Illustration and Visual Narrative - Task 3: Sequential Art Continuous

 || 10th June - 3rd July(Week 8 - Week 11)

|| Kek Han Shin (0352571) Bachelor of Computer Science
|| Illustration and Visual Narrative
|| Task 3: Sequential Art Continuous (20%)

---

🔹Task Description

We are to choose a Frank Sinatra song and sketch initial ideas, figure out the storyline, and illustrate and animate a 'moment' based on the song's meaning. Illustrated typography must be included

🎶Song list:

• Fly me to the moon
• The way you look tonight
• Come fly with me
• Girl from Ipanema
• New York, New York

Submission required: album cover and animated version

📎Project criteria

• consistent art style - Art Deco/Minimalist/Retro/Pop Art/Art Nouveau
• originality
• technique
• interpretation
• storytelling
• requirements

👩🏼‍💻Class notes

• for animation, we can use either After Effects or Photoshop
• for the album cover, just focus on certain elements to convey the story
• search inspiration for animated typography
• Minimalist Alfred Hitchcock movie poster
• Art nouveau - quite on using watercolour texture
• suggestions: adobe galleries has a lot of ready-made patterns

🔹Researching

I browsed through the songs and "Fly Me to the Moon" instantly clicked, as the saxophone at the background gives a really classic nostalgic R&B tone, immediately ideas start flowing into my mind 

Figure 1: lyrics

I did extensive research on the art styles that resonate with classical jazz, and moon stars related theme

Figure 2: inspirations

I find myself really attracted to the washed visuals, bold and vivid colours from the retro style, I think this art style can depict and portray the nostalgic yet playful and cheerful feelings from the song itself.

🔹Sketching

The moment I want to express is that the couple carelessly and freely enjoying their moment together (on a moon with no one else) and from the lyrics Jupiter and mars presence.

Figure 3: initial draft 

After initial sketch and confirming how the layout should be, I continued to refine

Figure 4: Adding typography to be "flowing"

First submission: sketch and rationale

Figure 5: Compilation

🔹Designing Process

After sketches, is to produce using Illustrator

Searched for some tutorials on how to recreate a more vintage style design...

Figure 6: vintage designing

First off I utilised image tracing on the moon and refined it manually 

Figure 7: moon tracing

Searching for suitable retro fonts, I found out that for retro designs, fonts are very much focused and they emphasize a "washed, old" feeling, with this I plan to use grain feature to apply on this too

Figure 8: font searching

Throughout the whole process surprisingly the most challenging and time-consuming part is customising the font to fit the flowing lines...

Figure 9: search for how to edit font path

I decided to edit the fonts manually as I find out that text wrap cant fully achieve the results I wanted...

Figure 10: constructing "flowing font"

Also, I was inspired by the washed jeans texture I find in some retro-style artwork, hence I decided to apply that to my cover too!

Figure 11: Inspiration referencing

I wanted to adjust the hue and saturation of the background, to achieve this, I used image trace and expand

Figure 12: adjustments

Figure 13: first version

I received feedback where maybe to make the background to be lighter blue as retro style uses more vivid and light colors, also to apply flitter effects on the fonts.

Submission static album cover:

🔹Animation Process

I have consulted Mr. Hafiz he mentioned the overall layout is fine and suggested me few animation I can consider. At the end, I decided to animated the background to darken gradually, the girl's hair and also the planet itself. I wanted to maintain the "dreamy" feel of the artwork

Before animation, I had to make several adjustments to the design as the layers are unarranged, and I had to make the fonts into shapes if not it would be too heacy process for font animation

Figure 15: layers arrangemets

Also, seperate the hair strokes

Figure 16: seperating hair strands

Firstly, making the sky darken, I used blending mode: gradient overlay, to ammend the saturation and darkness of the sky layer

Figure 17: sky animating using gradient overlay

For the planets, using inner and outer glow

Figure 18: glowing bound of moon and planet

Now, I was contemplating on how to animate the font, it came to my mind to make it appear to be glittering, fitting the theme better

Figure 19: Youtube saved my life

Using Particle world effects

Figure 20: particle world effect to make glittering effect

Finally the last one: distrorting the girls hair!

Figure 21: Hair animation

Submission animation:

---

✍🏼Reflection

I particularly enjoy the process of researching as the visuals of retro, pop art and others are really intriguing, it's like exploring in different parralel fields in designings. Overall I am satisfied with the process and find myself slowly progress from stumbling constantly to being familiar to Illustrator (and a little bit of AfterEffects :0) I appreciate all the YouTube gurus and the feedback given by Mr Hafiz!