ILLUSTRATION & VISUAL NARRATIVE - TASK 4

5.12.24 - 5.01.25 (Week 10 - Week 14)
Michelle (0373843)
Illustration & Visual Narrative / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Task 4: Webcomic

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Preparation & Planning (5 - 11/12/24)

On the first week, we were briefed about the assignments. I used this period to read through the instructions given in google classroom, look though the references and inspirations provided, and choose a part of the monkey paw's story to illustrate.

After reading The Monkey's Paw, I picked the section below from part I of the story.

Fig 1.1 Chosen story section

I choose the certain part above because I have a clear image of how the scene would look like in my head, and I liked how this section of the story gives an introduction/teaser to what the monkey's paw is.

Out of all Scott McCloud's narrative transition techniques, I decided to use the subject-to-subject transition since the part chosen showcases conversation between Mrs. White and Sergeant Major, so the transition will be from a subject to another.

Fig 1.2 Transition

Research & Ideation (12 - 18/12/24)

On the second week, I started to explore on references about the story. I find out the time and place background of the story. Turns out, the setting of The Monkey's Paw is a cold, wet night in the early 20th century (1902) which takes place in the Laburnum Villa (the White family's home in England).

So I looked for references to have a better idea on how Mrs. White & Sergeant Major's character look like based on the time (1900s) and place (England) setting. I also took some time to find out the shape and form of a monkey's paw cause initially I have no idea.

Fig 2.1 References

I also discovered some comic/illustration styles that I like and think would suit the story's theme. I personally don't enjoy horror genres, especially ones where it is wrapped in a very realistic style. My personal style lean towards a more fun 2D design. Which is why I end up using Scooby-Doo's art style as a reference, because its story covers a scary-mystery-theme but it's executed to be family friendly and available for kids to enjoy.

Fig 2.2 Visual style & mood inspiration

Sketch (Week 13: 19 - 25/12/24)

Fig 3.1 Comic sketch

I started to work on the comic page sketch first. I illustrated Mrs. White & Sergeant Major's character based on the research I've done previously. I make both subject facing each other to look like they're communicating. I created their panels to be 2 mirroring trapezoids (almost a triangle) to support the look of a face-to-face conversation. 

I keep my lines very minimalistic and simple to replicate the 2D cartoon feel, like the Scooby-Doo reference.

I drew the monkey's paw in the 3rd panel to look like a dried-mummy as how it's explained in the text. However I skipped the part where Sergeant Major took it out from his pocket, and make it look like the paw is already out laid on a table so I can capture a mysterious feel by giving the panel a crooked and random border to give an uneasy feel.

Fig 3.2 Poster Sketch

After I am done with the comic page, I moved on to sketching the poster. It wasn't really difficult since I already have a style picked. I drew the paw similarly like how I drew it in the comic.

I incorporated a scale icon to the paw to represent the meaning of the story. The story basically reminded us to be careful of what we wish for because wishes often come true at a cost. like how Sergeant Major said, "wish aloud, but I warn you of the consequences". So I plan to capture that idea in an illustration of a scale placed in the monkey's paw. I aim to show how there can be no wishes come true without compromises. I also added a sub text below the title to reinforce the message.

I only used the sketch to plan out the poster's composition and layout to have a clearer vision of it.

Digitalization (Week 14: 26 - 1/12/24)

I tranfered my manual sketch into a digital sketch using Adobe Illustrator.

Comic Digitalization

Fig 4.1.1 Comic outline

I used the texturized brush tool in 1pt to create the majority of the outlines. For the faces I used the normal brush tool in a smaller size. 

I created the abstract border for the 3rd panel by drawing randomly with the brush tool on top of a rectangle shape. Then I separate them using and pathfinder-divide. 

For the text bubbles, I used the rounded rectangle shape tool and manipulate the shape using the direct selection tool. Then I added the text in Blackadder ITC font.

Fig 4.1.2 Comic color

I filled in the outlines using the brush tool. I played with different thickness of the brush according to the space I need to fill in. I adjusted the layers to be under the outlines, and intentionally make it go pass the lines to add a sense of carelessness and disorganize to enhance surrealism.

The colors picked are according to my color palette which is also inspired by Scooby-Doo. Halloween was also an inspiration for the color, since it's a spooky season and people usually uses orange and purple.

I give unrealistic patterns to the subject's hair and the monkey's paw to make it surrealistic and add more interest to the illustration. 

Fig 4.1.3 Comic texture & effect

Lastly, to add more depth and to elevate the uncanny feel, I applied gradients and grain effects to the backgrounds. I played with the direction of the gradients and the intensity of the grain texture accordingly. 

Poster Digitalization

Fig 4.2.1 Poster outline

Just like the comic page, I outlined the monkey's paw using the textured brush tool. Then I created the scale using shapes and lines. I imported an image of a present icon (to represent wish) and a skull icon (to represent sacrifice) to both sides of the scale. After, I added texts and a border just like the comic page.

Fig 4.2.2 Poster color

I filled in the outlines using similar color palette as the comic.

Fig 4.2.3 Poster texture & effect

Then using the brush tool I created highlights and the same patterns to the paw as in the comic page. I also applied gradient and grain-texture-effect to the background.

Animate (Week 15: 2 - 5/12/24)

I used Adobe Illustrator to create the pages for animation.

Fig 5.1 Illustrator animation pages

I duplicate the pages then changed the 3rd panel border slightly. I created many different but similar borders using the rectangle shape, brush tool, and pathfinder.

Then I combined them all together into an animation using Adobe Photoshop.

Fig 5.2 Photoshop animation

I adjusted the timing for each frame, and saves it to web in GIF format.

Final Result

Google Slides

Figure 6.1 Final poster

Figure 6.2 Final comic page

Reflection

Through this final task I got to recall all the tools I've learnt in Adobe Illustrator from previous tasks. I also got used to the brush tool which I never use before. I had a lot of fun in coming up with ideas on how to transform texts into illustration. I got to learn more about transitions, compositions, and art styles. I also learnt about collaborating and utilizing different medias and softwares to create an artwork. The time given to finish the task was also plenty, so we can really think about the work and take our time rather than rushing. Overall, I really enjoyed the whole process of creating an animated webcomic for the final task.