Design Principles - Exercises
31.08.2022 - 21.09.2022 / Week 1 - Week 4
Lim Rui Ying / 0358986
Design
Principles / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Exercises
LIST
Instructions
Exercises
LECTURES
Class Summary
WEEK 1
The first class dropped on a public holiday, so we have no class during
week 1. I watched the pre-recorded lecture videos about the design
principles uploaded by Dr Yip. In the lecture videos, Dr Yip explained
clearly each design principle with other additional information, so we
could build a solid foundation on the design principles.
WEEK 2
This week was the first time we met our lecturer, Dr Yip Jinchi. She
gave us an introduction to Microsoft Teams about some basic tools like
screen-sharing. She also mentioned Microsoft Teams and myTimes are the
platforms to access lecture videos and learning resources.
Dr Yip went through the first assignment clearly with us, which is
the application of design principles exercises. She has also explained
the module information in detail to us. I am very clear about this
module now.
We had a feedback session with Dr Yip, in which she looked through
our blogs and gave feedback on our work. I got some ideas about what
to do after looking at my classmates' work. We are advised to complete
the exercises as soon as possible to meet the deadline.
WEEK 3
This week, Dr Yip went through our blogs and responded to our works
with useful feedback and bits of advice. I found it interesting
looking at my classmates' artworks and how they got the ideas to
create such designs. Dr Yip also gave us some tips on how to design
using each design principle while commenting on our works. She
mentioned some details to notice such as numbering the figures posted,
giving them credits and writing short descriptions below the
figures.
WEEK 4
Dr Yip briefed us about the second assignment - Project 1:
Self-Portrait. We were asked to watch the lecture video first before
we start this project.
Dr Yip has extended our deadline for turning in this assignment and
she reminded us to turn in the assignment with our blog link and 5
final designs in JPEG files. The feedback session was carried out as
usual. Everyone has updated their work and I could discover more ideas
from my classmates' works and learn from them.
Dr Yip gave us advice on finding Emphasis visual references, she
advised instead of searching the keyword 'Emphasis', we could search
other keywords like 'Book cover design' to explore different Emphasis
designs artwork.
INSTRUCTIONS
EXERCISES
We should create 5 designs applying the design principles, choosing
5 design principles from the 9 design principles listed below:
1. Gestalt theory
2. Contrast
3. Emphasis
4. Balance
5. Repetition
6. Movement
7. Harmony and unity
8. Symbol
9. Word and image
The requirements of these exercises divide into two parts:
1. Recap
We should write a quick recap on each design principle base on what
we have understood about that particular design
principle.
2. Design Process
We are encouraged to record our design journal in detail to show
the design process and how our design works are
completed.
2.1 Visual references
We have to insert references that inspire our designs. We must
ensure to give credit to the image references we have inserted and
assure our design works must not too similar to the visual
references.
2.2 Idea exploration and description
We are advised to come out with 2-3 sketches for each design, so
there are some options and alternatives that we could try on. Our
design outcomes can be in any materials, such as painting,
watercolour, digital art, etc. However, we are not allowed to use
photography in our designs except for the no.9 design principle -
word and image.
2.3 Final design and rationale
Our final design should submit in JPEG format, with a short
rationale to describe and explain our design artwork.
2.4 Feedback
Record the feedback given by the lecturer and make adjustments to our
design works.
2.5 Reflection
We have to analyse, evaluate and synthesise what we have learned
during the particular week and write about our findings based on our experience and observations.
For this exercise, the 5 design principles I have chosen are
Contrast,
Balance,
Harmony and unity,
Repetition, and
Emphasis.
A) Contrast
1. RECAP
Contrast refers to the juxtaposition of strongly dissimilar elements,
it can avoid monotonous design, and it usually emphasises a point and
expresses a particular content.
Here are some common contrasts:
Colour contrast
This is the most common and obvious type of contrast. It usually uses
pure colours that are high in value and intensity to emphasise the
contrast, such as the complementary colour schemes.
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Fig. 1.1 Example #1,
Feuille morte (autumn leaves) collage art by Monsieur Collage (@monsieur.collage) |
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| Fig. 1.2 Example #2, Laneway Festival 2016 poster by WBYK (@wbykwbyk) |
Size contrast
Different sizes of elements are used, such as large elements will be
emphasised compared to the small elements.
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| Fig. 1.3 Example #3, photography by LJHolloway (@ljholloway_photography) |
Shape contrast
Differences in shapes like rigid and organic shapes, long and short
shapes, circles and triangles, etc.
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Fig. 1.4 Example #4,
graphite sketch by Kim Cravens |
Position contrast
Elements are contrasted by position such as one element in front while
the other is at the back, creating a space between two elements and
emphasising the front element to stand out.
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Fig. 1.5 Example #5,
contrast position artwork |
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| Fig. 1.6 Example #6, contrast position artworks from The Visual Communication Guy site |
Contrast in Lighting
Lighting contrast usually uses in photography, creating dark shadows
and bright highlights.
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| Fig. 1.7 Example #7, pattern photography by Matteo Angelotti |
2. DESIGN PROCESS
2.1 Visual references
I found a colour contrasting photo in my gallery which I have taken a
few months ago at a Japanese Fusion and Bar, The Coaster at IOI Rio
Puchong. I have inspired by the colour contrast of the photo, which is
the complementary colours of yellow and purple, and the elements of the
yellow sphere and ring. Thus, I have created a colour palette based on
the predominant colours in the image, which are yellow, green, and other
well-related colours.
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Fig. 1.8 The Coaster @ IOI Rio Puchong, photography by me (10/7/2022) |
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| Fig. 1.9 Colour palette |
I got another idea from the USJ 7 BRT station while I was waiting for
the bus, so I took a photo of the platform of the BRT station where I
wait for the bus. I was inspired by the dimensional space that I
highlighted with a yellow frame in the figure below.
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Fig. 1.10 The view from USJ 7 BRT Station platform, photography by me (12/9/2022) |
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Fig. 1.11 The dimensional shape is highlighted with a yellow
frame |
2.2 Idea exploration and description
I came out with two sketches using the sphere and ring elements and the
dimensional spaces from the visual references above.
In both sketches, I created planet elements using spheres and rings. In
sketch #1, I created a dimensional space similar to the shape of the
reference (Fig. 1.11) shown above, while I substituted the initial shape
with a triangle-shaped dimensional space in sketch #2.
I have chosen sketch #2 and started to design using Adobe
Illustrator. I mainly use the Rectangle Tool, Ellipse Tool, and Pen Tool to create
this draft. The digitised sketch is shown below:
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| Fig. 1.14 Digitised sketch, Week 2 (12/9/2022) |
I have tried out two colour attempts for the design, first using the
original colour from the reference image (Fig. 1.8), while in the second
attempt I change the colour of the spheres from green to bright yellow
colours. I found that attempt #2 is more suitable for the contrast
design principle in which yellow and purple are complementary colours,
and the yellow colours did emphasise the spheres. Hence, I chose the
design of attempt #2 and proceeded to the final design.
Fig. 1.15 Attempt #1 (left) and attempt #2 (right), Week 2 (12/9/2022)
2.3 Final design and rationale
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| Fig. 1.16 Final Design for Contrast (yellow rings), Week 2 (12/9/2022) |
Software: Adobe Illustrator
I have used gradients for the yellow spheres and the triangle-shaped
dimensional space to create 3D effects. I have also added some shadows
to the spheres to get a result of highlighting the spheres. The type
of contrast I have used in my design are colour contrast, shape
contact and position contrast.
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| Fig. 1.17 Final design for Contrast (purple rings), Week 3 (16/9/2022) |
I try an attempt on Dr Yip's recommendation which change the yellow
rings to purple rings. I use lighter purple colour for the ring of the
larger sphere, while darker purple colour for the ring of the smaller
sphere.
2.4 Feedback
WEEK 3
Dr Yip commented on the way I recap the Contrast design principle, it
is detailed and clear in each type of contrast. She likes the way I
record the design process of this design principle which shows how I got
my ideas. Dr Yip commented on the quality of my sketches which is still
acceptable but it can be better to sketch on blank paper and take the
sketches under a brighter light. I was advised to make an attempt in
changing the rings to purple colour and allowed me to use two designs as
my final design.
2.5 Reflection
I learned the process of creating a design, we should have to sketch
out our idea first then only we could plan how to start our design.
During the design process, we might have new ideas pop up, so I try
different attempts to look for the better one. Dr Yip's suggestion of
trying the purple rings (Fig. 2.11) reminded me to make more attempts to
seek the best design.
B) Balance
1. RECAP
Balance refers to the visual equilibrium of elements. Balance can be
divided into two types, symmetrical balance and asymmetrical
balance.
Symmetrical balance
Symmetrical balance has equal weight on each side of the composition
and usually has an equal arrangement. If elements are arranged equally
around a central point, the composition results in radial balance.
While approximate balance happens when similar elements are arranged
around the fulcrum line in an equivalent but not identical form.
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| Fig. 2.1 Example #1, photography by Justin (@justin.jasmins) |
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| Fig. 2.3 Example #3, poster by Khuyen Le |
Asymmetrical balance
Asymmetrical balance has unequal weight on each side of the
composition. One side might have a larger weight which might contain
the dominant elements, while the other side has a smaller proportion
in that particular composition.
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2. DESIGN PROCESS
2.1 Visual references
I took the concept of the symmetrical balance in the poster below, it
was half separated with a scrunched paper on the left side.
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From the first reference image above, I have an idea to combine a fan
(Fig. 2.8) with the leaves of the plant (Fig. 2.9) because I think the
shape of the fan blade can be combined with the shape of the
leaves.
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| Fig. 2.10 Morning glory from the iNaturalist site |
2.2 Idea exploration and description
I first sketched out the leaves and combined a half fan with a half
side of the leaves to create balance in the composition. I found that
this design indicates a fan that provides a natural breeze.
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I have added the text 'natural breeze' around the combined fan and
leaves. I also duplicated the fan blades and leaves with just lines and
used them as decorations at the top right corner and bottom left corner.
Besides the main element, I have used pink and blue colours for the
background, texts, and decoratives.
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After the feedback session, I made some adjustments to my first design.
I changed the background colour to a gradient of pink, blue and white
colours. I removed the half fan and replaced it with the whole
leaves.
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I followed the advice given by Dr Yip which I replaced the leaves with the front view of morning glory. I have made several attempts at the morning glory as shown below (Fig. 2.13). At last, I chose the third one as the main element in my designs.
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| Fig. 2.13 Attempts at morning glory, Week 3 (16/9/2022) |
I made a few attempts to use the morning glory as the main element.
For attempt #3, I retained the text but changed the colours of the
text, and also replaced the top right corner fan blades decoration
with the leaves same as the bottom left corner one. Then I changed
the text 'natural breeze' to 'Good morning' in attempt #4. I think
that is more suitable and it goes better with the morning glory.
I followed Dr Yip's suggestions and came out with attempt #5,
darker purple colour of the morning glory and flowers added at
the blank corners.
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I made another attempt at creating a new design for Balance, with the
leaves element that I created before (it can also be a flower element).
At first, I got the idea from
Balance example #5 (Fig. 2.5), creating an irregular shape area in my workspace. Then I duplicated
the area and flip it vertically, creating a balance in my artwork. I
created a pattern using the flower elements and mask them into the area.
Lastly, I created two pink buttons using the flower elements as
well.
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| Fig. 2.15 Process of attempt #6, Week 4 (26/9/2022) |
I refined attempt #6 with some adjustments in which some shadows and a
necklace are added, resulting in attempt #7.
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| Fig. 2.16 Attempt #6 and attempt #7, Week 4 (26/9/2022) |
2.3 Final design and rationale
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| Fig. 4.12 Final design for Balance, Week 4 (26/9/2022) |
Software: Adobe Illustrator
I decided to choose attempt #7 as my final design. My design is
about a lady wearing a Cheongsam with a necklace on her neck, it
can be seen in the artwork showing the neck and chest part of the
lady. I have brought the concept of asymmetrical balance to my
design.
2.4 Feedback
WEEK 3
Dr Yip commented on my initial final design (Fig. 4.6) that it can be
improved. She advised me not to split the artwork into two sides as the
artwork already has an equal arrangement on each side. I could use only
one colour or a gradient of the blue and pink colours for the
background. I was suggested to remove the half fan and replace it with
the front view of a whole flower such as morning glory while the
decorations at the corners can remain. Thus, I change my initial final
design to an attempt as there is room for improvement.
WEEK 4
Dr Yip commented on attempt #4 that it is too light and it was
floating. She suggested I change the colour of the morning glory to a
darker colour. I was advised to use a darker colour for the outlines of
flowers at the corners, and I could replicate the flowers in smaller
sizes and place them at the other two corners.
2.5 Reflection
Before I start to design, my first idea was not mature so I quite
struggled during the design process. I have made a lot of attempts,
trying to come out with a better design than the initial one. It was
quite a consuming time struggling with my first design. I have learned
that we should have a strong concept before starting to create a design
throughout this design process.
C) Harmony and unity
1. RECAP
Harmony is defined as the quality of forming a pleasing and
consistent whole. It uses elements with common traits without variety.
All elements fit well together in that they have the same theme and in
an aesthetic style or mood.
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Unity refers to the repetition of particular elements in which
the elements may have the same shapes, colours, materials, etc. The
elements used are balanced, giving a sense of oneness and creating a
theme.
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Harmony and Unity sound similar to each other, yet they both
play a distinct role in art and design.
2. DESIGN PROCESS
2.1 Visual references
I like the concept of the illustration created by Uzoo. He left some
white space instead of fitting the whole artwork space with his
illustration. We can see that he uses two frames with different scenes
in them, but he connected all the elements, the boys, the goose, and the
flowers together very smoothly. I think it is where the harmony is shown
in this illustration artwork.
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Hence, I would like to use the same concept to create artwork similar
to the illustration above (Fig. 3.5). I want to create a blue ocean
theme in the painting, so I take a reference of a whale from the artwork
below (Fig. 3.6).
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2.2 Idea exploration and description
I came out with a sketch of a little girl and a whale with some plants
as decorations. I decided to use watercolour as the medium for this design work. I do not have much idea exploration when I created
this watercolour painting. I just paint my sketch and try to make this
artwork more interesting by using some gradients for each element.
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| Fig. 3.7 Sketch, Week 3 (18/9/2022) |
2.3 Final design and rationale
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| Fig. 3.9 Final design for Harmony and Unity, Week 3 (18/9/2022) |
Medium: Watercolour
I am an ocean lover and a whale lover. I could not imagine how
amazing can be if I could explore the ocean and make friends with
a whale. Thus, I created this watercolour painting with two
frames, one on the land and the other in the ocean. The little
girl could be anyone who is an ocean lover same like me, who has a
strong desire to have a one-day trip to travel in the ocean and
meet the whales. I used various blue colours in this painting to
make the whole design looks more harmonious and blue is related to
the ocean and the whale.
2.4 Feedback
WEEK 4
Dr Yip commented that I have a good attempt on my artwork, and I could
use that as my final design. She said that my artwork explained itself
and I used the similarity of colour and the organic shape of the whale
to create harmony in the artwork. Although my artwork is too rectangular
due to the frames, my positioning is great to avoid weird
composition.
2.5 Reflection
I decide to use watercolour as the material of this design because I
think the characteristics of watercolour can create harmonious
paintings. I enjoy doing this watercolour painting very much. However, I am still a beginner at watercolour and I
can only apply simple skills in my design. I would have to enhance my
watercolour painting skills to create more interesting artwork. I should
have taken more photos of the progress work.
D) Repetition
1. RECAP
Repetition refers to the elements repeatedly used to create a rhythm
and pattern. Variety occurs in repetition to avoid anatomy in a
particular artwork, yet the artwork is still staying in the same theme
of the design.
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| Fig. 4.1 Example #1, photography by Clément Guillaume (@clguillaume) |
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| Fig. 4.2 Example #2, illustration by Lim Heng Swee (@limhengswee) |
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Fig. 4.3 Example #3, artwork by Queen Lee (@leequeen.kingdom), photography by me at the artist's solo exhibition at Hin Bus Depot, Penang |
2. DESIGN PROCESS
2.1 Visual references
When I saw this digital collage artwork, I was amazed. This artwork is
simple but very creative and interesting. Thus, I have the idea of doing
a digital collage. Plus, we have a digital collage exercise in another
module and I am more familiar with the tools in Photoshop. Thus, I
started to discover collage materials from online free magazines.
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| Fig. 4.4 Cloud Race, artwork by Marcos Guinoza (@marcosguinoza) |
2.2 idea exploration and description
I got my collage elements from Reader's Digest magazines and used Adobe
Photoshop to cut out the elements I want: the guy sleeping on the piano
and the parasol.
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Fig. 4.5 Reader's Digest USA - October 2021 pg115
from VK site (pg117 in PDF) |
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Fig. 4.6 Reader's Digest USA - June 2021 pg69 from VK site (pg71 in PDF) |
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REPETITION DESIGN #1
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After cutting out the collage elements I want, I arranged them in
different positions and finally came out with the arrangement of the guy
lying in the parasol (Fig. 4.9 left). I duplicated the combination of
the guy in the parasol and reduce its size, then I arranged it by
rotating about 170° (Fig. 4.9 middle). Next, I
duplicated the middle combinations multiple times and arranged them
following the zigzag space between them (Fig. 4.9 right).
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| Fig. 4.10 Repetition design #1, Pattern, Week 3 (20/9/2022) |
I duplicated the group of my collage elements (Fig. 4.9 right) four times and adjusted their sizes and the space between each group to avoid the whole design becoming too packed with the collage elements.
REPETITION DESIGN #2
I used the same collage elements same as the first design, which is the
first combination (Fig. 4.9 left). In this design, I made some
adjustments to the colour of the collage elements.
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In Fig. 4.11, the left shows the original colour. I changed the colour
of the middle one to black and white, while for the right one I
increased the saturation of its colour.
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I reduced the size of the black and white combination of collage
elements and positioned it on the head of the guy. I duplicated the left
combination and arranged it on the head of the guy in the black and
white combination. I repeated the same arrangement and it came out in a
spiral shape.
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Fig. 4.13 Repetition design #2, Spiral, Week 3
(20/9/2022) |
2.3 Final design and rationale
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Fig. 4.14 Final design for Repetition, Spiral,
Week 3 (20/9/2022) |
Software: Adobe Photoshop
I decided to choose design #2 as my final design for the Repetition
design principle. I want to create a digital collage with the style of
fantasy and in a simple way. I repeated the steps in composing this
collage and it results in a spiral shape, so I named this
artwork Spiral.
2.4 Feedback
WEEK 4
Dr Yip commented that I did a great job in idea explorations and
making the repetition in different sizes, directions and
colours.
2.5 Reflection
I quite enjoy creating this design and exploring the different design
attempts. This design idea is inspired by the collage artwork, Cloud
Race by Marcos Guinoza (Fig. 4.4). I really like that artwork, it is a
fantasy kind of artwork related to dreams to me. Thus, I try to create
my own design with the style of that collage artwork. I discovered
some collage elements and made some combinations among these collage
elements and in different compositions. I enjoy the process of
exploring very much.
E) Emphasis
1. RECAP
Emphasis deals with the impact of an object in design work. It is
used to create dominance in terms of shapes, colours and values in
that particular design.
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| Fig. 5.1 Example #1, artwork by Seriff Studio |
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| Fig. 5.2 Example #2, illustration by Stephen Maurice Graham |
2. DESIGN PROCESS
2.1 Visual references
From the first two references (Fig. 5.3 and 5.4), I could see
that the designers of both artworks are emphasising the legs of
the men. The collage artwork (Fig. 5.3) created an emphasis by
lengthening the legs, while the poster (Fig. 5.4) emphasised the
legs by enlarging the portions. I got the idea of emphasising a
particular body part from these two artworks to create a design
with the Emphasis design principle.
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| Fig. 5.3 Collage artwork by Richard Vergez |
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Fig. 5.4 Artwork
by Jonathan Sullivan (@jonathanpaigedesign), from The Daily Dose of Design IG post |
When I was drawing my sketch, this illustration popped up in my
mind. I was inspired by this illustration to create a magical girl
with a big red magic hat. I also took the cloak as a reference
too.
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| Fig. 5.5 Nimio, illustration by Richard Efa |
2.2 Idea exploration and description
I sketched out the magical girl wearing a big monster-like magical
hat with eyes on it. I sketched the cloak with a ribbon on it, and I
assumed that the ribbon is red in colour as well. I digitised my
sketch using Illustrator, mainly using the Pen Tool, Shapes Tool and
Brush Tool.
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| Fig. 5.6 Sketch, Week 4 (22/9/2022) |
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| Fig. 5.7 Digitised sketch progress, Week 4 (22/9/2022) |
I made some adjustments to the colours of my digitised sketch and added some details to it. I gave an attempt at resizing the head and the body part of the magical girl to make the emphasis more obvious (second outcome).
Fig. 5.8 First outcome (left) and second outcome (right) of
digitised sketch, Week 4 (22/9/2022)
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| Fig. 5.9 Attempt #1, Week 4 (22/9/2022) |
I made some attempts at the colours to create variety in the artwork. I have tried brighter colours and dark purple colours on the leaves.
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| Fig. 5.10 Colour attempts, Week 4 (22/9/2022) |
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| Fig. 5.11 Attempt #2 (bright colour leaves), Week 4 (22/9/2022) |
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| Fig. 5.12 Attempt #3 (dark purple colour leaves), Week 4 (22/9/2022) |
2.3 Final design and rationale
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| Fig. 5.13 Final design for Emphasis, Week 4 (22/9/2022) |
Software: Adobe Illustrator
I go for attempt #2 for my final design as I find out it is more
interesting in the colours. Apart from just taking attempt #2 for
my final design without any refinement, I have added a dark radial
shadow on top of the artwork. In this artwork, I wanted to create
something about magic so I included the elements of the magical
girl with a monsters-like magic hat, the little monsters and the
grey and indigo blue plants around. The dark radial shadow added
can create a sense of mystery.
2.4 Feedback
WEEK 4
The visual references I found are good in expressing the Emphasis
design principle in a different way instead of in a common way
that is easy to understand.
2.5 Reflection
I did this design quite late and Dr Yip cannot give feedback on my
work. I should manage to complete it earlier to get some suggestions
and ideas from Dr Yip to improve my artwork. During the design
process, I found that colour matching is very important depending on
what we want to express from the artwork. As this is the last design
in these exercises, I managed to apply not only the Emphasis design
principle in my artwork but also the Repetition and Balance design
principles.
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