Illustration & Visual Narrative

05.12.2024 - 05.01.2025 / Week 11 - Week 14

Chan Zhi-Ren Zenndan / 0369069

Illustration & Visual Narrative / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor's University

Final Project: Webcomic

1. Instructions and Assignment Brief

Vector illustrations will be used.

Can choose to heavily design either the cover or the inside page.

Surrealism is the theme.

If using vector illustrations, enhance surrealism by using Photoshop.

Vector surrealism style.

Minimal animations.

Animation frame rate: 12 fps.

Include rationale for the selected part of the story.

2. Lectures

Mr. Hafiz encouraged students to decide what transitions to work with on our webcomic. I envisioned that 'Moment-to-Moment' would suit what I had in mind.

Fig 2.1 Transitions by Scott McCloud (10/12/2024).

He also mentioned referencing Framed Ink again for composition choices. I decided on 'Weird Beats, Weird Shots,' specifically on the cropping part below. The part where it says '...therefore includes a sense of unpredictability' is what I was intending to go for in the comic.

Fig 2.2 Compositions from Framed Ink (10/12/2024).

As for the comic cover, I referenced one of Dave Mckean's artworks (as instructed by Mr. Hafiz), which I found very visually appealing.

Fig 2.3 Cover art by Dave Mckean for reference (11/12/2024).

For additional references, I went to look at more of Dave Mckean's other works to see how his comics are structured. I plan to incorporate some elements of his work to help me in organising the comic page.

Fig 2.4 Comic structure reference (12/12/2024).

3. Cover art process

I decided to work on the cover art first, so I sought inspiration online to help me.

I recently stumbled upon an upcoming film adaption of Stephen King's short story The Monkey, which shares the horror element of The Monkey's Paw.

Fig 3.1 'The Monkey' reference (13/12/2024).

Fig 3.2 More references (13/12/2024).

After researching, I concluded that I should use an original picture, so I took a picture of my hand and saw what I could work with in Photoshop.

Fig 3.3 Masked out my hand (13/12/2024).

After looking at the reference from Talk To Me, I realized I could use the monkey's paw as a hand reaching out to mine. This would help show how the paw is tempting the victim, drawing them in to use the curse of the talisman.

But first, I went to Illustrator to draw up the monkey's paw.

I used 3D and Materials and browsed online for other materials to help make it look as realistic as possible.

Fig 3.4 Monkey's paw (14/12/2024).

With that, I placed the smart object into Photoshop and started compiling the cover.

To match the surrealist theme, I tried to make my hand look like it was melting or 'cursed,' like it was possessed by the paw.

I did this by playing with the Liquify tool in Photoshop.

EDIT (15/12/2024): Looking back, these distortions could symbolize how the curse of the talisman gradually consumes the victim, reflecting the way it takes hold of them.

Fig 3.5 Distorting with Liquify (14/12/2024).

Next, I decided to reference the theme of The Monkey with its black and red colors. To do this, I made a new layer with 50% gray fill. This layer helps me play with adjustment layers to test out what 'works.'

Fig 3.6 50% Gray layer to help with adjustment layers (14/12/2024).

After testing out a few options, I decided to use the Threshold and Gradient Map tools.

Fig 3.7 Adjustment Layers (14/12/2024).

With the correct settings, this is what it looks like.

Fig 3.8 Cover art progress (15/12/2024).

Looking back at my notes from the lectures, Mr. Hafiz mentioned that we could animate the cover.

With that in mind, I plan to use all 3 distortions shown in Fig 3.5 for my cover animation.

Coming back to the design of the masthead, I went on Dafont and Google Fonts to find my desired font.

After a brief search, I found one that was visually fitting for The Monkey's Paw.

Fig 3.9 'Ghastly Panic,' chosen font (15/12/2024).

With a font selected, I inserted it into Illustrator to see how I could further texturize the font.

It took me a while to see what would fit the theme, but I eventually found what I was looking for!

I used Outer Glow and Glass for further detailing.

Outer Glow makes it 'pop' and puts the words out there, while Glass gives a bloody look to it.

Fig 3.10 Texturising the font (15/12/2024).

I made minor adjustments like kerning and placement, and this is how it looks like.

Fig 3.11 Masthead progress (15/12/2024).

To finish up, I added the author's name and included a background texture to give it a natural 'paperback' feel.

I then went to Illustrator to arrange my 'frames' for my animation, and this is what it looks like.

Fig 3.12 Cover art frames, ready for animation (15/12/2024).

With my frames ready, I went to Photoshop and created a frame animation to make my GIF.

Fig 3.13 Frames with a 1-second interval (15/12/2024).

Below is what the final cover art looks like.

Fig 3.14 Final cover art for The Monkey's Paw (15/12/2024).

4. Comic page

When working on the comic page, I felt quite lost throughout the process. During Mr. Hafiz’s lecture briefing, I recall him mentioning that we could interpret and illustrate specific sequences of actions in our own creative way, even if they deviated from realism.

I envisioned the characters as ghosts in the story, but it became clear later on that I had misunderstood the assignment’s requirements and was heading in the wrong direction.

For your better understanding, this is what I sent to Mr. Hafiz for a progression check.

Fig 4.1 Draft #1 (17/12/2024).

Upon submitting my first sketch for a progression check through WhatsApp, and politely asking if I was headed in the right direction, I received the following feedback from Mr. Hafiz:

"yes this is ok"
"the composition is clear, but you will need to refer to Framed Ink to make your composition better"
"i have read monkey’s paw - i don’t remember them being ghost"
"Why would you do that? It doesn't make any sense"
"It's a silly excuse. Please re do the entire thing after you read the brief"

This was the part where I felt genuinely confused. Initially, the feedback indicated that my composition was okay, but I was later told to redo the entire thing. It wasn’t very encouraging, but at least it made me realize I was not heading in the right direction.

The first thing I did was change the characters from ghosts to humans. I avoided drawing full-sized bodies due to my limited drawing skills. To work around this, I revisited my reference (Fig. 2.2) and cropped the camera shot to focus on a specific area.

I redrew the hands, this time adding a 'melting' effect to it to represent the talisman's curse.

Fig 4.2 Reworking (20/12/2024).

Mr. Hafiz later suggested that students use the image trace tool, which helped me with the backgrounds of some panels. However, some panels required me to use the blend tool and various texturing features to enhance the storytelling.

Fig 4.3 Gradients with textures (24/12/2024).

Next, I added blinking eyes to the background of the hand to symbolize that the talisman is watching.

Fig 4.3 Arranging frames for animation (24/12/2024).

Next, I browsed for a texture online and image traced it for the background of this panel.

Fig 4.4 Text boxes and font choice (24/12/2024).

I applied the same approach to the following two panels, maintaining the eerie atmosphere.

Fig 4.5 Drew a door to give depth to the story (25/12/2024).

Fig 4.6 Panel #4 (26/12/2024).

I returned to using gradients and textures for the next frame for the background. I used Craquelure with Rough Pastels to get a scratched look for the wall.

Fig 4.7 Panel #5 (28/12/2024).

I wanted to animate the piano panel, so I used the 'Tweak' tool and adjusted the horizontal slider in 5% increments to create movement.

Fig 4.8 'Tweak' tool for movement (29/12/2024).

I kept Panel #6 from the first sketch because I wanted Mr. White to appear as though he had succumbed to the talisman's curse, desperate for wealth.

Panel #7 with the 'bang' was also kept, but I decided to animate it.

Fig 4.9 Panel #7 (01/01/2025).

I kept the last panel, Panel #8, as it is essential and serves as a cliffhanger for the reader.

I animated the eye to convey that the curse has taken effect.

Fig 4.10 Using tools for the eye (02/01/2025).

Fig 4.11 Panel #8 (02/01/2025).

After inserting the panels individually on Google Slides, I realized the text boxes were too small. I made changes and then went back to Google Slides.

Fig 4.12 Minor adjustments (04/01/2025).

Once everything was edited, I compiled them together and edited my concept board.

Fig 4.15 Updated concept board (05/01/2025).

To view the comic page in Google Slides, click here.

5. Reflection

This final IVN project was the most challenging assignment of my first semester. The lack of in-person tutorials and practical sessions during the final weeks added to the difficulty, especially with large combined meetings that limited opportunities for personalized feedback.

Despite these challenges, I sought to adapt by referring to Framed Ink for guidance. I applied its photography cropping techniques to structure the sequence of actions in my comic, which helped bring some clarity to my process, even though my drawing skills are still developing.

I found greater enjoyment in designing the art cover. Drawing inspiration from various referenced posters, I incorporated subtle elements from each into my design. While the animation was minimal, I believe the understated movement effectively conveyed the intended atmosphere.

Overall, while the feedback I received was discouraging rather than constructive, I applied the techniques and tools I had learned in Illustrator throughout the semester to complete the project. With more experience and confidence in my drawing abilities, I believe I could have approached this assignment with greater ease and achieved a more polished result.

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Chan Zhi-Ren Zenndan (0369069)