Illustration and Visual Narrative / Task 2 - Poster: Decisive Moment

16/09/2021 - 29/10/2021 ( Week 04- Week 10 )

Sasilvia Cheong Pei Hoong / 0345031 / Bachelors of Design in Creative Media

Illustration and Visual Narrative

Task 2: Decisive Moment

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 Week 5- Visual Techniques: Chiaroscuro

What is Chiaroscuro?

Chiaroscuro refers to the use of light and dark to create the illusion of three-dimensional volume on a flat surface

-Chiaro = Bright

-Scuro = Dark

Fig. 1.1 Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun manga

Fig.1.2 Kimetsu no Yaiba manga

Fig.1.3 Boku no Hero Academia manga

Why is Chiaroscuro is used?

1) Increase dramatic tension

2) Create sensational effect

3) Pull your attention to a subject in an intense way

4) Create a tasteful composition of negative vs positive spaces

Visual Techniques: Composition (3) -  Rhythm and movement

Fig.1.4 Tanjiro from Kimtesu no Yaiba

Anime tends to have a specific rhythm and movements that are used in fight to create more impact to the scene and makes viewers excited.

Week 7- 3-Acts Structure

Storytelling basics

Central theme

What the story is about and the main idea or underlying meaning. The personal opinion of the storyteller on the subjects matter. A story have both a a major theme and minor themes. A major theme is an idea that is intertwined and repeated throughout the narrative. A minor theme is an idea that appears more subtly and does not necessarily repeat.

Conflict

The conflict is what drives the story. It creates tension and builds suspense, which are the elements that make a story interesting.

Characters

Central characters: Plays an important part to the development of the story. The plot revolves around them.

Protagonist: Main character of a story. They have a clear goal to accomplish or a conflict to overcome. They don not always have to be admirable, they must command an emotional involvement from the audience.

Antagonist: Antagonists oppose protagonists, they stand between them and their ultimate goals. The antagonist can be presented in the form of any person, place, thing, or situation that represents a tremendous obstacle to the protagonists.

Three-Acts Structure

1. Setup

The world in which the protagonist exists prior to the journey. The setup usually ends with the conflict being revealed.

2. Rising tension

The series of obstacles the protagonist must overcome. Each obstacle is usually more difficult and with higher stakes than the previous one.

3. Conflict

The point of highest tension, and the major decisive turning point for the protagonist.

4. Resolution

The conflict’s conclusion. This is where the protagonist finally overcomes the conflict, learns to accept it, or is ultimately defeated by it. Regardless, this is where the journey ends.

Fig.2.1 Traditional three acts structure chart

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INSTRUCTION

TASK 2: DECISVE MOMENT

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Research

I decided to pick one of my favorite manga which is Chainsaw Man. Chainsaw Man is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto.

Chainsaw Man Story Plot:

Denji is a young man trapped in poverty, working off his deceased father's debt to the yakuza by working as a devil hunter, aided by Pochita, his canine companion and Chainsaw Devil. Denji is betrayed by the Yakuza, who kill him for a contract with the Zombie Devil. 

I started off with looking at a few of my favorite manga panels in the manga and had to reread some parts as it has been almost a year since I have finished it so my memory is a bit foggy.

Fig.1.1 Chainsaw Man Manga Covers

Fig.1.2 Astronaut scene

Fig.1.3 Denji 

Fig.1.4 Makima killing prisoners

Fig.1.5 Makima the control devil

Fig.1.6 Denji and Pochita

I found these posters from Pinterest which caught my eyes where a poster has a silhouette in the background and the scene inside of the silhouette.

Fig.1.7 Kakashi from Naruto poster

Fig.1.8 Xiao from Genshin Impact poster

Sketches

I made a few sketches according to the manga panels I have chosen. I started off randomly making sketches so that an idea will pop up.

Fig.2.1 Makima

Fig.2.2 Makima

Fig.2.3 Makima controlling Denji

Fig.2.4 Denji with Pochita as his heart

Fig.2.5 Makima controlling Denji

Digitalization 

After countless of thinking I decided to use the 2nd sketch for digitalization.

Fig.3.1 Sketch that I am going with

Fig.3.2 Makima 

This illustration of Makima was actually used as my silhouette for the background. 

Fig.3.3-3.5 Chainsaw Man Manga panels from chapter 1

Spoilers ahead approach with caution!

In chapter 1 of Chainsaw Man manga a hurt Pochita ( the chainsaw devil ) can be seen approaching a young Denji (the main protagonist) in the rain. After that Denji made a contract with Pochita so that they can help each other out and not die. After the flashback Denji was betrayed by the Yakuza ( Japanese criminal organization ) and was chopped into pieces along with Pochita. Denji was dying and Pochita remembered the contract that they both made and decided to become Denji's heart in replace that Denji show Pochita more of his dreams as he has very fascinating and interesting dreams. As for the reason why Makima silhouette is in the background is that she will play a very important role in the entire manga.

Fig.3.6 Tutorial on how to create chain brush on YouTube

Fig.3.7 Making chain brush

Fig.3.8 & 3.9 Making rain brush

Fig.3.10 Brushes exported

As I wanted to save time and not repeat creating the chains and rain droplets multiple times, I decided to make them into brushes that I can use in illustrator instead. The chain brush was actually a pain to make at first because I overcomplicated myself and could have gotten it done in 30 minutes instead of 3 hours. But getting to learn some new techniques was really cool.

Fig.3.11 First GIF mockup

Fig.3.12 Photoshop time frame

I started off with a few frames to see how the animation will turn out. It was a bit laggy and stiff because the timing for each frame was too long. I also dislike the background colour as it was too bright for my preference.

Fig.3.13 Second GIF mockup

Fig.3.14 Photoshop time frame

I then shorten the time frame and it worked way better this way, but I still felt like something was missing. After getting feedback from Ms. Anis and Ms. Jennifer they said that Pochita (the chainsaw devil) suddenly disappearing does not really make any sense. They suggest me to add a few more frames to indicate that Pochita ( the chainsaw devil) is actually going into Denji's (the main protagonist) heart. Ms. Anis also reminded me to add my quote to the poster.

Fig.3.15 Third GIF mockup

Fig.3.16 Photoshop time frame

I added the quote, made the chains slowly turn black and  added more frames where Pochita (the chainsaw devil) is going into Denji's (the main protagonist) heart so that it makes more sense rather than having him just disappear into nowhere.

After receiving feedback from Ms. Anis and Ms. Jennifer, they said to make the Chainsaw Man title smaller and place the quote underneath of the title.

Fig.3.17 Final GIF

Fig.3.18 Photoshop time frame

I made changes to the background where I added a texture that looks like dried blood and it makes the whole poster go together better. I also added an extra frame at 10 where Pochita (the chainsaw devil) is sitting in the rain. Changed for the chains were also made where I rearranged, rotated properly and the changed the colour pattern where white slowly turns to black. Last but not least, I also rearranged the title and quote after I received my feedback from Ms. Anis and Ms. Jennifer.  All together there are 17 frames.

Fig.3.19 Artboards and vectors in illustrator

Fig.3.20-3.22 Layers in Illustrator

Fig.3.23 Frames

Final Outcome

Fig.4.1 Final Chainsaw Man Poster (29/10/21)

Fig.4.2 Final Chainsaw Man GIF (29/10/21)

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FEEDBACK

Week 6 (30/9/2021): 

Sketch 1 and 2 looks the most interesting. The others does not really relate to the idea.

Week 7 (7/10/2021):

Try to add more frames to make it look like that the dog ( Pochita ) is actually going somewhere and not disappear suddenly so that it makes more sense. Also remember to add the quote in the poster.

Week 9 (21/10/2021):

The animation looks amazing and definitely apply the texture to the background as it looks better that way and Ms. Jennifer mentioned that it looks like blood. The quote can be placed at the bottom of the title and reduce the spacing for the quote and make the title smaller in size.

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REFLECTION

Overall I found this project to be fun as I was able to use one of favorite manga into the project. Making the frames was a bit of a hassle but in the end I was able to get it right. Other than that having to recall what I read from Chainsaw Man as I finished the manga a year ago was fun as I get the chance to read it again :D Coming up with the idea to make the poster more calm than how the manga used to be where there are a lot of gory, violent and trippy scenes was a bit hard but I do like to challenge myself once in a while.

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REFERENCES

Lecturers

Fig. 1.1 Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun manga

https://mangapill.com/chapters/2030-10013000/jibaku-shounen-hanako-kun-chapter-13

Fig.1.2 Kimetsu no Yaiba manga

https://www.heypoorplayer.com/2018/07/24/kimetsu-no-yaiba-volume-1-review/

Fig.1.3 Boku no Hero Academia manga

https://in.pinterest.com/pin/720364902898718868/

Fig.1.4 Tanjiro from Kimtesu no Yaiba

https://twinfinite.net/2021/04/10-best-anime-fights/

Fig.2.1 Traditional three acts structure chart

https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/story-structure/three-act-structure/

Task 2:

Fig.1.1 Chainsaw Man Manga Covers

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/chainsaw-man-manga-ends-but-will-get-sequel-also-anime-series/

Fig.1.2 Astronaut scene

https://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=1831190

Fig.1.3 Denji 

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChainsawMan/comments/fj5ajl/my_favorite_panel_in_the_latest_chapter/

Fig.1.4 Makima killing prisoners

https://twitter.com/berkan_07/status/1384233501969444864

Fig.1.5 Makima the control devil

https://onimanga.com/chainsaw-man/95

Fig.1.6 Denji and Pochita

https://doublelasers.com/how-did-denji-become-chainsaw-man/

Fig.1.7 Kakashi from Naruto poster

https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/628392954226424207/

Fig.1.8 Xiao from Genshin Impact poster

https://www.deviantart.com/hierosonyma

Fig.3.2 Makima 

https://chainsaw-man.fandom.com/wiki/Makima

Fig.3.6 Tutorial on how to create chain brush on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A5u5-kXv0I