Assignment 6 - Storybook Project

Before I start, this is the address of the separate blog we had to update everyone on the design process,

http://nm2208brothers.blogspot.com/



I shall just reflect on some of the design process we had on the blog.


The most irritating thing we had to deal with was the page layout. There were so many last minute hiccups due to the layout of the pages and the measurements involved when we send it over to the printing shop. There has to be adequate spacing for page numbers, double sided printing layout considerations and the need of using bleed and centerfold. Bleed is not really required as advised by the printing shop since we already had the page measured before placing our graphics and tet.


Next is the resolution settings of the photoshop files. There is a major difference if I were to save it in 72dpi and 300dpi, which is used for high quality printing. I'll be doing injustice to Aiysha and her artwork if I were to save it in 72 dpi.


Text layout is an important aspect in the project as well. There are so many things to be considered, such as type of font used, length of text on each page, placement, font size etc. To deal with this problems, we had to abide by some rules when doing it, such as

1. choosing handwritten fonts, as children can identify with it easily.
   
2. Small chunks of text, using simple English and rhyme, so that it makes the story easy to understand.


3. Placement of text so that the page is balanced with the graphics.


4. Font size changes according to type of text. ( e.g Narrative vs Speech vs Sounds)

There were some considerations for graphics layout too. Depending on the plot and artwork, we can have 2 page spreads vs 1 page spread as shown.

We also need to consider how much to feather, as well as how to feather, in order to place text and display as much artwork as possible.

Thats about it for now, it really is satisfying once the book gets printed.

Assignment 5 - postcards

(original puzzle with colour scheme)

(final colour scheme)

(final outcome)

1st of all these are the edited versions of the postcard after friday's tutorial. I was told that the design was really too simple and it only showed part of asia. Hence I decided to make it a 3x3 puzzle with my elements and icons that can be found throughtout asia. It was a real headache deciding on the colour schemes to be used, there was just too many and I really had to mix and match to find a suitable mix pleasing to the eye , at least. If there's one cool thing I like about photoshop, thats the bevel and emboss effect, it created a 3d bamboo which looked really neat.

I've chosen the Sunny colour scheme as my choice. It reflects the warm weather of Asia through the various shades of orange and yellow. The black coloured icons and fonts stand out due to its high contrast with the brighter colours. I chose pale green for the bamboo so that it does not compete with the puzzle for attention.

Class Exercise 2

This image was actually the orignial pcs created by me and CK during the lecture. Pretty obvious that it describes silence and disorder, cheers.



This is really simple stuff using lines to represent the state of disorder. The handdrawn pic didn't give the feeling of a barcode, which is why I decided to use CG to better put my point across.

Assignment 4

*edit* Removed the one with logos and replaced another with my very own broken clock !!!(already spoiled so it doesn't really matter) Since I have to abide by the very rule that all photos used in this course must be from primary sources.

I actually decided to advertise my friend's website, which really gave me a chuckle looking at it. Lai Kao Peh is actually a hokkien term for everyone to gather and talk about anything under the sun. The 1st poster is actually a draft and I particularly liked the glowing text, something which I learnt 2 days ago. But because of the dark background, which gives it a night setting, something that actually doesn’t really fit into my friend’s website, so I decided to change into a lighter background.

The difference between the 2 posters is actually the logos and banners used in the website, which I’m not sure if it can be used for the poster. The broken clock, which I figured would give the poster an impression that time can be killed. The only problem it seems now is that whether stock photos can be used for the poster design…

Comments? Let the kao peh begin~!

Assignment 3

A little rush , but here goes. (click for larger version)



Some adjustments need to be done after friday's tutorial..

pic 2: Could go a little clearer.

pic 3: probably take a shot including the table by the side as well, which includes the study table and computer table. The picture could use some brightness too.

pic4: Need a shot of both ppl, including me working on my assignment on the computer.

pic5 & 6: Shane suggested a little twist to the story, instead of my bro trying to switch off my computer, I could have pic 5 replaced with a shot of a fan spinning. Pic 6 would end up having me pulling my shirt, indicating that the weather is hot.

I might try his suggestion, but pic 1 kinda loses meaning if that's the case. Time for some consultation.

Updates for assignment 1 and 2

Some minor changes after the consultation, there you go. (Click on the pics for a larger version)

Assignment 1 with some form of tracing.

Changed the last abstraction with a signage for hot water tap.

Assignment 2 k go~

Lo and behold, the water dispenser in abstract form. There are a few things that I'm suppose to take note after the tutorial. The most important would be to keep the perspective similar throughout, which I could either choose it to be in 2D front view, or the 3D version. Also the stroke of the pictogram needs to be the same as well, instead of having heavier stroke for the last level.

I was quite amazed with the power of flash when Alferd drew the tap of the dispenser within 5mins... flash could easily erase the protruding outlines of the tracing easily. However, I'm not too used to flash as of yet, so I'm sticking to illustrator for now.



After a couple of changes... here you go~






(click on the picture to see the larger version)



I took a new photo of the water dispenser in NUS, front view that is and redo the tracing. The final pictogram that I chose would be the bottom right. Maybe I'll go get some feedback from Alferd this weekend.

Assignment 1 continued

Ok, these are the 2 prototypes that I've did for today's tutorial. (click on pics to get see the full picture)

I tried to give both pictures a setting, the 1st one being working in middle of night under a table lamp, while the second one is actually a journey home listen to my favourite tunes.

I'm quite satisfied with my 1st drawing, in terms of the shadows and effect that I've experimented with during using photoshop and illustrator. As always there are things to be improved, such as the letter "N", which I was recommended to use capital "N" instead of small "N". The letter "G" needs to be improved for faster readibility. I may need to darken the flail too.

The second picture didn't receive much attention today, probably it doesn't look as stunning as the 1st. Depending on the time, I would just devote my time to improving the 1st drawing. However I'll try to look for ways to improve it.

Thanks for the comments too, it was really encouraging =) , and keep it coming.

Assignment 1

Time to update this blog with new stuff after finishing tutorial today,

Assignment 1

Me, Myself and I
• Design your name to fit YOU (i.e. your
personality, character, outlook, strength &
weakness, inner self...)

• In other words, communicate your design
through manipulation of the letters in your
name.

• SELF is very complex. The challenge is how
do you introduce yourself through effective
visual form.

I guess pictures paint a thousand words, so here goes the 1st 2 sketches. By the way, you can click on the pictures to look at the larger versions.
*edit* I realise the picture quality is bad.. scanned using black and white and saved as jpg to save space =(




As I've already explained in class, the 1st sketch was my confession for being a hardcore fan of fighting/RPG games. Things I need to take note... too many details, may be quite hard when it comes the CG part. Maybe I could try to simplify the design a little.

The 2nd one wasn't really showed to the class, maybe because of time constraint. I like to observe stuff, basically anything I could get my eyes on. Just happens that I've tried to bring out my name through ideas from the shopping centre construction opposite Clementi MRT station.







The 3rd sketch was actually something that I don't really like back then during primary school. Some of my friends would actually use my surname to give me a new nickname. I guess its pretty obvious that its taken from King Kong on top of the empire state building.

The 4th one was quite a shock to me. It only took me 5mins to came up with this pic, with probably 2-3 ppl in the class doing almost the same stuff as I did. Yet it was the most well received sketch among the 4, wow.. However, it may need some slight adjustments, such as placing the notes together on top to form my surname.






These are the 2 roughs that I've chosen before the tutorial. Top being the detailed version and bottom is the simplified one.

Stay tuned for next week, the prototype will be uploaded by then.

Additional thoughts for exercise 1

This struck my mind during the CNY weekend. When I showed Miss Chiang my work at the end of the lecture, she said "so ... its a conceptual idea". Hmm.. so what is conceptual? Maybe an explaination of how I came up with this drawing?

I walked out with friends telling me.. "you just smoked your way through right??" LOL.. I swore I wasn't evening trying to "smoke" back then.

So, something to ponder, what is conceptual? hmm...

And happy chinese new year to whoever sees this =)

Class exercise 1 for NM2208

*Sweats a little after finishing this* The first lecture on NM2208 ended with this simple class exercise with details as follows,

• Sketch a machine that enhances your
creativity 100 times.

• Tools: A4 paper, pencil, pen, marker, color
pencil etc.

• Rules/tips:

– The sketch should be detailed enough to express
your machine.
– Describe how does it work in few lines (point
form will do).
– The machine doesn’t need to be working
realistically. Just an idea, be imaginative.

• Upload class exercise 1 on your blog.

Well the first thing that came into my mind was the Internet. I couldn't deny the fact that I'm almost an Internet addict. It was definitely my source of inspiration. To me, it is like a vault of eye candies. Surfing the net really makes me go *wow*, because it never fails to surpise me that people can come up with fantasic ideas and interesting ways to showcase it.

With some quick thinking, I've decided to drew a few things related to the internet. net.. spiders.. web... internet explorer logo (hope there isn't any copyright issues with windows), as you can see in the picture. Why is it all inside a brain? (yep, that cloud like thing is a brain, pardon my bad drawing) I couldn't forget someone actually told me that average human uses less than 10% of their brain power, i guess creativity starts with the brain, hence the picture.

yep, thats all about it for now, stay tuned for more pictures/drawings/artwork etc

testing

1st Post hehe =)