Illustration & Visual Narrative:Assignment 1 Decisive Moment

 11/1/2023-11/17/2023  
TAO YUZE(0366967)

illustration and Visual Narrative 
Assignment 1 Decisive Moment

request

Editorial illustrations are produced for newspapers, magazines and websites to add a visual dimension to a piece of writing. This serves two main functions – it helps to grab the attention of the reader as they browse the publication, but can also help to add a new perspective to the article.

For this assignment, you must find a related article/story that discuss Urban Legends. The legends maybe local or international. The artstyle must be derived from Art Deco.

• Weight: 20% of the final grade
• Duration: 3 weeks

In this assignment, you will create a minimalist editorial illustration based on an urban legend of your choice using Adobe Illustrator. Your illustration will be designed for a digital media publication and should include minor animations to enhance engagement.

• Choose an urban legend that interests you and aligns with the editorial theme.
• Research the chosen legend thoroughly and gather visual references.
• Create a concept mood board to explore the style, color scheme, and overall visual direction.
• Write a brief description of your chosen urban legend and how you plan to interpret it in a minimalist style.
• Begin sketching your editorial illustration. Focus on creating a clear and compelling composition.
• Develop your illustration in Adobe Illustrator. Pay attention to clean lines, simple shapes, and minimalism.
• Experiment with the use of color and typography, keeping the editorial context in mind.
• Start planning the minor animations you intend to incorporate.
• Refine your illustration, paying close attention to details, balance, and visual impact.
• Add animations to your design using Adobe Illustrator or other animation software.
• Test the animations to ensure they enhance the overall narrative without being distracting.
• Write a short artist statement explaining your design choices, including how your illustration reflects the chosen urban legend and the editorial context.
• Submit your completed editorial illustration as a high-resolution digital file (preferably vector format).
• Include a link to a presentation or video demonstrating the animations.
• Submit your artist statement and any process documentation.

Your assignment will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Concept and interpretation of the urban legend (20%)
• Design quality and minimalist style (30%)
• Effective use of color, typography, and layout (20%)
• Integration of minor animations (15%)
• Artist statement and process documentation (15%)

Remember to refer to the provided resources and reach out for assistance if needed. Good luck with your assignment, and have fun exploring the world of editorial illustration and digital media!

ideas

The urban legend theme I chose was "Brain Control", Brain Control is a famous urban legend that there are people all over the world who believe in Brain Control. They believe that the government or some kind of secret organization has invented some kind of technology that can control people's brains, and they themselves are controlled by that technology. They call themselves brain-controlled.These people have their own small groups to use against what they believe in brain-controlled forces,Just dig a little deeper and you'll see that they're everywhere in the internet..

Think deeper

Since I'm going to create illustrations based on this theme, I need to get inspired by the thoughts of the people who are being controlled by my brain.At first, my idea was simple, I wanted to visualize the mysterious brain-controlled force, it reminded me of a puppeteer controlling a puppet on stage, which was a good idea, and I recorded the puppeteer and sought inspiration on Pinterest.I sketched it first.

sketch_1 2023/11/1

sketch_2_digital 2023/11/1

sketch_3 2023/11/1

I explored some ideas and sketched some of them. I tried to show the struggle and pain of the mind-controlled people when they were controlled by the 'mind-controlled forces' in their minds. At this stage, I chose to use black and white and gray scales to create because the strong contrast between black and white can reflect the helplessness of the mind-controlled and the strength of the mysterious forces

Think more deeper

These ideas are good, but they are still too simple, and I need to think more deeply. More of a mentor's request, I needed to incorporate a simple animation into my work, so the current drafts and ideas were not enough to support such a request. I searched for more videos about the mind-controlled people on YouTube and Bibili, and I found that some of the thoughts and behaviors of the mind-controlled people seem very childish, and many people who watch the videos also see them as freaks or jokes, and some professionals think that this is a kind of paranoia. I'd love to show you some of the videos and posts made by the people themselves, who are actually having a bad time, who are tormented by hallucinations and believe that these hallucinations are caused by mind control technology, and they are suspicious of everyone around them, thinking that anyone can be part of the mind control forces. Some victims even commit acts of self-harm, harm others, or even suicide. Due to some legal reasons, I can't upload pictures about them and promote them.

But I gave part of the link：

【跟大家语言描述一下被脑控一天24小时被噪音包围是个什么情况。没经历过的根本不明白】 https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV14t4y1W79f/?share_source=copy_web&vd_source=d27b20a147c6e3c747b485edb4ed84bf

【有组织纠缠（gangstalking)噪音运动又升级了这些畜牲恨不得马上把人搞猝死，可以来感受一下】 https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1xa4y1A7s4/?share_source=copy_web&vd_source=d27b20a147c6e3c747b485edb4ed84bf

【哈哈！现在真相明白了！为啥我昨天打派出所电话，派出所马上就来人了！就是想把你精神病套路你！】 https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1rF411L7xg/?share_source=copy_web&vd_source=d27b20a147c6e3c747b485edb4ed84bf

脑控——Mind Control (webnode.cn)

After these searches, I have summarized a few ideas as inspiration for my creation：

1. 1"The people who are controlled by the mind are actually mentally ill people, and they torture themselves through this fantasy, but in fact, the person who controls their mind is actually themselves, but they cannot get rid of it."

2. 2"The so-called mind-controlled forces exist, and the mind-controlled people are really controlled, and the mysterious forces control public opinion to make these victims look like mentally ill people."

3. 3"Mind-controlled people are psychopaths who support their lives by their controlled thoughts, sometimes they know that their thoughts are fake, but they still paralyze themselves, and when these bubbles are punctured (the thread that controls the puppet is cut), that is when they break down."

SKETCH_4 2023/11/1

A sample of the visuals from pinterest 2023/11/1

The idea of this sketch comes from the news that the victim of mind control jumped off a building and committed suicide, and suicide does cut the line of control in the mind of the person being mind-controlled, but is it really worth it?

The fall in the sketch represents both the physical act of jumping off the building and the endless helplessness of the mind-controlled victim, with part of the rope breaking at each stage of the fall, representing the gradual disappearance of the controlled hallucinations in the victim's mind. This sketch can also be brought into my third idea: as the illusion of control is punctured, the victim's life begins to crumble.

It can be used as a static illustration when three actions appear in a picture at the same time and can be converted to animation if three actions are used as different frames of the animation."

After much feedback, I decided that the Mind Control theme was not suitable for further work and that I should choose a new urban legend, so I recreated the draft and electronic finish

all in one 2023/11/16

digital_final 2023/11/16

google drive:https://drive.google.com/file/d/14nSlahTOl3XV5sUzfH9VUuLssboFJWZv/view?usp=drive_link

animated:

animated_Final

Frames

google drive:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JJej-nRsG2J43kzfylEbt-Sk7pnwGE6B/view?usp=sharing

Assignment Brief: Digital Triptych - Exploring Scott McCloud's Transitions

The objective of this assignment is to apply Scott McCloud's theory on transitions to create a digital triptych, comprising three panels: one before, one during (climactic turning point), and one after a significant event. Each panel will represent a different transition type from McCloud's theory.

Referencing Scott McCloud's analysis of transitions in "Understanding Comics," you will select one panel before and one panel after the climactic turning point, surrounding a panel representing the turning point itself. Each panel will exemplify a different transition type, creating a digital triptych that showcases various narrative transitions.

• Review Scott McCloud's transitions: moment-to-moment, action-to-action, subject-to-subject, scene-to-scene, aspect-to-aspect.
• Select one transition type for each of the three panels: before, during (climactic turning point), and after the turning point.
• Identify specific moments or elements in the narrative that align with the chosen transitions.

• Create a digital triptych with three panels that clearly illustrate the chosen transitions.
• Use any digital medium (illustration software, graphic design tools, etc.) to craft the panels.
• Ensure coherence and narrative flow between the panels, capturing the essence of the transitions selected.

• Submit the completed digital triptych via the designated platform.
• Include a brief explanation for each panel, detailing the chosen transition and its significance in the narrative context.
• Ensure that each panel distinctly represents its respective transition type.

• Understanding and application of Scott McCloud's theory on transitions in creating the digital triptych.
• Clarity and effectiveness in using each transition to depict the sequential narrative.
• Coherence and visual storytelling across the three panels.
• Artistic execution and presentation of the digital triptych.

Submission deadline for the completed digital triptych is at the end of Week 11.
Moment-to-MomentAction-to-ActionSubject-to-SubjectScene-to-SceneAspect-to-Aspect


This assignment contributes 20% towards your final grade. Grading will consider adherence to instructions, effective application of transitions, narrative coherence, and artistic presentation within the digital triptych.

google drive:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EBgcuti3EMNxHoj2tZGCo2QmJeEf_l0c/view?usp=sharing