TABLE OF CONTENTS:
LECTURES
- Finish -
INSTRUCTIONS
TASK 3 - Development & Design
After the visual analysis, we have to create a work of design, based on the idea we proposed in Task 2.
Selected Artwork:
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| Chosen Artwork: Manga Cover Illustration of Sakamoto Days |
Observation:
The main focus of the cover is the character holding with the rifle. He is wearing a bright colour outfit, holding a sniper rifle, and what seems to be taking aim while falling. He is also drawn with more detail and more saturated compare to the background. Of course, you also have the series title and volume number at the top and bottom. Behind the character are buildings with two other characters, one sitting on the roof and another walking outside the stores. A little in front of the buildings at the right a bird can be seen flying towards the character. Behind everything, rather than a sky there is instead a bright red colour as the plane.
Analysis:
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| Analysis Draft |
When looking at the artwork, there is Contrast between the character, background, and plane, with the different saturations they are coloured in, along with the cold and warm colours used for the plane and the character’s clothes. With the way the character is posed and pointing the rifle toward the audience, it guides the eyes to follow them toward the character's face, then the series title behind him (Emphasis). The focus character is drawn with more detail and is larger than the background, creating a distance between the characters and the background. To the right, behind the focus character, there is Movement of a bird flying towards the character/the audience.
The Harmony can be seen in the background, building with different kinds of store elements aligned to create rows of storefronts continuing at the back, creating more depth to the illustration (Unity). The Gestalt Theory in the artwork includes proximity and continuation of the buildings, continuing to 'exist' outside the artwork and us being able to process that they are buildings like what can be seen in the artwork.
Interpretation:
From what I know about the focus character on the artwork, from reading the manga, is that his name is Heisuke Mashino and he is an assassin that specialises in using a rifle. He is first introduced in Volume 3 of the manga and it shows that he is very skilled and mobile as a sniper assassin. With the way he is positioned, it emphasises his mobility. Another character that is also introduced in this volume that I know of is the yellow bird, Piisuke. It helps Heisuke to improve his visibility on the battlefield by scouting and notifying him. In the artwork, it is probably scouting around or returning to Heisuke after scouting. Since snipers are long-ranged and often scout or observe their target, the choice of having buildings as the background can be interpreted as the common area that Heisuke usually position himself during a combat.
Sketches:
I did some rough sketches for ideas on how I want the final artwork to look. The one thing I experimented on most is the perspectives.
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| Rough Sketches |
I decide to look into the manga panels with him to get some inspiration. I analyse how the character holds his rifle and the positioning he takes.
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| Inspiration Board |
Since I have never drawn a rifle before, I looked up a 3D model of the rifle he uses and got the angle that I wanted from it.
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| 3D Model of a rifle |
From the model, I start to draw the character along it. The process was not easy, not smooth. What I struggled most with was the perspective... (My enemy...) But eventually, I managed to be satisfied with the sketch.
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| Sketch 1 & 2 |
After the first and second sketch, I fill in the colour and other elements before continuing to the finalising with the line art and typography.
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| Sketch 3 (with colour) |
Process:
The whole outlining and colouring process took me around 4 days to complete it. I tried to replicate the original style as much as I can, it is here I tried to use a brush that I have never used before. I make sure that each individual strokes on the line art of the shadow be visible.
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| Outlining Heisuke and Piisuke (bird) |
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| Fill in Base Colours |
I decide to make the background into a glass reflecting the original artwork's background. To make it look cooler I decided to have the character break the glass, also creating a sense of depth.
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| Outlining for the Buildings |
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| Progression on Week 6 |
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| Brush used for Shading |
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| Effect of folder: Add |
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| Duplicated the characters to create Movement |
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| He broke the glass... |
Final Design(s):
Kong Ga Wai_Vol.3 Heisuke Days_Task 3
I have two final designs. They have minor differences, but I like both equally. The first one exaggerates with depth/perspective, while the second one is more suitable as a manga cover since the number of the volume of the series can be easily seen when searching for it. -
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| Final Design 1: Vol.3 Heisuke Days |
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| Final Design 2: Vol.3 Heisuke Days |
Compared to the original artwork, the final design exaggerates the perspective more, with the thicker lines closest to the viewer, glass shattering, and the title moving away from the viewers. There are more principles of Movement, with the character raising a gun while falling, their bird flying towards Heisuke, and the glass shattering. While going through the manga to find some inspiration, especially with the battle panels, I noticed that one thing the panels usually have is shattered glasses, so I decided to implement that into my design. The shattered glass doesn't have outlines like the rest because I don't want it to drag too much attention away from the character.
Kong Ga Wai_Vol.3 Heisuke Day_Task 3 PDF
FEEDBACKS
Week 6: Duplicate more of the character in different sizes maybe for repetition have it look like the character is up-close to the viewer.
Week 7: Everything look fine, keep up the work.
REFLECTION
Experience
While coming up with an idea for the final design was a little stressful. The original artwork is already so good, so peak. To need to come up with a design that is 'better' was difficult. I looked through some manga panels with this character to gain some inspiration and motivation to start. Many sketches had been made, and when a spark went on in my head with a cool idea, I proceeded to the next step. The biggest struggle I had was doing a perspective sketch, but I didn't give up because I kept telling myself that it would turn out well... And it did! I am happy with this final design a lot.
Observation
I want to replicate the art style as much as I can, this includes the line art and colouring method. A further observation I found that it feels very hand-made, like you can see and feel the ink stroke and brush stroke. And I will say I quite enjoyed it when replicating the style since I enjoy and have the sketchy style, so it feels familiar.
Findings
A personal finding I had for myself is the fact that I quite enjoy the shading method from this artist and while replicating it. I might use this method of shading more in the future. This task also pushed me out of my comfort zone to try out different styles in drawing, to perhaps explore more artist's work and study their style. (It also pushed me to understand more about perspective, draw full body pose, and drawing. a. gun. :happy:) It made me appreciate artworks even more.