ILLUSTRATION AND VISUAL NARRATIVE - TASK 2 : COMPOSITION

 

18/05/25 - 08/06/25 (Week 5 - Week 7) 

ZHANG QIYU

0384019

Illustration and Visual Narrative  

Task 2 :Exercises (Composition)

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INSTRUCTIONS

We were taught about the composition tecniques and the importance of having a foreground, middle-ground, and background in a composition. The composition we were allowed to use in this exercise were Rule of Thirds and Golden Ratio, and for my own attempt on the composition I chose Rule of Thirds as the composition. And we were taught on how to apply 3D effects and style on words.

Submission requirements:

1. Documentation in PDF:
1. Sketches
2. Evidence of Composition Principles
3. Vector illustration WITH environment preview (export to png with x1 scale)
4. Collectible card design preview (export to png with x3 scale)
2. Vector Illustration WITH environment (.ai file)
3. Collectible card design (.ai file)

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Task 2: Exercises (Composition) - 20%

Documentation

Experience

I used the three-point composition rule to create a balanced and harmonious atmosphere. I focused the attention on the main object. The subject and the cherry tree were located on an intersection line of the right grid. The lawn was the foreground, the subject was the mid-ground, and the sky was the background.

My creative concept mainly originated from the anime "Biyori Sakura" that I watched when I was a child. I created a new character, and the background and the clothing were all decorated with elements of cherry blossoms, giving a feeling of abundant spring. The background was composed of materials I found online.

Final Output

Vector Illustration with Environment

                                              

                                Fig 1.1 Vector Illustration with Environment (PNG)

Collectable Card Design

                                                        

                                           Fig 1.2 Collectable Card Design

Techniques Applied

Core technologies of the course:

• Composition design: Use the rule of thirds and the golden ratio to arrange the foreground, middle ground, and background. Adjust the shapes of elements using the Distort tool (Shift+R) and the Free Transform tool (E), and enhance the depth of the scene.
• Collection card production: Set the canvas according to international standard size (2.5×3.5 inches), use the Ellipse tool and Pathfinder to create badges, fill the background with the Gradient tool, and integrate the illustrations using the Clipping Mask.
• Text and effects: Manage multiple layers of strokes and fills in the Appearance panel, use the 3D Distort effect to enhance the sense of depth, adjust the character spacing and line spacing in the Character panel, and save and reuse graphic styles for design. 

Self-expansion technology:

• Combining AI to generate dynamic cloud curves, optimizing the directionality of the composition.
• Extracting colors from physical cards (using the suction tool), enhancing the authenticity of the design. 

Self-reflection

Satisfactory aspects:

Efficient application of composition theory - The foreground is darkened (blending mode + 60% transparency) to enhance the spatial hierarchy, 3D text effects (4mm depth + external glow) to highlight the core information of the cards, and the overall visual guidance is strong. 

Areas that need improvement:

• 1. Deformation control: Excessive ground distortion causes edge distortion. The strength parameter (e.g., 30% → 15%) needs to be reduced.
• 2. Effect efficiency: 3D text styles were not saved, resulting in repeated adjustments taking a lot of time. In the future, they should be saved as graphic styles immediately.
• 3. Consistency of details: The gradient directions of the corner badges on the cards are inconsistent. The symmetry replication process needs to be checked.