Illustration & Visual Narrative : Task 1
24/09/2025 - 22/10/2025 (Week 1 - Week 5)
Chan Xin Yean, 0377851
Illustration & Visual Narrative
Task 1 : Character Design
PRACTICE
 |
| Figure 1.0 Example of an exercise in Bezier Game |
 |
| Figure 1.2 Tracing using pen tool in Adobe Illustrator |
INSTRUCTIONS
Description
In class exercises, digital and analogue. To show competencies in; tacit making skills, digital proficiencies as well as analogous abilities. We will be provided with some techniques for exploration for the digital and analogue medium. Assessment is done on a weekly basis. Produce 3 character design illustration using the silhouette & line art method using pen tool in Adobe Illustrator.
Requirements
- Weekly submissions
- Exercises total 20% final grade
Submission
1. Daily in class technical exercises
2. Weekly self-directed conceptual exercises
Learning Goals
1. Generate and communicate design concepts and solutions through manual and digital skills effectively and skilfully. (LO1)
2. Use creative thinking skills and methodologies to explore, generate and test a wide range of conceptual ideas. (LO2)
3. Use information and communication technology to source navigate, select, retrieve and manage information. (LO3)
Assessment Criteria
Line Art Character Design - 10%
Coloured Illustration - 10%
PROCESS WORK
Research
At first, I wanted restaurant to be my theme of character lineup. I envisioned a fancy restaurant run by animals. There were a few roles in a restaurant that I was interested in mainly the chef, waiter and the customer. Thinking of chefs, I thought of octopus as I noticed that some Japanese restaurant has it has their logo, especially for Takoyaki food vendors.
 |
| Figure 2.0 Octopus references found in Pinterest |
After exploring various references on Pinterest, I observed how different artists illustrate octopuses in a variety of shapes, poses and styles. It helped me understand how body movement and tentacle positioning can express personality and motion in the drawing. I also discovered that some species of octopus have small ear-like structures beside their heads, which adds an interesting detail to their anatomy. Besides, I studied the range of colours found in octopuses, from deep blues to bright oranges and reds which gave me a few ideas for creating a character.
For the waiter, in Pinterest I found a cat from a Studio Ghibli movie that has a interesting fur. It was illustrated in a way that one can automatically tell its wearing a suit without it actually wearing one.
 |
| Figure 2.1 Cat references found in Pinterest |
After searching for various references of waiter-like cats, I decided to design mine with a monocle and a bow tie, as it matched the theme of a fancy restaurant. I wanted the character to appear elegant and sophisticated. In addition, I was intrigued by the idea of the cat holding a tray, as it clearly emphasises its role as a waiter and enhances the overall storytelling of the design.
For the customer, I planned to incorporate smaller sized characters into the lineup. In Pinterest, i found a few birds that looked tired and angry, thus it inspired me to make a middle age tired business man as the customer.
 |
| Figure 2.2 Bird references found in Pinterest |
After researching, I wanted the colour of the bird to be somewhat similar to a pigeon with a hat and a tie. Instead of carrying a bag, I wanted the bird to have a cane to emphasise on the age of the character. Furthermore, I studied how other artist draw the structure of the birds hands as I had no idea how a bird was suppose to hold a cane.
Sketching
For the first rough sketch, I was just planning the sizes of the characters, the accessories for each character.
 |
| Figure 2.3 First Rough Sketch |
The second sketch shows more detail about how I wanted the characters to look like. After the feedback from teacher, I noticed that there were a few things that needed to be changed. The characters were not distinct enough in their shapes. Besides, the sizes of the characters could be more different. The ears of the octopus could be more distinct and the pose of the cats right hand could be more extended for it too be obvious.
.jpeg) |
| Figure 2.4 Second Sketch |
In the final sketch, I made the head of the octopus bigger and resized the cat. Besides I've changed the tail of the bird to have a more distinct feature. Overall, I was satisfied of my sketch as the characters was quite dynamic from each other.
.jpeg) |
| Figure 2.5 Final Refined Sketch |
Digitisation
Firstly, I did the silhouette of the characters to check if the characters were clear and different with the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator.
 |
| Figure 2.6 Silhouette of the 3 Characters |
Next, I moved on to the outline of the characters.
 |
| Figure 2.7 Screenshot of line art process |
 |
| Figure 2.7 Line Art of the 3 Characters |
Moving on to colouring, I separated the characters to 3 different art boards. And I tried to follow the 60%, 30% and 10% rule given by my teacher. And I applied the gradient and grain effect on my base colouring.
 |
| Figure 2.8 Base colouring |
After that, I added the highlights and shadows for the characters as I felt the base colours was still flat even with gradient added.
 |
| Figure 2.9 Adding Shadows to the Cat |
 |
| Figure 2.10 Adding Highlights to the Octopus |
 |
| Figure 2.11 Adding Highlights to the Bird |
Final Outcome
 |
| Figure 3.0 Final Character Design - Octopus (png) |
 |
| Figure 3.1 Final Character Design - Cat (png) |
 |
| Figure 3.2 Final Character Design - Bird (png) |
I envisioned a fancy restaurant with the workers as animals. There was a few characters I was interested to choose, which were the chef, waiter and a customer. Thinking of chefs, I thought of many restaurants that has octopus as their logo especially in Japanese restaurants. Thus, I decided to make it as the chef. Then, for the sketch I planned to make the head of the octopus big and exaggerated and placed a moustache as most chefs in cartoons has it. Besides, making the octopus slightly irritated enhances the fact that most chefs work in a high pressure environment and the circular shaped made the character still feel approachable.
For the waiter, I looked around some animal references and found a cat that are from a Studio Ghibli movie. I liked the way the fur of the cat automatically makes you feel like its wearing a suit and it fits right into the fancy waiter characteristics. The rectangular shape is suitable for this character as it made the cat feel orderly and sophisticated. Besides, i added a bow tie and monocle as an extra fancy elements. Then, I added the tray to the cat to have a distinct pose instead of the cat standing straight.
Furthermore, I was thinking about how to incorporate smaller characters to have diversity in shapes between the 3 characters. In Pinterest, I found some birds that look tired and angry and that inspired me to create an tired business man looking bird as the customer of the restaurant. Although I don’t have a specific bird in mind while sketching, but i wanted the colour scheme to be similar of a pigeon. I added a tie, a hat and even glasses as I had an impression of most working business man in the movies looking like this. Instead of bring a bag, I changed it to a cane as it sells the idea of a middle to old age character. The triangle shape was also fitting, as it can come off as a rigid and cold character.
 |
| Figure 3.3 Mood Board with rationale |
TECHNIQUES APPLIED
Throughout this task, I used the pen tool to create outlines for the characters and the width tool to change the width for the characters to add visual impact. Gradients was also applied when colouring in the. characters. I also used pen tool to add shadows and highlights to the characters and the direct selection tool to change and edit the angles of the lines. Besides that, I also used the grain effect on all of my characters to create textures to the illustration.
FEEDBACK
Week 2 : After showing my sketches to Mr. Hafiz, he suggested that I make the shapes of the characters more distinct and edit the poses of the characters so that they produce a clear silhouette.
Week 3 : After sending my silhouettes to Mr. Hafiz, there's nothing to change as he said it was good.
REFLECTION
In this character design task, I learned how to develop a concept from research and visual inspiration into a unique and expressive character. By studying references and trying different features, poses and accessories, I was able to shape a design that reflects both personality and context.
Throughout the process, I discovered the importance of small details such as colour choice, clothing, and posture in conveying a character’s role and mood. Besides, I struggled a little for colouring as I was not used to the tools in Adobe Illustrator, sometimes I had to try multiple times to add gradient to an element of the characters without affecting the other parts of a characters. Overall, this exercise improved my observation, decision-making and Adobe Illustrator skills while made me appreciate storytelling through character design.
Comments
Post a Comment