Illustration and Visual Narrative - Final Task: Webcomic

4/12/24 - 5/1/25 / Week 11 -Week 14
Brendan Fedya / 0376283
Illustration and Visual Narrative / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Final Task: Webcomic

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Instructions

II. Tasks

III. Reflections  

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I. INSTRUCTIONS

    For the final assignment of the module, we were instructed to make a one page surrealistic webcomic along with its cover of the story "The Monkey's Paw" which then we should animate it into a GIF format. More detailed submission requirements are provided in our Google Classroom.

Figure 1.1: Submission requirements (5/12/24).

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II. TASKS

➼     Story Analysis "The Monkey's Paw"

   The first thing to do when starting this task is to read the story of "The Monkey's Paw", and then we should pick a part of the story for us to work on. I chose this part which is in the third part:

He stood motionless, his breath suspended until the knock was repeated. Then he turned and fled swiftly back to his room, and closed the door behind him. A third knock sounded through the house.

"WHAT'S THAT?" cried the old woman, starting up.

"A rat," said the old man in shaking tones – "a rat. It passed me on the stairs."

His wife sat up in bed listening. A loud knock resounded through the house.

"It's Herbert!"

I chose this part because I think I could build the tension effectively, eventually leading to the climax which is the old woman screaming 'It's Herbert!'. I intended to prolong the building up phase and then making an explosive impact with intense expressions in the last panel. 

➼     Artwork References

    Mr. Hafiz said 'Sandman' covers are a good reference for surrealistic mood inspiration, so I searched it up and found this cover that I prefer; it doesn't highlight the details of the Sandman's figure, but it still got the eerie and intimidating vibe. I intend to apply this style into my webcomic cover.

Figure 2.1: 'Sandman' by Neil Gaiman, cover reference (7/12/24).
source (Pinterest): https://id.pinterest.com/pin/806636983278991956/

    Then I also referred from other covers: Arcane - Season 2. This is the latest hit on Netflix by the time I wrote this page. We've been taught about Chiaroscuro and in my opinion, this cover applies Chiaroscuro in it's design, contrasting light and dark to create dramatic visuals. I found it quite interesting, so I will also use this technique in my cover.

Figure 2.2: 'Arcane' Netflix series, cover reference (7/12/24).
source (Pinterest): https://id.pinterest.com/pin/98868154318885289/

    I've been talking about the techniques up until now, so I will now refer to a design that I like: the cover of Nightbooks by J.A White. The cover uses silhouettes effectively to create a sense of mystery, and it still looks engaging even though it looks simple and without that much details in the design.

Figure 2.3: 'Nightbooks' by J.A White, cover reference (7/12/24).
source (Pinterest): https://id.pinterest.com/pin/1076923329640165686/

    

    As for the artstyle that I'm going to apply on my webcomic page, I took inspiration from a youtuber named Joel Haver. He usually do animation videos by tracing people in real life and simplify the strokes, and I will also use the same method for my characters in the panels.

Figure 2.4: Animation by Joel Haver, artstyle reference (8/12/24).
source (Youtube): https://youtu.be/tq_KOmXyVDo?si=a6WkPSRBCKb7c059

    We were also asked incorporate surrealistic elements into our artstyles, then I remembered an anime series I've watched before: Black Clover. It uses shadows of the devils lingering in the characters, eventhough it's just a shadow, it still leaves an intimidating presence throughout the series. It is quite similar to the Sandman cover I talked about before.

Figure 2.5: 'Black Clover' anime series, surrealism reference (9/12/24).

➼     Sketch

    I then proceed to do my sketch in Procreate. The story started with the door knocking softly, gradually becoming even louder, then the couple reacted to the sound, and ended with the mother screaming insanely. The panel transitions I used are mostly subject to subject transitions.

Figure 2.6: One-page webcomic sketch (17/12/24).

Mr. Hafiz gave feedback on this, he said the framing could be tighter, and the knocks resounding from the door could have more impact by putting it all over the panels. I will revise this on my digitization process later on. Additionally, he also asked me to refer more to the Framed Ink techniques.

As for the cover, Mr. Hafiz didn't give any specific feedback on it. So, I just proceeded with my design, where I'm going to use the techniques I stated in the reference part. To support the cover title, I used the tagline "A wish fulfilled, a curse unveiled,". I think it will complement the main title very well, and also to set a good narrative for the story.

Figure 2.7: Webcomic cover sketch (17/12/24).

➼     Illustration - Webcomic Page

        I began the process of illustrating in order of the panels, starting with the door panel. I put some surrealism effects on it, which are monstrous hands creeping in from the door gaps. I used the 'perspective' framed ink technique in this panel.

Figure 2.8: Perspective, framed ink reference (20/12/24).

Figure 2.9: Door panel with surrealism (20/12/24).

I added other panels, then put the knock-knock sound effects, making it gradually louder in visual, using red color to highlight the sound.

Figure 2.10: Knock-knock effects, with additional panels (20/12/24).

As the dialog includes the man saying 'rat', I wanted to include that as an additional panel to build up the atmosphere into the climax. I made exclamation marks to highlight the tension of the scene.

Figure 2.11: Rat panel (20/12/24).

I added a ghost face inside the shadow as a surrealistic approach. This is also a supporting aspect to build-up the climax in the last panel. 

Figure 2.12: Initial panel layout (23/12/24).

I tested out the layout and it seems too unprofessional and doesn't look like a comic. I suppose it's because of the asymmetrical panels I made, so I revised it. Additionally, I used feathering strokes to further emphasize horror. I tried to tighten up the frames just like Mr. Hafiz said, so I had to change some frames for it to work. Now, I will rely more on action-action and aspect-aspect transitions.

Figure 2.13: Revised panel layout (25/12/24).

I made the textboxes with the pathfinder unite tool, using ellipse shapes and pen tool to make the tail.

Figure 2.14: Pathfinder unite, textboxes (25/12/24).

For the rat panel, I used gradients to suggest that the rat is moving into a more sinister area, which leads to the climax. Again, I referred from Framed Ink which is reinforcing the action through background.

Figure 2.15: Gradients (25/12/24).

Figure 2.16: Background reinforcing action, framed ink reference (25/12/24).

After I've done with my panel layout, I began tracing real people images for the pose needed for my panels. I used an artstyle like Joel Haver's style I stated in the reference section.

Figure 2.17: Tracing images (27/12/24).

I added an additional close up eye panel for effective buildup.

Figure 2.18: Additional eye panel (27/12/24).

Here's how it looks like after the lineart, I used a different font for the last panel to enhance the climax:

Figure 2.19: One-page webcomic, lineart (28/12/24).

The expressions of the characters are quite underwhelming, so I tweaked it a bit to match the atmosphere. I also use roughen effects on the text to make it more expressive.

Figure 2.20: Revising expressions  (28/12/24).

]I did some rough comic shades on few panels, it's also to reinforce the action in the panel.

Figure 2.21: Rough shadings  (28/12/24).

➼     Coloring - Webcomic Page

    For the colour fill, I started with the most simple fills first, which are the silhouettes, because it only requires me to fill in blacks.

Figure 2.22: Filling silhouettes (29/12/24).

After that, I filled the background of the panels. I tried to find colors that suit each of the respective panels, then used gradients to suggest lighting. 

Figure 2.23: Lighting, framed ink reference (29/12/24).

Figure 2.24: Background fill with gradients (30/12/24).

The next step is for the object color fills:

Figure 2.25: Object coloring (30/12/24).

Then shading, sometimes with gradients to blend in with the background seamlessly:

Figure 2.26: Object shading (1/1/25).

And here's the final result:

Figure 2.27: One-page webcomic, static (1/1/25).

➼     Animation - Webcomic Page

    I begin to do my GIF animation by making several copies of artboards in Illustrator, then modify the artboards frame by frame. Then I will move those to Photoshop, where I could combine all of the movements.

Figure 2.28: Copying artboards (2/1/25).

Here's a breakdown of my animation:

1.    I made the knock-knock effects appear gradually, ending at the bottom. This is to complement the actual story.

2.    The rats appearing from out of the panel, then come inside during the climax.

3.    The tears from the close-up eye appear similar to a crying motion.

4.    The lingering spirits wreaking havoc in the last panel, enhancing climax.

5.    The shadowy hands reaching the door, seemingly trying to get in the house.

Figure 2.29: Animation progress (2/1/25).

Then I exported into Photoshop to make the GIF:

Figure 2.30: GIF procedure in Photoshop (2/1/25).

➼     Final Result - Webcomic Page

Figure 2.31: One-page webcomic, GIF (2/1/25).

➼     Illustration & Coloring - Webcomic Cover

        For the cover, I traced my initial sketch because I wanted to apply a similar lineart first, then combine it with the techniques I stated before. I chose a bloodish color palette, and used a horror font for the tagline.

Figure 2.32: Cover background and tagline (2/1/25).

Figure 2.33: Tracing sketch (2/1/25).

For the title, I chose a bold serif font, similar to the 'Nightbooks' cover in my reference.

Figure 2.34: Cover title (2/1/25).

I used pathfinder to create a shape for the reddish background. Applying gradients, experiment with envelope distort on the hands, and adding subtle details.

Figure 2.35: Adding details (3/1/25).

Figure 2.36: Initial cover design (3/1/25).

I still found out that it's too plain, so I added a silhouette of crooked trees along with birds flying, also a silhouette of the mother crying desperately at the bottom, with intertwining blood effects using the intertwine tool. I also changed the shape of the mouth to match the paw better.

Figure 2.37: Additional elements (3/1/25).

Then, I colored the paw using pale colors and gradients, with blood intertwining the fingers using the intertwine tool.

Figure 2.38: Detailing 'paw' (3/1/25).

And here's the final result:

Figure 2.39: Webcomic cover, static (4/1/25).

➼     Animation - Webcomic Cover

    I used the same steps for animation as the webcomic page. For the cover, I only did subtle movements: the bird flapping repeatedly, and the figure eyes glowing gradually.

Figure 2.40: Cover animation progress (4/1/25).

➼     Final Result - Webcomic Cover

Figure 2.41: Webcomic cover, GIF (5/1/25).

➼     Progression Board

Figure 2.42: Webcomic progression board, PDF (5/1/25).

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III. REFLECTIONS

        This is the last task of the module, and it’s also the last task for me to complete. After doing everything in this semester, I dare to say it’s the hardest one compared to everything. It felt like we’re doing two tasks instead of one, making the cover and the one page webcomic. Without good illustration skills, this is of course very challenging, having to illustrate the panels one by one, thinking of the panel transitions that we’re going to do, refer to the framed ink, surrealism artstyles, it is very overwhelming because we’re not accustomed to it from the start.

However, doing it gradually as instructed, gaining Mr. Hafiz’s feedback step by step ensures us to be in the right path. Even though we ended up with something below average, it could still appear acceptable if we used the techniques taught until now.

Eventhough it all seems unmanagable at first, we could still do it at the end. We learn while we work: researching on comic styles, finding coloring techniques, and so on, even some are not even taught in the lectures. Hence, we have to explore it ourselves in order to create a better artwork. I believe people who put effort in the things they do will always have a better outcome than people who just has the knowledge, but underestimates the work.