ILLUSTRATION AND VISUAL NARRATIVE - Task 2: COMPOSITION

ILLUSTRATION AND VISUAL NARRATIVE - Task 2: COMPOSITION

8/10/2025 - 29/10/2025  (Week 3 - Week 6)
Nur Adila binti Nazary (0377352)
Illustration and Visual Narrative / Bachelor in Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Task  2

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1) Lectures
2) Instructions
3) Process
4) Feedback
5) Final Outcome
6) Reflection

LECTURES

Week 4
Composition Theory 2 (Perspective)

It is to show three-dimensional objects on a two dimensional surface. It is to give the right impression and proportions.

4 rules on Construct Perspectives:
1) One point Perspective

Figure 1. One point perspective grid

This is the most simple method of producing three dimensional images making the drawings of the objects emerging from a single point on the horizon.

Figure 2. One point perspective drawing

As the objects get closer to the vanishing point the smaller they become until they vanish completely.

2) Two point perspective

Figure 3. Two point perspective grid

The vanishing points on the either side of the horizon. The objects and buildings in the scene are drawn to both of these vanishing points. This can create a sense of space and dimension.

Figure 4. Two point perspective drawing

Two vanishing points are on the horizon and two sets of overlapping perspective lines fanning out from them. With this, the objects can recede toward the two separate points, making it have a more dynamic view.

3) Three point perspective

Figure 5. Three point perspective grid

Usually consistent of two vanishing points on opposite side of a horizon (same like two point perspective) but with the addition of another vanishing point above or below the horizon. This makes a sense of drama and scale. It also shows more objects in a single scene

Figure 6. Three point perspective bird's eye view

This is a three point perspective bird's eye view (the vanishing point is at the bottom of the horizon)

Figure 7. Three point perspective worm's eye view

This is a three point perspective worm's eye view (the vanishing point is at the top of the horizon)

4) Isometric grid

Figure 8. Isometric grid

This grid is mainly for creating detailed concepts of individual buildings. It allows for the viewers to see all three side of the design without distorting perspective or obscuring details.

Figure 9. Isometric drawing

Week 5
Composition Theory 3 (Fore, Mid and Background)
What is composition?
It usually refers to how your image is put together.

When creating a scene, these 3 elements will show a sense of scale to the viewer.
- Foreground (close to the viewer)
- Middle ground (in between foreground and background)
- Background (far away)

Figure 10. Composition diagram

Design flow:
By having a good arrangement of visual focus using all of the 3 elements mentioned earlier, it can also indicate a sense of movement and rhythm in the design.

Figure 11. A good design flow example

What counts as a good design flow?
- A design with good flow will lead the viewers eye throughout the layout
- Influence the way viewer will digest the content

WHAT I'VE LEARNED IN WEEK 4-5 LECTURES:

From these 2 weeks of lectures, I learned how perspective and composition work together to create a good proportion in an artwork. Week 4 is about the different types of perspectives and how each one of them helps to build a good perspective on a two dimensional surface. By understanding how vanishing points work makes it easier to draw scenes with accurate proportion. In Week 5, I learned about foreground, middle ground and background and how these layers help to create scale and help to guide the viewers eyes through a scene. A good composition flow is important because it controls how someone would view the artwork, making the whole piece more dynamic.

INSTRUCTION



PROCESS
Assignment 2 Overview:
Focus: Background Setting / Composition

BACKGROUND SETTING FOR CHOSEN CHARACTER
For this task, one character was selected from the three previously designed, then three sketches were created featuring background that applied different art compositions. The setting of each sketch followed the prompts sentence from the character line art task, although the lecturer allowed adjustments or changes to the original prompt if needed. The sketches must have foreground, middle ground and background.

The chosen character is Jamie.

RESEARCH AND INSPIRATION:
The original prompt was "A dumb scientist who is a fox making experiments at the lake." This was later developed into three alternative sentences that still follow the original concept:

1) A dumb scientist who is a fox navigating his way with a map in a boat in the forest.
2) A dumb scientist who is a fox experimenting chemicals in a lab.
3) A dumb scientist who is a fox searching is way at the forest with a map.

These three sentences served as the basis for developing the backgrounds designs.

The two art composition explored for this task were the Rule of Thirds and the Golden Ratio

Figure 12. Rule of Third diagram

Figure 13. The Golden Ratio diagram

With these two art compositions selected, research for inspiration was conducted on Pinterest to explored suitable and visual references. 

IDEATION

1) A dumb scientist who is a fox navigating his way with a map in a boat in the forest.
Inspirations

Figure 14. Inspiration #1

Figure 15. Inspiration #2

Figure 16. Inspiration #3

For this sketch, the Rule of Thirds composition was applied. Jamie and his boat are positioned at the lower left intersection of the grid to draw attention to the character while still maintaining balance in the visual area. The remaining space is filled with plants and trees to emphasize the forest environment.

Figure 17. Background sketch #1

2) A dumb scientist who is a fox experimenting chemicals in a lab.

Inspiration:

Figure 18. Inspiration #1

Figure 19. Inspiration #2

Figure 20. Inspiration #3

For this sketch, The composition is inspired by Jamie's story, where his intelligence is lost after a failed experiment. The spilled chemical liquid from the experiment flows thorough the lab, eventually reaching to him. The Golden Ration was chosen as the main composition to create a spiral movement, guiding the viewer's eye through the scene and emphasizing the flow of the liquid.

The setting takes place in a science laboratory. The foreground features a liquids splash and a falling beaker, the middle ground focuses on Jamie and his lab table, while the background includes additional scientific equipment arrange on shelves and tables to complete the environment.

Figure 21. Background sketch #2

3) A dumb scientist who is a fox searching is way at the forest with a map. (CHOSEN)

Figure 22. Inspiration #1

Figure 23. Inspiration #2

Figure 24. Inspiration #3

For this sketch, the focus is placed more on the middle ground to clearly show the surrounding environment. The Rule of Thirds composition is used again, following the concept as the previous sketch. This time, Jamie is placed at the lower right intersection of the grid, looking out over the forest and lake.

The foreground features a small bunny surrounded by plants and flowers, adding a sense of life and calmness to the scene. The middle ground includes Jamie along with some tress, plants and rock, arranged nicely to avoid overcrowding. The background extends into additional trees and hills that creates depth and a peaceful atmosphere.

Figure 25. Background sketch #3 (CHOSEN)

WHAT TECHNIQUES I'VE USED:

Based on the lecture in Week 4 and 5, I chose a composition method that best suited with my scene and arrange the character following to the principles we learned. The line art was created in Adobe Illustrator using the Pen Tool with a 3pt rounded stroke to maintain consistency with my Task 1 style. After drawing all the shapes, I used the Shape Builder Tool to combine the paths and form the final artwork.

COLOURING BACKGROUND
Background sketch #3 was chosen, since it was the most balanced out of the others. The composition was clear and well structured, showing a clear difference between the foreground, middle ground and background without appearing overcrowded or messy. The sketch has been vectorized in Adobe Illustrator, now its time to colour it fully.

RESEARCH AND INSPIRATION:
Before starting the colouring process, research was done to find suitable colour themes that matched the sketch. References included natural elements such as tress, flowers, rocks and waters. Brighter colourrs were chosen for the middle ground, darker tones for the foreground, and slightly muted bright shades for the background to create depth.

Here are some of the colour inspirations used:

Figure 26. Inspiration #1

Figure 27. Inspiration #2

Figure 28. Inspiration #3

Figure 29. Inspiration #4

IDEATION

By using the colour inspiration examples and a few others as reference, a colour palette was developed to fully and properly colour the sketch in Adobe Illustrator.

The Pen tool was used to colour the background, with shadows and highlights placed on separate layers to differentiate them from the base colours

Figure 30. Coloured background

WHAT TECHNIQUES I'VE USED:

For the colouring part, I used the Pen tool in Adobe Illustrator to colour up the shapes. The colours used were inspired by the reference pictures taken from Pinterest. Another layer is added for shadows and highlights. In the end all of them were grouped up into one layer. 

Assignment 2.5 Overview:
Focus: Card Design / Composition

CARD DESIGN

The next task was to create a card design based on our chosen character. I chose Jamie since he was chosen for my background design as well. 

In the card design we needed a few compulsory elements which are:
1) The boarder
2) Label = name
3) Character description
4) Rarity level

RESEARCH AND INSPIRATION:
Before designing the card, some research was done based on the lecturer's advice to find border inspirations.

Most of the references saved on Pinterest featured simple and cute designs. The goal was to make the character slightly pop out from the boarder to create a sense of dimension. Inspired by the third reference, additional background details were added to make the overall boarder design more visually interesting while still keeping it simple.

Figure 31. Inspiration #1

Figure 32. Inspiration #2

Figure 33. Inspiration #3

Figure 34. Inspiration #4

IDEATION
The card design was kept simple yet decorative and creative. The layout was designed with balance in mind to avoid overcrowding and maintain visual clarity.

Figure 35. Card design line art

Darker shades were applied to the background to emphasize Jamie's bright colours and draw attention to him as the focal point.

Figure 36. Card design coloured

WHAT TECHNIQUES I'VE USED:

For this task, the document was set up with bleed to make sure that the artwork could be printed fully, and the excess are trimmed of cleanly. The border was created using the Rectangle Tool and then turned into a Compound Path. The character illustration was done using the Pen Tool while the Type Tool was used to add the character's name, details and power description. To add on, we also used the Shape Tool like specifically the star to make character level.

FEEDBACK
All designs were sent to the lecturer for some feedback and some improvements.

BACKGROUND SETTING FOR CHOSEN CHARACTER:
The lecturer told me to lower down the opacity for the white squiggle lines in the water.

Figure 37. Before feedback (coloured background)

Figure 38. After feedback (coloured background)

CARD DESIGN:
The lecturer suggested to change the character's colour since he looked a bit dull

Figure 39. Before feedback (card design)

Figure 40. After feedback (card design)

WHAT I IMPROVED
I improved my understanding for composition, especially on the Rule of Thirds and using the foregrounds, backgrounds and middle grounds to create an interesting composition and more depth to the artwork. My skills on arranging elements more clearly also improved. 

WHAT COULD BE DONE BETTER
I could try using more dramatic composition or next time example like The Golden Triangles to make a scene more dynamic. I can also work on adding more textures and details to make the background feel more lively. I also wanted to practice on managing larger artboards so I can work faster.

FINAL OUTCOME
BACKGROUND SETTING:

Figure 41. Final coloured background

CARD DESIGN:

Figure 42. Final card design

REFLECTION

Experience
Task 2 was more challenging compared to the previous one, mainly because I have very little experience in drawing background settings and compositions. Working on an A3 sized page also made the process feel more overwhelming at first. The card design part however, was more enjoyable as it was smaller in scale and less focused on the layering. Unlike the background assignment, the card task allowed me to work more creatively without worrying too much about foreground, middle ground and background.

Observations
While working on the background composition, I realised that following composition theories such as Rule of Thirds and the Golden Ratio was not simple as I thought. Since I had rarely used them before, it took a lot of trial and error. But more I sketch and experimented, the more comfortable I became with arranging visual elements. I also noticed how much difference proper background and layering can make. Adding depth through foreground, middle ground ad background truly enhanced the artwork. Additionally, colour theory played a really big role, especially in choosing shadows and highlights that help contrast and balance the whole scene.

Findings
From this task, I learned that background drawing is not just about filling the space, it really need some planning, composition and an understanding of depth. I also found that applying composition theories can really improve the visual flow of the artwork. Colour theory is equally important as it helps to create a well balanced environment. The card design assignment thought me how layout, character placement and text position can work together to create a clean and visually appealing design. Overall, even with the difficulties, this task helped me develop a stronger understanding of environmental composition and layout design.