Illustration & Visual Narrative Task 1
Jaden Lim Zi Yi / 0379047
IVN / BDCM / Taylor's University
Task 1
LECTURES
Character Design Summary
Lecture is about what makes a good character design. It emphases on thinking iconic, simple but also unique. The six core pillars are shapes, building a recognizable silhouette, color defines personality. Emphasis directs the viewer to a focal point, and contrast pairs opposing elements to make the visual pop. Finally harmony blends everything cohesively so the characters fit their world, while expressions and poses instantly communicate their attitude and energy.
Chiaroscuro
Lecture is about how chiaroscuro use light and shadow to create a 3D illusion on a flat surface, increasing dramatic tension. An extreme form is tenebrism, which spotlights key details like faces or hands against a close to all black setting to create a bright foal point. In visual narrative, this helps separate positive space from the negative space. Overall manipulating light and dark allows artist to capture attention, sensational effects and build tasteful compositions.
TUTORIAL
The assignment requires us to generate a character design and create merchandise and packaging, both of which will be digitalized in adobe illustrator after sketching
IDEATION
Fig 1 Prompt Matrix and Idea Generation
Fig 2 Thumbnail sketches of 'a witch in an amusement park who's energetic and has 1 eye covered'
Fig 3 Thumbnail sketches of 'a chef who's in a convenience store who's confident and has animal ears'
Fig 4 Thumbnail sketches of 'a doctor in an aquarium who's playful and has glowing tattoos'
Fig 5 Mood board
RATIONALE
The goal of this design was to create a memorable, confident chef featuring animal ears, focusing heavily on strong presence and high-contrast visuals rather than overcomplicating the details. The character’s unshakeable confidence is driven entirely by his expression and structure, using a sharp jawline, broad shoulders, and thick eyebrows paired with a smug smirk, crossed arms, and a raised eyebrow to convey absolute capability. To balance his proud posture, I gave him asymmetrical hair and ears to inject a bit of chaotic energy into the look, topped off with a fiery silhouette for his hairstyle.
The styling and color choices are highly deliberate to make the character pop. I used iconic, simple elements like a classic red chef's scarf and clean buttons to instantly establish his profession without cluttering the canvas. The color palette relies on bold, high-contrast choices, using a striking green for the eyes to pierce right through the dominant warm tones of the hair. Ultimately, every element works together to deliver a clear, cohesive message: he is a capable and prideful chef with the spirit of a lion.
FINAL ARTWORKS (.ai files)
Fig 6 Final character design line art
Fig 7 Final character design coloring
Fig 8 Final merchandise + packaging digitalizing
FINAL ARTWORKS (.png files)
Fig 9 Final character design line art
Fig 10 Final character design coloring
Fig 8 Final merchandise + packaging digitalizing
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