Lectures | Practical sessions | Final Reflection

Week 1 | Week 15
Mohamed Hammam Chebel (0342483) / B'des. Creative media (hons)
Illustration and visual narrative
Taylor's university lakeside campus

Lectures | Practical sessions | Final reflection

Instructions

You can refer to my other posts under the same label by clicking on the links below 

Project 1

Project 2

Project 3

Lectures 

Lecture 1 Character design 

the lecture was about the basics of character design which are  colors, shapes , contrast , emphasis and expressions.

The explanation was clear, I understood the overall content of the lesson.

The first online lecture was good. I managed to get the most of it by taking motes. My lecturers Mr Kannan and Miss Yvonne have answered all my questions regarding the module and the exercises given. There was a lot of information to take, I struggled a little because I'm not used to this new e-learning system, but I managed to take notes. I think this will become easier after I get used to it in the coming weeks.

Fig 1.1

Character design

Lecture 2 Chiaroscuro

In today's lecture we went through chiaroscuro, which means the use of light and dark  to give depth and a three dimensional feel on a flat surface.

After introducing this technique, we started applying it using adobe illustrator.

Fig 1.2

Chiaroscuro

comic book

Lecture 3 Composition

In this lecture we were introduced to an important design rule "composition" . A good composition make the design stands out visually, we mainly learned about the balance between positive and negative spaces.

Fig 1.3

An example of a well balanced illustration

Lecture 4 Composition | Rhythm and Movement

Creating movement in an artwork can make it look more meaningful and strong, eye catching and alive.

artists use shapes, lines and colors to make rhythm and movement in their artworks, it's not easy to make this illusion but it will make the artwork stands out and pleasing to observe.

  Fig 1.4

Example of movement in an artwork

Lecture 5 Transitions and comics 

In this lecture we learned the proper way to create a new idea or story, we were introduced to all the steps should be taken in order to come up with a unique and original idea.

the lecturer emphasized on exploration and observing other artist's works.

An idea can't come from nothing, a good designer is someone who does a lot of exploration.

We learned the process to make an idea into an artwork, for example a comic should have a story and a script etc ...

Also we have learned that art is a way of communication with others, The artwork should have a meaning behind it so observers or clients can understand that meaning just by looking at the artwork, the artist should be good at translating ideas into a visual illustration for example.

Lecture 6 Understanding comics 

In today's lecture we were introduced to the world of comics, and the process needed in order to come up with our own comic, which is idea exploration and references, story telling, sketches.

The lecturer emphasized on the story telling part because it's the most important one, the narrative behind the artwork is what makes it unique and attractive.

the three act structure is the basic to a good story, the setup, confrontation and the resolution.

Fig 1.5

Comics

Lecture 7 Gestures and Expressions 

In this lecture we were introduced to facial expressions in comics, this will help us with our final project,  expressions are important, through facial expressions we can deliver the message we want to tell and make the observer understand the story even better.

the basics of facial expressions is to learn how to build and draw the face, starting from simple shapes to a more complicated illustration. the most important part of facial expression is the eyebrows, simple movement of the eyebrows can change the facial expression, also the eyes and mouth. We learned few facial expressions.

exploration and browsing for references is the key to improve expression drawing, and the first reference to look at is your own face.

  Fig 1.6

Character Expressions

Practical sessions and Exercises 

In this section I will post my progress in the class exercises and weekly assignments.

The bezier game
We learned about the pen tool on Adobe Illustrator theoretically during the live stream made by the lecturer, but we had to practice so we played the bezier game to master the pen tool.
  It was really hard for me at the beginning, then after a few minutes of playing I understood what the pen tool does and how to manipulate it in order to obtain shapes or lines and curves etc...

 Fig 0 Bezier game 

This is the last stage of the game

Exercise 1

In this exercise, we learned how to use adobe illustrator. First, I added a picture of a pear, then by using the pen tool I drew the outlines of it.
after that I filled it with color and used the knife tool to make a shadow.
the goal behind this exercise is to make a flat drawing look three dimensional using light and dark colors.

           

Fig 1.1 Pear

Second attempt

This exercise helped me get familiar with the pen tool and explore the different ways of using it.

Fig 1.2 Sliced pear 

In that exercise we had to make the pear looks like it's sliced, thanks to the lecturer's instructions that task was a piece of cake.
we mainly used the pen tool and the knife tool to make the slices.

Exercise 2 Self Portrait Chiaroscuro

After we finished with the pear exercises, we were asked to do a self portrait using illustrator applying CHIAROSCURO.
First, I took a selfie and moved it to Photoshop, applied a black and white filter on it then moved it into illustrator to trace it using the pen tool.

Fig 2.1 selfie black and white

Fig 2.1 selfie traced

This is my picture after tracing it in illustrator using pen tool.

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Exercise 3 Drawing in Photoshop & Fan Art

This exercise is to practice drawing on Photoshop, We were assigned to preform some character sketches using Photoshop, in the images First I started to practice drawing using my pen tablet, i drew lines in different directions so i can get used to the tablet.

Fig 3.1 Lines

After figuring out the functions of the pen and going through the brushes in the software, I started on drawing famous characters.

Fig 3.2 Character sketch 1

Fig 3.3 character sketch 2

Fig 3.4

Character sketch 3

Fan Art Character 

After Practicing drawing on Photoshop we were asked to create a mix between two famous cartoon characters into one new character.

I've chosen gumball and sponge bob for this task, here is my progress 

Fig 3.5

Character sketch

Fig 3.6

Gumball Square pants 

Exercise 4 Class work 

In today's class we were asked to try and mimic a famous abstract artwork digitally.

I managed to draw the given artwork while watching the tutorial. here is my final outcome.

Fig 4.1

Original artwok

Fig 4.2

My digital version 

Exercise 5 pandemic Comic 

For this exercise we were asked to make a short comic about the pandemic topic. This is a practice for the last project.

My story was about some funny incident happened to me in the lock-down, I was cutting my hair and a mistake happened, then it turned out to be a good haircut.

Fig 5.1

Scene 1 skecth

Fig 5.2

Scene 2 sketch 

Fig 5.3 

panel layout 

Fig 5.4

Final comic 

As you can see my comic has a very sketchy feel to it because the lecturer told us to work on the story telling and expressions.

Reflection

In this section I will share with you my overall experience during this semester 

In the beginning of this semester I struggled with the new e-learning system, it was hard for me to be organized and to manage all the platforms.

After I got used to this system I faced some difficulties, The instructions were unclear sometimes and lacking detail compared to other modules.

I could make better progress if the projects instructions were more explained and detailed, but I managed to complete all tasks on time.

The lectures were clear and easy to digest, the lecturers did good job at explaining the lessons and answering my questions, also Miss Yvonne and Mr Kannan did well with the tutorials and live demonstrations , I was able to practice at the same time and ask questions.

I improved my digital drawing and design thanks to the information given in this module.

The most important thing I learned from this module is exploration and observation, in order to come up with new and unique ideas you have to explore other artist's work, seek for references and ideas.

Also I learned how important story telling is. It is the base of an artwork, a comic for example.

I learned how to pick colors and shapes from other artists. I also learned the proper way to draw outlines and to color in Photoshop.

I learned how to add effects and textures to my artworks both in Illustrator and Photoshop.

After taking this module I found out that I like illustrations and drawing characters, making stories and different kinds of artworks, I also become more confident while executing my art.