of a wacom tablet but you do have advantage for people who can sketch at first.

I then added a highlighted maroon
for shading options. The possibilities are endless for the way you sketch out. as this was done in photoshop you can use patterns and various brush types to an extent where you can even make you own brush modes.

Using the stylus of the tablet and depending on the pressure you amount, i made polka dotted like paints as seen below. I personally adore the abstract part of design therefor i added these lighter dots on the side of the pear also playing around with negative and positive space.

FIN (:

Vormator and the clipping mask

week 8
"Vormator monsters"

Now the first thing that came to my mind was the word, 'what'? no seriously, i had to have it repeated several times to me before i realised what was being said. "Vormator" is something used for fellow illustrators when they are board to challeneg themselves. Basically they start off with a set of shapes and make an image using Illustrator! seems simple enough?

These are the simple shapes to be traced out using the pen tool and one thing to know is that no outlines are allowed, only fill. We use these shapes...

 ..To make this

Done by my lecturer

i googled a few vormator arts and found some inspiration and it ranged from some of the cutest to some of the most insane artwork using only the shapes above.

CUTE.

I N S A N E.

For our exercise we did some vormator work ourselves and this is what i had come up with

This is my vormator monster, playing with the clipping mask i got a texture of watercolour painting and lay it behind the wing and selected both the wing and the image of the texture. Then i went over held down 'command + 7' on the mac. This hides the whole texture except where the wing is giving this type of effect.

In a little extra time i made a scary looking mermaid lady. 

Spending time and a little dedication i am sure we could achieve so much more, this is just an hours work. The vormator is something i will definitely look into more in my time.

assignment 2 - Beatboards

week 6
sem 1
"beatboards"

We started of by making beatboards for our story outcome visuals. A beatboard is much like a story board you may have seen, they are block sketches done before any animation production whereas a beatboard generally has a little more flexibility.

Here are some examples

Many beatboards are sketched via tablets or pens but the thing is it could be as simple as possible! even stick figures count.

We focused on our ideas following these six Splines in the story we were to visualise

6 Splines in a Narrative

1. Exposition
The world, the characters and its rules and roles are introduced. Suspension of disbelief begins here

2. Inciting incident
An inciting incident is the event that throws the everyday life of the protagonist out of balance.

The inciting incident gets the story moving. In a problem-centric view, this is the basic problem that the protagonist is attempting to solve.

3. Progressive complications
Progressive complications and conflict make the story emotionally charged and is key to maintain interest. The implication that every problem that the protagonist solves raises a new problem; Robert McKee calls it the “Law of Conflict.” McKee makes an interesting point that storytelling is a “temporal art” like music; and, conflict is very important for good stories. (Conflict is a very important element of games too).

4. Crisis
Crisis is that stage of the story where the protagonist seems to be surrounded by insurmountable problems.

Unlike the inciting incident, the protagonists usually has to make a choice here.

5. Climax
Climax is the stage where emotions reach their peak.

Where the consequences of the choice unfolds.

6. Resolution.
Resolution is where all story problems are resolved.

This is how my final piece had layed out, the thing about beatboards is that you can make visual interpretation in any order. The final work outcome for the coming week would be to finalize one art board and add in effect and colours etc. to give it that main plot feel.

These are my soft beatboard sketches of Ja Rois story, simplified, including all 6 splines of narraration.

Stories for the young

week 6
sem 1
"Refugee art"

One thing i had never known of all my years in living abroad here in malaysia are the type of people that live among us, refugees. We had gotten our latest assignment  where we are to design the visual parts of a story book for young refugee children here in malaysia. These children have been brought up with several problems from many parts of the world. We were already given a narration based on the lives of these children and are to illustrate them out for a story book.

We were each given a name of a refugee child who had been interviewed recently on thier lives and how they got to Malaysia in the end, even the problems they faced after arriving here.

This is the story of a little 14 year old girl named Ja Roi, below are the words of Ja Roi herself.

"Hi my name is Ja Roi. I’m from Myanmar. I’m 14 years old and I’m living as refugee in this Malaysia. My race is kachin I’m a Christian. I’ll like to talk one of my real story in my life. When I first arrived here I don’t like English at all but with the help from some Myanmar people around us and we go to the school that part(0:21) of from community we living in setapak to acodak plate block D and in that time that’s a lot of blackmail cases happened in the block that we lived especially in the lift It was from the some gang of teenagers were the citizens of this country.

We had just arrived not even about two weeks yet and the cases and the cases are happening already. For us this place is really weird because we just arrived and really scared because we haven’t get our UN card yet. In outside we had to afraid of police and when we come back to home we still to only afraid of those of gang of teenagers instead of blackmail it’s also kind of bully I think because we are from the other countries-different people, different races. I think those teenagers suggest about same age with my brother they got ten years old twelve years old thirteen years old fifteen years old and just around nineteen something I guess.

They’re not just blackmail to the children. They’re also blackmail to the older people also. Because they know the even though we go and complain also nothing happen to them. Not just blackmail money from us but they also have been rip a lot of the Myanmar ladies in lift some died because of that cases. I don’t know how they feel when they’re doing such those kind of rubbish but every cases that they make to us will affect that to every family member.

We have to live in this like of situation we have no freedom for ourselves or for our heart or even for our brain like. We have to go somewhere we have to used to lift to go down or go up to isn’t it. So we have to live in the place that had full of fear and scare and thinking when will they come when will they come. When I am waiting for lift I am always almost shaking every time because I am scared of them. They can come in anytime isn’t it. So they blackmail money from my brother and when my brother say that he don’t have then they bullied my brother punch him and knock his head and say rubbish words in Malay to my brother. Well in that time, we are just arrived so my brother couldn’t understand what they’re saying to him. But he know the kind of bully.

It’s kind of rubbish words bad words. They checked all of pockets and they found 50 cents from my brother pocket but that is for both of us fill water in the water bottle because my mother ask both of us go to ground floor and get water. But I can’t believe that even 50 cents so so they take and displite(3:16) to my brother and when the lift reached the ground floor and we wanted to go out and one of and one of the guys pull my head. And he was saying a lot to me Malay with disgusting expression in that while I only know scare I want to cry only and and in that short moment that feeling that feeling is the feeling that I don’t ever had been feel in my life.

I don’t know what to do at all but after he finished with his words I relieved and he just let go of me and we’ve moved to another area we just still in stapak. Stapak but in the different area a bit far from this area and it’s in cnical(4:07) condo because that condo is guard, security card so we no need to afraid that kind and now we can live slightly comfortable than we lived last year. Although this is not 100% peaceful but I am still happy with it. Thank you."

You can read more about her and other children from the same foundation on http://chasingthewind.wikispaces.com here, every individual was interviewed and their statements were recorded. 

Our assignment allows us to explore the world of other people who are not as lucky as we are, with our technology, laptops, phones, good food, money.. This assignment allows us to help the refugee children for a better learning environment (:

 

IVN assignment

week 5
sem 1
"Drawing words"

Our first assignment has come to brief, simply to design, craft or illustrate the module title, "illustration and visual narrative". we were allowed to produce this any way we would like but heres the catch, it has to be in black and white.

For this assignment i wanted to try out a new technique or idea. i was always intrigued by the style used in the 60's and 70's. From the font to the text, it should the creativity output well.

This poster is obviously done in todays digital age but this type of work excites me the most. the mix of colour schemes from light to dark bringing out the main text. its all - in - one if one must say.

my main idea for this assignment is based on this type of effect but with the monotonic theme.

Looking through some textuality books, i found this font style which inspired me a little.It showed me how we always follow certain boundaries when infact they are just imaginary borders keeping us from exploring how much we can actually do.  

Below, i started off with some simple ideas for how my layout would be. I tried with basic objects such as circles and rectangles, even a wave like shape for the borders of my text. We were told we were allowed to use illustrations but i did not concentrate much towards it. 

This is an idea of which i had studied in  a design technology class in high school. This type of work is known as 3-point orthagraphic drawing. Its a perspective form of anything you would want to do but preferably ideas with straight edges for example, the letter 'T'.

 Here i tried out more forms of visual narrative. from crossword puzzles to the text used in freaky friday fairs. Everything from spacing to the the negative and positive spaceing is important in visual terms otherwise it would be an eyesore or even making people with OCD go a little of balanced..

..not having enough paper room i added a tiny sheet in the back to accompany the rest of the word. sometimes its okay to give missing letters and such as the brain is able to understand what the design reads. The same concept was used in a previous assignment of 'Hide and Reveal'.

My favourite of some of my ideas is this one on the right, i tried out a cramped effect so the focuse would only be on the lettering. As you can see, the style of the font was an idea from the 60's poster designs.

My lecturer had understood my idea and showed some development ideas aswell, the mix of objects and edges with curves served a great deal of visual aesthetics. 

This i my final outcome, 'Illustration & Visual Narrative'. The '&' can be seen to the right of the word 'visual'. Im happy with the design idea of my final outcome but i do feel it can be very well improved. For a showcase in a gallery in december and i will improve it however way i can concentrating on the same idea.  (: