Evaluation for Final Major Project

The project had somewhat of a slow start, especially if it is about creating my own world and its characters. Thinking about what characters and scenes to create is so broad and endless, that the only way to make a start was to initially draw things that I like to draw, i.e. characters, animals, magical beings etc. just so there is something to work on at first and try expanding from that. Most of the ideas at the beginning kind of drifted away as I dig more into the development of composition and designing, though I had reflect back to these initial thoughts and had redeveloped them further, as they serve as the foundation to my ideas throughout the project, as well as using these initial thoughts and expand into different areas I could explore for the creation of my characters and environments.

It was somewhat intense in certain areas of development, especially during times where I had to reconsider how I stylistically draw human characters to fit in that I am most comfortable with, which had caused some issues in progressing the project further, however it was necessary if I were to ensure everything is on track. If I hadn’t then I wouldn’t be happy with the results of my final artworks if things had continued as it initially was. Looking into various platforms and media could of have been worked on a little more for research, as most of the project was focused too much on the development and the design of the characters, exercises in composition and perspective, which has caused some imbalance between secondary research and designing. Research is as valuable as generating ideas and that is probably why I feel there isn’t really enough that would have helped me explore my own world and characters as I was too focused trying to generate my own content.

I may have approached the project as a whole somewhat unprepared, not knowing the amount of content that I would actually need to produce in order for the creation of my world to come to fruition. I had the ideas written down but I don’t truly feel I was ready for the tasks of producing a lot of content. Most ideas were generated randomly and wasn’t put a lot of thought into it, which I wished of had done, as this project is the first step in creating my own characters and environments which could be expanded upon beyond in the future, as a content I can continuously work on to generate original artworks and potential stories. Due to time constraints I didn’t have a lot of time to put much thought in what I had created as most of the ideas were roughs, though there will always be room to refine them.

The final artworks could of have been better, due to the amount of time I had somewhat rushed it to get it completed. I honestly felt more could of have been done and felt that I haven’t shown the best of my abilities in digital painting due remaining time I had left to get them done before being sent off to be printed for the show. However, what is more important is that the idea of my world and its characters are visually communicating to the audience the beauty and the variety of characters of the world, which was one of my main goals for this project.

In the end, the visual communication of my world is there and while there could have been more to explore and design the world, this will be the beginning of my original content that I would continue to create in the future. 

Phase 10 - Final artwork display plan for graduation show

For the preparation of the final artwork display for the degree show I had planned out a quick draft of how my images are going to be presented. There will be 2 A3 size artworks and 2 A4 size artworks and in addition to these there will be a collection of character illustrations (between the size of A2 and A3) as whole image.

At first I thought everything was to be printed on A1 sheets and frame them but after having a discussion with Emma, our printing technician, it was made clear that the artworks are printed on A1 sheets just so there will be room for it to be cut down (to create white boarders) and to fit into A2 frames, which made clear to me after experiencing some confusion and miscommunication about the specifications we were told of what we have to work with.

The plan was to have the 2 A3 size artworks to be individually framed, as well as for the 2 A4 images, though the A4 images might be paired/printed together on a single sheet to be fitted within an A3/A2 frame, though this needs to be discussed with the tutors to see what is the optimal outcome for that. The character collection image will be framed the same way as the A3 images using the A2 frame.

Initially I planned on using a monitor to showcase any additional work alongside my printed artworks, though I personally feel it is best to leave this out, as monitors are generally used for short animations and I don’t see the benefit of using one as it doesn’t really support my artworks any further. Having a monitor would require more time and planning, but in the end it is concluded that it is unnecessary for me to have one.

Update 05/05/2017

I realised that the frames we will be using to frame our works are actually A1 size, as the artworks will be printed on A1 sheets and going to be framed as it is, causing me to change up the plan again. It was confusing, but after talking about it I finally understand the specifications. It was a little vague at the beginning when we were first told about it and I mistook the information for how it is going to be framed/printed. (Mistaking the prints were going to be cut out from the A1 sheets to be framed using smaller frames).

Rough diagram indicating which artworks is going to be paired/group with.

Final arrangement of the artworks on A1 sheets.

With the amount of images I have to print, it was difficult to arrange 2 of the artworks with the character illustrations, as there are too much negative space around them that makes the presentation feel a bit empty. In addition to these final artworks for my Final Major Project, tutors suggested using an image I had done for Olio, as there are some connections between it and the other artworks, such as the floating fishes and characters that are in more than one artwork (“Easter egg” reference of a reoccurring character or object in different places that the viewer recognise). The image can also be used to back up/support the expansion of the world I created within the final artworks, while also filling in the remaining negative space of the A1 sheet.

With an A4 frame left that is available to be used for the show, Fumio suggested using a piece from my personal work that was used in my portfolio, to showcase my visual language for narrative and storytelling. Again, this can indirectly support the expansion of the world I created in terms of lore and narrative. 

Phase 9 Part 2 - Development of Final Artwork - Main Illustrations

Similarly to the character illustrations, I had taken the sketches of potential artworks and narrowed down to 3 – 4 images that will best showcase the scenes and environments of the world and characters I had created for this project. 2 artworks will explore the beauty of the world and/or its culture while the other 2 images will focus on character interactions. This will even out the visual storytelling so it is not focused entirely on one perspective, i.e. having all the artworks all focused on character interaction with no visual exploration of the world, and vice-versa.

Redesigning the entire image while using the sketch of the final artwork has taken a bit of time but the most crucial thing is the amount of time I will be spending painting and polishing the final artwork. These do take time, though with the remaining time I have left as of now it is becoming harder for me to pace up the development of final artworks, as I do not want them to look rushed or half-finished. It also depend on the amount detail there is on the images. Artworks that involve less detail will be done quicker compared to the ones that have a lot of detail involved, such as the amount of characters and objects there are within that scene. Poses, action scenes, composition and perspective all contributes to the time it will take to produce the final artwork (also depends on how complex the image is) which for me, in the end, did not select scenes (or even produce a new scene) that would take very long to produce which would cause the production for the other artworks to be pushed back.  

"Crossing the Road" step by step progress.

"Boss Battle" step by step progress.

"Lantern Lake" step by step progress.

"Meeting" step by step progress.

Phase 9 Part 1 - Development of Final Artwork - Characters

For the development of the final artworks of scenes and characters, I selected some of the initial drafts/sketches that I think are suitable for the final product and had redeveloped them as final outcomes. By using the initial sketches as a guide, this allows me to quickly plan out/redraw characters with a bit of ease without having to redraw them from scratch. For the scenes however, they need some redesigning to correct the perspective, colouring and adding detail, which took a bit of time.

The final outcome for the individual character illustrations have undergone a few changes for some of them (redesigning and adding in detail) while 1 or 2 had remained the same (obviously more polished). Some of these characters will be featured in the final artworks, hence this character collection piece is important to support the main artworks that has characters in them. This piece will also provide some visual information of the characters of the world.

Comparison between the initial sketch and the finalised illustration of each character are visually shown below.

Phase 8 - Ideas and exploration of the world and Research

To continue with the exploration and the expansion of the world I am creating, I produced random quick narrative sketches to further support the development and ideas I have for the creation of my fictional world. While the final artworks will only show a snippet of the magical world I had created, these will help further push the concept I have about the world, through composition sketches and random narrative scenes. In addition to the early sketches for the final artworks, these sketches are to visually communicate my ideas and thoughts about the world, environments and its characters. These ideas may help me in the future if I were to take these and expand them into artworks or short narrative stories of the characters/environments of the world. 

Visual research into the expansive worlds of fictional stories/universes by artists/creators/authors

The worlds of Studio Ghibli. Founders: Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Toshio Suzuki, Yasuyoshi Tokuma. 

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

My neighbour Totoro (1998)

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Pom Poko (1994)

Spirited Away (2001)

Animated films produced by Studio Ghibli has a wide range of different characters, ranging from regular people, to anthropomorphic and magical characters. Enchanting worlds mixed with elements of reality and fantasy that Studio Ghibli and director Hayao Miyazki had created fits with the idea I want this project to be about, is to produce a world with the visual elements of imaginary characters and environments that we can connect to. The project has no target audience and it is opened to anyone who is interested in this world and creations. 

The Lord of the Rings. Originally published: 1955 Author: J.R.R Tolkien

Films - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), The Return of the King (2003). Director: Peter Jackson

The fantasy world of “The Lord of the Rings”, created by author J.R.R Tolkien, is rich with history and hidden details. The exploration of the world made by Tolkien has been expanded upon through films, games and other works fiction, generating many new stories that focuses around the creation of the world, by introducing new characters, exploring new environments and adding more depth to its lore. My project somewhat ties in with the idea of creating the expanded universe of my world, similarly to “The Lord of the Rings” and “Star Wars”, by adding new characters and stories to increase the creative content over the years.

Book: "Starting Point: 1979 - 1996". Hayao Miyazaki

Small illustrations that visually communicate the ideas behind the vehicles that were used in some of the animated films. A little in depth look, similarly to an encyclopaedia to explore more about the world. 

Book: "The Art of Urban Sketching" Gabriel Campanario

Looking into the sketches and quick paintings artists do to study the environment/setting of the location. This can be useful to illustrate quick environmental scenes for my imaginary world.

Bibliography

Campanario, G (2012) The Art of Urban Sketching. Quarry Books

Miyazaki, H (1996) Starting Point: 1979 - 1996. Viz LLC; Tra Edition