Illustration
Exercise Pt 2
Week 3
Lecture Report 2: Chiaroscuro
Queens Gambit
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| Figure 1.1. Episode 1 from Queens Gambit |
Queens Gambit is a fictional series, set in the 1950s-1960s, about a prodigy chess player, Beth Harmon. Harmon was an orphan at the age of 9 and started learning to play chess in the basement with the guidance of the orphanage janitor, Mr Shaibel. He is a quiet man who says very little the entire series, however, he was one of the most important characters to her life as he was the one showing her the ropes before she knew anything.
Most of this episode and series is lit with chiaroscuro lighting. However, this specific scene that I chose, Figure 1.1., is from episode 1, before she ever played chess. Up till now, Beth has only observed Mr Shaibel playing chess alone in the basement while she was cleaning dusters for the classroom blackboard. She has yet to hold a chess piece or even learn what the game is called. In this scene, Beth, for the first time, goes up to Mr Shaibel and asks what the game is called and if he could teach her.
The dramatic contrast of light here mostly shines on the chess board and a little on Mr Shaibel, drawing viewers attention. This marks a dramatic and important part in Harmon’s life as this is the very first step she takes to learn about the game. This is where she starts to learn and develop to become the prodigy she will be later in the series. Mr Shaibel, an important character to her beginning, is partially lit with the chiaroscuro lighting, however, he is wearing very dull and bland clothes that kind of blend into the darkness, indicating his importance in this moment only second to the chess board. Viewers are also allowed to observe the background very slightly with this strategic lighting. The background, although it is not a main attraction or focal point, it is definitely an observation all viewers register, with or without realising it.
The use of rule of thirds composition generally helps create focal points in a simple and tasteful manner but paired with chiaroscuro lighting, it takes it to a whole new level. As the camera follows Beth walking into the dimly lit basement, viewers eyes are already focused on her. In this frame, we are slowly introduced to light in a slow panning movement, which fits the slow movement and anti-climactic/dramatic moment for young Beth at that moment. However, for the story and us as viewers, it is an important moment, and the dramatic lighting helps confirm that in an attractive and sensational manner.
Some other pretty scenes with chiaroscuro lighting:
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| Figure 1.2. Episode 1 from Queens Gambit |
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| Figure 1.3. Episode 1 from Queens Gambit |
Week 4
Lecture Report 3: Visual Types and Shots
Establishing
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| Figure 2.1. My Friend Kelly (Sept 2020) |
Birds Eye View
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| Figure 2.2. Too Cool of a Pool (Jan 2022) |
Frame Within a Frame
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| Figure 2.3.Untitled 1 (Sept 2020) |
Medium Shot
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| Figure 2.4. Fashion Nerds (Feb 2020) |
Close Up
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| Figure 2.5. Boopy Poopy (Nov 2019) |
Worm's Eye View
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| Figure 2.6. Untitled 2 (Aug 2020) |
In Class Exercise: Chiaroscuro
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| Figure 3.1. Pear Illustrator Exercise |
INSTRUCTIONS
Exercise Part 2: Vector Illustration
Ideas Round 1
References
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| Figure 4.1. Reference for Sketches Round 1 |
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| Figure 4.5. Reference for Sketches Round 1 |
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| Figure 4.6. Reference for Sketches Round 1 |
Sketches
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| Figure 5.1. Main Colour Scheme Tests |
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| Figure 5.3. Sketch 2.1 |
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| Figure 5.4. Sketch 2.2 |
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| Figure 5.5. Sketch 2.3 |
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| Figure 5.6. Sketch 3.1 |
Considering my main character is a triadic colour scheme, I had to be wise about matching the colours on the card. I figured it best to use more neutral colours so it wont clash with or draw too much attention from my main character. In Figure 5.1. I experimented with some main colours I could use.
In Sketch 1.1 I thought of how my character has 2 main contrasting personalities, happy with cookies and rage without any cookies. While looking at references, I stumbled on playing cards, Figure 4.1. and 4.2., where there is a reflection of the designs. So, I thought of trying the same idea with my own card.
I then realised I did not have any space for the card/character desciption. So I abandoned that idea. Sketch 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 are variations of the same idea. I thought of going for more of a "cute" design with the soft colours. I made some ice cream scoop mountains in the background. In these Sketches, I was still using the vormator shapes given.
I felt the ice cream scoops was a little too crowded and too much background design was going on in Sketches 2.1 - 2.3. So I changed the ice cream scoop mountains to hills instead. Allowing it to be in the foreground and midground, which makes the card feel less crowded and distracting. However, I left this for a few days and by the time I came back to it, I was not feeling it anymore and was too lazy to even try to messing around with it.
Ideas Round 2
References
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| Figure 6.1. Reference for Sketches Round 2 |
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| Figure 6.2. Reference for Sketches Round 2 |
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| Figure 6.3. Reference for Sketches Round 2 |
Sketches
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| Figure 7.1. Sketch 4.1 |
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| Figure 7.2. Sketch 5.1 |
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| Figure 7.3. Sketch 5.2 |
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| Figure 7.4. Sketch 5.3 |
Sketch 7.1 was an attempt at making Sketch 1.1 work. I tried to create more space for the character desciption/detiails while making the dual personality visuals fit in. I decided to keep the artwork plain and empty considering it might end up being too much going on. I used a different font for the name as it needed something more handwritten or curvy to fit visually. At the back of my mind, before I even pieced it together, I knew it was not going to work, but I figured I lose nothing for just trying.
The random thought of my character swimming happily in a pool of cookies came to mind, but that seemed a little complex to illustrate and I was not sure where to begin. My mind then trailed off to a pile/mountain of cookies. That was something I could work on. In Sketch 5.1, I was still using a netural colour for the main colour but it felt very boring. Without the two other piles of cookies in the background, it seemed empty, but I could not get the colours right and it ended up being a gross faded brown. This whole card was just too neutral, boring and plain.
So, I tried a different colour scheme. I accidentally changed the cookies to a pink/blue/green neon while messing around with the colour guide schemes. Somehow, I felt it kind of worked with the main character colour scheme. Having black backround and these neon cookies allows viewers eyes to go directly to the design on the card and have that as the main focus. Although it worked, I was not sure if it made sense to have cookies these colours? Colours are supposed to make sense. Nothing in the card showed or even hinted to his "raging cookie lover" personality.
I moved on to Sketch 5.3, where I tried sticking to the same 3 colours of my main character. In my opinion, the colours work but it still felt a little boring. It was maybe too repetitive? Nothing seemed to stand out. The colours and the card are bright and eye catching but nothing in the card itself seemed to attract the most attention. Basically, I felt the colours weakened the visual hierarchy and flow.
Progression
From Sketch 5.3
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| Figure 8.1. Progression 1.1 |
In Progression 1.1, I tried a different colour scheme while still sticking to a triadic colour scheme. Since my main character's colour scheme was blue, yellow, red-ish orange, I paired another triadic colour scheme that was contrasting to that. Purple, green-ish blue, orange, the direct opposite. I thought of going for brighter and more fun and colours that popped. I wanted the card to be bright, eye catching and fun party like colours, since I could imagine playing a card game like this at a party (embarrassingly, yes, I am a lil nerd who plays card and board games at parties/gatherings). I quite liked this, it was what I was aiming for in the first place, but I was not sure if it was way too much going on. Too much colours, too bright, too distracting. So, I moved on, experimenting more.
From Sketch 5.2
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| Figure 9.1. Progression 2.1 |
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| Figure 9.2. Progression 2.2 |
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| Figure 9.3. Progression 2.3 |
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| Figure 9.4. Progression 2.4 |
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| Figure 9.5. Progression 2.5 |
Progression 2.1 - 2.5 are instant reactions and progressions of my continous thought process. I mixed Sketch 5.2 and 5.3 and just went with the flow of experimenting and having fun. I kept looking for more ways to change things around and ways I could play with placements of everything to see what worked best and could be improved.
I slowly realised orange worked well as the main card colour as it is also the primary colour for my main character. It allows it to eye catching, striking and interesting while also not causing too much distraction and pulling attention away from my main character. Orange is also a family to red which, to me, does hint towards his rage like characteristics. It also is a basic viking colour, eventhough that might not be something anyone else notices or thinks of, in my mind, it does add a point to why the colour worked for my card.
Final Outcome
Koe Draug
Koe Draug, a raging cookie lover. He's a greedy chaotic little monster that rages when he hasn't had a cookie in a few hours. When he rages, he causes a low amount of damage and mess to those directly around/near him. Cookies give him a sugar rush that results in him creating extra havoc with a medium amount of damage and mess to everyone within the same vicinity. Despite his hangry rage and sugar rush havoc, deep down he is a big softie and is adored by everyone around him
FEEDBACK
Overall Feedback
- Quirky looking designs
- Sketch 5.2 has sense of balance, contrast and visual hierarchy
- Progression 2.5 has better balance, contrast and visual hierarchy
REFLECTION
Experience
To be honest, Part 1 of this assignment was not something I particularly cared for. I did appreciate that the shapes were given as a benchmark and guidance. It made it easier for me to create a character design as creating a character from scratch is not something I am very good at. The second part of the assignment was more fun and intesting to me as designing cards is something I would love to be able to do in the future. I enjoyed the lecturers and tutorials as I was learning new things as well as having refreshers on what I already have learnt previously.
Observations
I realised that sometimes it is best to take a break from work and forget about it. It helps as I can come back with a clear mind and see what and how I can improve it. I tend to have anxiety on being behind on my assignments, eventhough I probably am not, so I end up with the mindset of "I need to finish this quickly". This mindset then makes me stare at my work all day for a few days in a row and it then clouds my judgement on my work. So giving myself a break sometimes is more necessary than I realised.
Findings
I learnt quite alot from the lectures these few weeks, things I have not learnt previously. The one that stood out most to me was chiaroscuro lighting. It was not something I ever realised or thought of before but seeing it applied in movies and series all makes so much sense now. I realised that I struggle with alot of anxiety with my work process and it is something I need to work on before my semesters and work load get more tough.
FURTHER READING
Kaninsky, M. (2020) The Brilliant Use of Complementary Colours in the Queen's Gambit [Online] Peta Pixel. Available at: https://petapixel.com/2020/12/12/the-brilliant-use-of-complementary-colors-in-the-queens-gambit/
Linda (2021) (How To Choose) Viking Age Colours [Online] Handcrafted History. Available at: https://handcraftedhistory.blog/2021/05/21/how-to-choose-viking-age-colours/
Skjalden (2020) What Colours Did the Vikings Paint Their Houses? [Online] Nordic Culture. Available at: https://skjalden.com/wood-paint-colors-in-the-viking-age/
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