Illustration and Visual Narrative [Project 2]

Illustration and Visual Narrative [Project 2: Decisive Moment]

1 November 2023- 22 Noevember 2023/ week 7- week 9

Rafa Maritza Hertrian/ 0364958

Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media

Illustration and Visual Narrative 

 

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INSTRUCTION

Editorial illustrations are produced for newspapers, magazines and websites to add a visual dimension to a piece of writing. This serves two main functions – it helps to grab the attention of the reader as they browse the publication, but can also help to add a new perspective to the article.

For this assignment, you must find a related article/story that discuss Urban Legends. The legends maybe local or international. The artstyle must be derived from Art Deco.

• Weight: 20% of the final grade
• Duration: 3 weeks

In this assignment, you will create a minimalist editorial illustration based on an urban legend of your choice using Adobe Illustrator. Your illustration will be designed for a digital media publication and should include minor animations to enhance engagement.

• Choose an urban legend that interests you and aligns with the editorial theme.
• Research the chosen legend thoroughly and gather visual references.
• Create a concept mood board to explore the style, color scheme, and overall visual direction.
• Write a brief description of your chosen urban legend and how you plan to interpret it in a minimalist style.
• Begin sketching your editorial illustration. Focus on creating a clear and compelling composition.
• Develop your illustration in Adobe Illustrator. Pay attention to clean lines, simple shapes, and minimalism.
• Experiment with the use of color and typography, keeping the editorial context in mind.
• Start planning the minor animations you intend to incorporate.
• Refine your illustration, paying close attention to details, balance, and visual impact.
• Add animations to your design using Adobe Illustrator or other animation software.
• Test the animations to ensure they enhance the overall narrative without being distracting.
• Write a short artist statement explaining your design choices, including how your illustration reflects the chosen urban legend and the editorial context.
• Submit your completed editorial illustration as a high-resolution digital file (preferably vector format).
• Include a link to a presentation or video demonstrating the animations.
• Submit your artist statement and any process documentation.

Your assignment will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Concept and interpretation of the urban legend (20%)
• Design quality and minimalist style (30%)
• Effective use of color, typography, and layout (20%)
• Integration of minor animations (15%)
• Artist statement and process documentation (15%)

Remember to refer to the provided resources and reach out for assistance if needed. Good luck with your assignment, and have fun exploring the world of editorial illustration and digital media!

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PROCESS

Research 

For this project, I have gone through the internet to find an urban legend that is quite known to some people. I decided to choose the story of "La Llorona", a legendary figure in Mexican urban legend.  The name translates to "The Weeping Woman" in English. The story varies across different regions, but a common version goes like this:

La Llorona is said to be the spirit of a woman who drowned her children in a fit of madness or revenge after her husband left her for another woman. Realizing the gravity of her actions, she is then said to have taken her own life. In the afterlife, she is condemned to wander near bodies of water, particularly rivers or lakes, mourning the loss of her children.

According to the legend, La Llorona is often heard weeping or wailing; some claim to have seen her near water sources, searching for her lost children. The tale is often used as a cautionary story, warning children to behave and listen to their parents, or else La Llorona might come for them.

I see this narrative as something that is simple yet iconic which interests me the most. From briefly reading the story, I immediately got an imagination of how I would like to recreate this urban legend into a single editorial illustration. I am planning to illustrate the scene where she drowned her own children because it is the scene that gives a turning point to La Llorona's character. 

Moodboard

After developing an idea of how I would like to illustrate the narrative, I proceeded to find several images that would be helpful in the process of creating sketches. Then I compile those images into a mood board. 

Figure 1.1 Decisive moment mood board (27 September 2023) 

This mood board contains references to how La Llorona is usually visualized and I noticed that she is often pictured as a woman with a white dress and a long dress. To give a sense of familiarity with La Llorona to the audience, I decided that I would also illustrate her with a long white dress. Aside from that, I also added the type of coloring I might use. Most of the references show that the scene where La Llorona drowned her children takes place in a lake in the middle of the forest. Therefore, I search for horror scenes that also take place in forests as a reference to draw the background. I also searched for examples of art Deco style, the sleeping beauty illustration.

Alternative Sketches

For the sketches, I tried to illustrate one scene from different angles to experiment with which composition works best to be illustrated. Below are the three sketches that have been created: 

Figure 1.2 Sketch #1

Figure 1.3 Sketch #2

Figure 1.4 Sketch #3

Final Chosen Sketch

I have decided to choose Sketch #2 to further digitalize because I am interested in using a worm point of view. The composition also places a focus on the drowning arm while also making La Llorona look mysterious. However, I also decided to add a minor adjustment which is making La Llorona hold a child since the turning point highlights that she drowned both of her children. 

 Figure 2.1 Final Chosen Sketch

Digitalization 

For Digitalization, I used skills that have been taught in previous lectures. I utilized tools in Illustrator such as pen tool, curve tool, pencil tool, shape tool, knife tool, etc. 

Figure 2.2 Creating Elements in Illustration

Figure 2.3 Final Digitalization

Animation

We were instructed to create a secondary animation that loops. For the animation, I decided to make simple things move like the water, the hand, the leaves, and the clouds. This will give an illusion that the setting is windy just like in the middle of the forest at night. 

Figure 2.4 Creating Frames in Illustration

Figure 2.5 Animating in Photoshop

Figure 2.6 Animated GIF

FINAL RESULT

Figure 3.1 Final Result

REFLECTION

Experience 

This task allows me to apply the skills that I have learned so far. This helps me prove that I am not only listening to the tutorials and lectures given but also learning all the knowledge and putting it into use. This also helps me memorize things such as composition skills and Illustration tool skills. Aside from this, I also had a lot of fun doing this task because this let me pour out my creativity and this makes me feel like my ideas are acknowledged. 

Observation

I noticed that the composition, the color palette used, and the movement are crucial for building up a narrative visually. In this project, I tried to express an atmosphere that leans more mystic and gloomy. Therefore, I used the third rule to set the focus point, using a dark and cool-toned color palette, and windy movement. 

Findings 

To compose illustrations with an art deco style it is suggested to make simple sketches and defined lines. However, it is still crucial to pay on the use of shadows, lights, and textures. Art Deco also includes repetition of elements and symmetry which creates a clean look to an illustration.