IVN Final Project: Comic Cover and Animated One Page Intro

5 June 2024- 5 July 2024

CHONG CHENG TAO (0371072)

Illustration and Visual Narrative | Bachelor of Design in Creative Media | Taylor's University

Task 4: Comic cover and Animated One Page intro

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LECTURES

Week 11:

1. Central theme

It’s the main idea or underlying meaning. Often, it’s the storyteller’s personal opinion on the subject matter. A story may have both a major theme and minor themes.

• Major Theme: An idea that is intertwined and repeated throughout the whole narrative.
• Minor Theme: An idea that appears more subtly, and doesn’t necessarily repeat.

2. Conflict

The conflict drives the story. It creates tension and build suspense. Conflict engages an audience. 

3. Characters

A story usually includes a number of characters, each with a different role or purpose.

• Central Character: The main character of a story
• Protagonist: Main character of a story, he or she will usually have a clear goal to accomplish or a coonflict to overcome.
• Antogonist: Antgonists oppose protagonists, standing between them and their ultimate goals.

3. 3-Acts Structure

1. Setup: Introduction of the world which the protagonist exists.
2. Rising Tension: The series of obstacles the protagonist must overcome
3. Conflict: The point of highest tension.
4. Resolution: The conflict's resolution.

Fig 1.11.1 3-Acts Structure

Week 12:

Mr Hafiz wanted us to break down the selected story by using the 2-Acts Structure. We need to highlight the part we want to visualize (intro, rising action, climax...). Mr Hafiz introduced the charcateristic of sequential art, an art form to convey a story. 

If the image presented individually, viewer will think it's just a sun. However, If the both image presented at the same time, viewer will know it's a sunset scene.

Fig 1.12.1 Sequential Art

These are some common transitions:

1. Moment-To-Moment
2. Action-To-Action
3. Subject-To-Subject
4. Scene-To-Scene
5. Aspect-To-Aspect

Fig 1.12.2 Different types of transition

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INSTRUCTIONS

Final Project

• Comic cover 
• Animated One Page intro

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Idea Development

For the final project, we need to select a story from the short stories or poems of Edgar Allan Poe. We need to create:

• Comic Cover Page
• Animated One Page Intro (parallax, secondary action or animated background)

Apply three act structure in the comic cover. At least 3 panels for the comic.

Among Edgar Allan Poe's works, I chose "The Raven" which is considered his best and most influencial work. I love how he combine the sense of beauty and sadness, as well as the symbolism in this poem. For example, the bird in the poem symbolize death and loss.

This is the paragraph that I decide to visualize. The visual details in this paragraph is sufficient and interesting.

Fig 2.1.1 "The Raven"

This paragraph is the rising action before the climax, before the appealing of Seraphim.

These are the analysis of each sentences: 

1. "This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing"

•    The narrator is silently pondering and trying to guess the meaning behind the Raven's presence and its words.
•    Reflective and contemplative.

2. "To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom’s core;"

•    The Raven is intensely staring at the narrator with eyes that seem to burn into his very soul.
•    The fiery eyes could symbolize the intensity of the narrator's inner turmoil or the haunting nature of the Raven's presence.

3. "This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining"

•    The narrator continues to ponder deeply, while physically he is reclining comfortably.
•    There is a contrast between his physical ease and his mental distress.

4. "On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o’er,"

•    The narrator is seated on a cushion with a velvet lining, illuminated by lamplight.
•    The lamplight gloating over the velvet lining adds a sense of richness and perhaps a sinister quality to the scene.

5. "But whose velvet-violet lining with the lamplight gloating o’er,"

•    This line repeats the description of the cushion and the lamplight, emphasizing the setting and the narrator’s fixation on his surroundings.
•    The repetition creates a rhythmic, almost hypnotic effect, mirroring the narrator's obsessive thoughts.

6. "She shall press, ah, nevermore!"

•    The narrator laments that Lenore, his lost love, will never again press the cushion.
•    This line underscores the finality of Lenore's absence and the narrator’s enduring sorrow.

These are some elemennt I want to include:

•    Raven
•    Flame + Soul
•    Cushion & lamplight (hardlight)
•    Hard light
•    Lenore's silhouette reflected in the narrator eyes
•    The word "Nevermore"

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Art Style Reference

My art style references are from 3 artists: 

•    Japanese manga artist, Taiyo Matsumoto
•    Japanese animator, Masaaki Yuasa
•    Polish vector artist,  Krzysztof Nowak

Their styles are expressionistic, quirky and often use impactful perspective drawings.

•    Jittery lines
•    Celluloid coloring

Fig 2.2.1 Taiyo Matsumoto

Fig 2.2.3 Masaaki Yuasa

Fig 2.2.4 Krzysztof Nowak

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Sketch

Comic Cover Page

Fig 2.3.1 Comic sketch

Animated One Page Intro

Fig 2.3.2 Sketches 1 & 2

These are the ideas for each panels:

1: The character is silently pondering and trying to guess the meaning behind the Raven's. Character reclining on the cushion.

2: Fire 

3: Raven starring at character with fiery eyes. The fiery eyes is a symbolic term, so it will be visually a soul-looking fire. 

4 & 5: Texts (possibly change to the environment).

6: Character sit on a cushion. Hard light from the right side (illustrate the environemnt).

7: Sihouette of character's lost love reflected in his eye with some tears.

*3 & 6: will be illustrated in simple silhouette. My idea is shadow play, like the raven is eating the character in 6

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Digitisation (Comic Cover Page)

I manipulate the Impact Font to give charcteristic of raven by sharpen the edges. 

Fig 2.4.1 Title font "THE RAVEN"

These are the reference and illustration for the cover:

Fig 2.4.2 Reference and illustartion (cover)

I made two versions, one focusing more on the illustrations (left) and the other on the title (right).

Fig 2.4.3 Two versions of covers

Comic Cover Page

Fig 2.4.4W14- Final Project: Comic Cover- Chong Cheng Tao

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Digitisation (Animated One Page Intro)

The main tools I use is pencil tools and Live Paint Bucket. These are the references for illustration:

Fig 2.5.1 References

1

Fig 2.5.2 Panel 1 

2

Fig 2.5.3 Panel 2

3

Fig 2.5.4 Panel 3

4 & 5

Fig 2.5.5 Panel 4&5

6

Fig 2.5.6 Panel 6

7

Fig 2.5.7 Panel 7

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Animation

1

Fig 2.6.1 Panel 1

Fig 2.6.2 Panel 1 animation

3

Fig 2.6.3 Panel 3

Fig 2.6.4 Panel 3 animation

4 & 5

Fig 2.6.5 Panel 4&5 

Fig 2.6.6 Panel 4&5

Fig 2.6.7 Panel 4&5 animation

7

Fig 2.6.8 Panel 7

Fig 2.6.9 Panel 7 animation 

Fig 2.6.10 Panel 7.1

Fig 2.6.11 Panel 7.1 Animation

One Page Intro (Static)

Fig 2.6.12 W14- Final Project: Animated One Page Intro- Chong Cheng Tao

Link to One Page Intro (Animated)

Fig 2.6.13 W14- Final Project: Animated One Page Intro- Chong Cheng Tao

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FEEDBACK

Week 13: 

The overall progression is fine. Mr Hafiz suggeested me to animate the fire in second and third panels.

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REFLECTION

    I truly enjoy this project as it gives me the opportunity to freely explore the possibilities in visualizing a story. Through this project, I've been able to experiment with various visual storytelling techniques and expand my creativity. I also take this opportunity to further analyzing the artists I admired. One of the challenges I've faced is that the story I chose is more abstract compared to others. Thus, I need to carefully consider the overall aesthetic of my work and ensure that the story is conveyed clearly to the viewers. Balancing abstraction with clarity has been a valuable exercise in this project.