Never alone

This was an assignment to make a comic in any media and with any topic. I chose to use digital media with Paint Tool SAI and bamboo tablet. I am very happy with the result of this and I think I improved so much using this program. I always had problems creating things with my own style, but I think I was able to find something that I like for this. The story was aimed towards the idea that there is always someone watching out for you, magical or not. It was very challenging trying to make the panel layout for the pages because this was my first time doing something like this. However, I definitely enjoyed the challenge overall, including the long nights of work that came along with it. With such a limited time period it was also difficult to find a story that can be told and feel finished in just a few pages. I also had fun trying to create a subway setting with the few times I've been on the subway during this summer course. The addition of the glacier blue I thought about for a while, because I really wanted the magical aspect to stand out, and I am glad I included it.

Scott McCloud - Comics

Closure- The brain forming the final concept while only having just a piece of it. For example, seeing a picture of only the torso up but assuming there are legs under it. This is a big part of comic and illustration because it plays with how the reader may react to seeing a certain image. Continuing with this concept, in comics, the space between panels is just as important as the actual panels themselves. This space is called the gutter and represents the action not shown between two panels that the reader uses closure to fill.

Panel types: 1. Motion to motion- panels show actions through time as they occur in order
2. Action to action- The action panels describe something that happens suddenly and is therefore represented in a more drastic measure between panels, leaving more up to the viewer to fill in.
3. Subject to subject- Transition between subjects within the same scene
4. Scene to scene- transition between distances and spaces
5. Aspect to aspect- showing different ideas of the same concept in multiple panels
6. non-sequitur- no relation to panels at all

Comics are as subtractive as the are additive, so its about finding the balance between too much and too little. The order of panels is crucial as well as the actual size and length of a panel to convey time. The artist can play with the mind by intervening into other panels such as a fishing hook to a panel under it. A scene can be elongated simply by expanding the panel.



I plan on definitely using a wide variety of panel transitions and structure. I really like how the japanese tend to use a lot of varieties in transitions rather than only action to action. I believe that this would have the most interesting appeal rather than only action shots of punching and kicking. The panel shape should also be interesting and not just square after square after...yeah. It gets rather boring just to look at. But the really dynamic shapes of panels are very interesting and I plan to use that a lot.

Life or Death animation

Project: 10 second animation
Media: Premiere Pro

This was a very time consuming and rewarding project. This animation took a total of 91 drawings and was put together in Premiere Pro. The video I referenced was a video by my tae kwon do school. The process of creating this animation took a lot of time and effort and I definitely respect professional animators much more for what they do. The first thing I did was draw all 90 drawings with pencil first of only the base models of the people and then I went over the models with pen and made the features defined. The process inside the editing program involved inserting the photos by importing them first. Then all the photos were nested together to make a video and from there the speed was changed to make it faster so that the images flowed better. Then I made the color all the same by using the black and white effect filter. Then it was on to sounds where I used youtube videos to clip together sounds for the video. The music was simple, but the sound effects were a little more challenging. For the sword sounds I found one long file that contained multiple sword clash sounds and I took individual sounds out by making sub sound groups out of the original long file. Then I could easily click and drag the sounds to the appropriate time slots. Finally, the title page was added along with a few effects to make it fade in and out.

Courageous teamwork

I really enjoyed working with my group on this mural. We all worked as such a good team from the underpainting to the scattering of stars. Overall, i learned a lot about teamwork and leadership from this project.

The first part of the process was discussing the idea and composition. It took us a while to come up with ideas for the theme of our project until we realized that courage was a very broad topic that could also include many other themes inside of it. Our group was very good at respecting each others opinions and combining ideas. It was hard to think of other ideas besides the one at hand however, and i learned that i need to look beyond one idea and come up with more. 

The photoshop process i think went very well. Everyone equally contributed and helped a lot with putting together the image. We were very efficient when it came to priming the canvas, and had no problems as a group. The layout was also very smooth in cutting the paper to be even and everyone participated in the chalk line. 

For the painting part, everyone was very efficient in choosing where they can be of the most help to the group. If someone was having trouble with one part, another person would come help. I learned that speaking up is very effective if someone seems lost. Everyone in the group took critique very well and improved their technique. Our group also didnt fight over anything, we just discussed ideas.

There was a lot of talk about how everything could be improved consistantly. We discussed what to do with the background and the arc in depth  and finally decided on how to handle it. Overall i think that the people climbing the ladders were very successful and the objects in the background were as well. I learned a lot in this group about drawing and painting and also the idea process

Harvested Thoughts

Our lady of Grace

A'shop crew

Streets of Montreal

A'shop is a group run by artists who wish to make art for all to view. They started in the '90s in Montreal during the beginning of the birth of the graffiti scene. They try to bring a positive outlook to the community through art. For this piece of art, they referenced an artist from the early 1900s named Alphonse Mucha, but put their own twist on it. While still conserving the border and almost tarot card aspect, they put their own style into the background and the woman herself. The artists themselves seem to paint with a variety of techniques including taping off sections, using paint rollers, and even spray cans. 

The piece itself was so well considered and thought through and it really shows. The colors of the entire image generally tie to blue and orange as a theme: complementary colors. There are many varieties in saturation of the colors, making the image very diverse and interesting. There is an amazing transition between the past and future in this mural, shown by overlapping images. The most saturated and colorful parts of the image represent harvest make the woman look like a goddess or deity of mythology. The more unsaturated parts represent cities and modern landscapes, making a very impacting contrast.The blend of organic parts such as the flowers, birds,cloth, and crops with the very inorganic structures in the background are very cleanly pieced off, but are unified by color.The large blue sphere above the woman's head is a mix of inorganic and organic, as it looks like vines and plants but also like a clock. The overall composition flows so nicely together and is so engaging to think about.

I personally think this mural is amazing because of the subject matter and style. The woman and the cloth look so majestic and flowing, it definitely shows grace. The theme of the woman makes me think of Demeter in mythology, the Goddess of the harvest. Every part is so peaceful and the colors are so appealing. I love how they made the skin of her leg more of a blue tint than orange like normal skin color would be to tie in the whole color theme.  The gesture of the woman is also very appealing and elegant with her gaze going off into one of the corners. The border is so intricately designed and really pushes the idea that this is supposed to be relating to the past. I also enjoy all of the clean cuts around the different parts, and that it isn't completely uniform and rectangular all the time.

Illustration museum- William Joyce

EPIC: Concept Art for Pitch Environmeny

William Joyce

Charcoal on newsprint

This piece is so engaging in both contrast and composition. The jagged, sharp walls that look like roots are varied so nicely in value and really show amazing depth as they get lighter. Everything is composed so nicely to point to the creature in the open clearing in the forest. The focal point is slightly off center, which shows more interesting composition than it being directly centered. Everything points to this strange creature, including the opening where light is shown to be pure white and shining down. This makes it feel like the creature is very important. This thought is also amplified by the small figures surrounding the creature looking at him.

I like the overall creativeness of the creature itself. Instead of a stereotypical winged demon creature seen in many films, this shows a creature with only one wing and the other appears to have broken off. I love how he pulled off such a dark environment that feels so unwelcoming but also included a lot of light to contrast it without losing the tone. The fact that he was able to do this all with charcoal is amazing, the line quality on the trees is so rough while the background is so soft.