ILLUSTRATION AND VISUAL NARRATIVE (TASK 4): Webcomic

ILLUSTRATION AND VISUAL NARRATIVE (TASK 4): Webcomic

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01/12/2024 - 05/01/2025 (Week 11 - Week 15)

Irdhina binti Mazli Sham (0366894)

Illustration and Visual Narrative - Bachelor of Design in Creative Media - Taylors University

Task 4: Webcomic

WEEK 11: Instruction

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ys_y7oNt1SaQJ30t-l2b5idlODwjeshL/view?usp=sharing

WEEK 12: Research

READING

The chosen book we had to adapt is The Monkey's Paw by W. W. Jacobs. It is overall an interesting story and initially, I wanted to adapt the part the first quiet knock came after the father's wish was made. However, Mr. Hafiz suggested I take a shorter passage as my plan involved doing two to three pages which would not be time efficient. 

CHOSEN PASSAGE:

Even his wife's face seemed changed as he entered the room. It was white and expectant, and to his fears seemed to have an unnatural look upon it. He was afraid of her.

    "WISH!" she cried in a strong voice.

    "It is foolish and wicked," he faltered.

    "WISH!" repeated his wife.

    He raised his hand. "I wish my son alive again."

As for the cover, I thought of depicting the monkey's paw as a glove that would be worn to kind of show while it has this magnificent power, the ultimate choice of wishing still lies in the hand of the person. It can solidify the premise of "be careful of what you wish for" and "digging your own grave" when faced with this sort of power/control.

REFERENCE

When looking for references, I thought of searching more to horror/thriller webcomics on Webtoon since I am more familiar with them compared to manga and western comics such as Marvel and DC. I started looking through webcomics I have read, including School Bus Graveyard, Sweet Home and Shotgun Boy. These three comics feature various monsters that also affect the characters' appearance, which I find interesting. This aspect, at least, can be applied in the Monkey's Paw.

Fig. 1.1. Panel from School Bus Graveyard

 

Fig. 1.2. Panel from Sweet Home

Fig. 1.3. Panel from Shotgun Boy

Another webcomic I used as reference is another work by the same creator of Sweet Home, which is Bastard. While Bastard does not involve literal monsters as the previous two, the features of the antagonist (father of the main character) is often seen with exaggerated features that would align him with a monstrous look.

Fig. 1.4. Panel from Bastard

Additionally, I also used Beetle Hands as reference for panelling as well as Horang's Nightmare which is another comic on Webtoon that uses animation to jumpscare its readers. One of the unique aspects of Horang's Nightmare is if you scroll back up, there are scenes that would change to something different than what was previously read. As for Beetle Hands, I admire its use of unique panelling as part of the storytelling process where they sometimes blend the borders with the environment/scene.

Fig. 1.5. Panel from Beetle Hands

Fig. 1.6. Panel from Horang's Nightmare

WEEK 13-14: Ideation

SKETCH

I wanted the background to be a panel itself as well as reveal the "son" to the audience without the characters themselves knowing. To execute this, I made two versions of the same page where one is considered normal and the other revealing extra information to the reader. In the sketch, it is shown that the "son" would have his hands holding the last two panels but I removed it in the final product as I felt it would be too crowded.

Fig. 2.1. Comic Sketch 1

Fig. 2.2. Comic Sketch 2

As for the cover, it was initially just the monkey's paw itself with no background elements but after consideration, I decided to add Mr. and Mrs. White since they are significant to the story. In the case of the part I illustrated, Mr. White had a more direct hand in wishing for his son despite it being Mrs. White's demand, which is why the final product would have him more prominent whereas the other would "loom" behind him.

Fig. 2.3. Cover Sketch 1

Fig. 2.4. Cover Sketch 2

DIGITISATION [COMIC PANELS]

I initially started with the eyes if Mr. and Mrs. White as a sort of "test" to see whether I could execute a detailed artwork that involves many individual lines. Once I got approval from Mr. Hafiz on digitising, I decided to proceed with the completed artwork and move on to the other panels.

Fig. 2.5. Progress screenshot [comic]

For the side profiles of Mr. and Mrs. White, I decided to go with my usual way of rendering hair but without the use of blending each stroke since I mostly used the pen and pencil tool to execute this project. 

Fig. 2.6. Progress screenshot [comic]

Fig. 2.7. Progress screenshot [comic]

As for the background, I needed the use of lines/stripes to later execute the animation. It took several tries but I ended up with a decent gradient with enough divided parts to animate.

Fig. 2.8. Progress screenshot [comic]

Fig. 2.9. Progress screenshot [comic]

Fig. 2.10. Progress screenshot [comic]

The son's eyes were changed from a front view to a 3/4 view to better accommodate the comic as well as making it more dynamic. 

Fig. 2.11. Progress screenshot [comic]

As for Mr. White on the last panel, I decided to draw him on a separate canvas to avoid crashing Illustrator. This panel several tries to get right as the previous attempts did not fit with the rest of the panels' artstyle but eventually, it was fixed. While it could be better, I am overall satisfied with the shading.

Fig. 2.12. Progress screenshot [comic]

To easily place where I want the panel to be, I took a screenshot of the other parts with the background and placed it on the most bottom layer to give an idea on how the final product would look when compiled together.

Fig. 2.13. Progress screenshot [comic]

The last panel is a sort of "handshake" between Mr. White and the monkey's paw as he makes the wish. When making the fur, I started by blocking out the basic shapes of the paw using pencil tool instead of the pen tool to create a more natural and spontaneous result. As for the smaller details, I used the pencil tool and later on adjust the size of each line with most of them ranging from 0.25 to 1.0 pts.

Fig. 2.14. Progress screenshot [comic]

Fig. 2.15. Progress screenshot [comic]

Fig. 2.16. Progress screenshot [comic]

Once most of the panels were done, I added extra details to make them come together. One of these details include Mrs. White's hair having strands and areas with the background colour to fit her in the comic more.

Fig. 2.17. Progress screenshot [comic]

DIGITISATION [COMIC COVER]

For the cover, the idea was to have the monkey's paw acting as a glove. It took several tries but I ended up with the result I wanted by making a human hand hold its wrist in a way that implies the act of putting on a glove.

Fig. 2.18. Progress screenshot [cover]

Fig. 2.19. Progress screenshot [cover]

Fig. 2.20. Progress screenshot [cover]

I did something similar to the handshake panel where I block out the base shape of the fur followed by multiple lines made using the pencil tool with adjustments to its width and line endings.

Fig. 2.21. Progress screenshot [cover]

The linework of Mr. and Mrs. White in the background was done mostly using the pencil and paintbrush tool to give fluidity. Initially, they were supposed to be side by side but Mrs. White was flipped because it looked too crowded. As for the title, I made it follow the outline of the two characters so both elements would have connection to each other.

Fig. 2.22. Progress screenshot [cover]

Fig. 2.23. Progress screenshot [cover]

ANIMATION [COMIC PANELS]

All of the animation frames were done on Adobe Illustrator and compiled in Adobe Photoshop.

Fig. 2.24. Animation frames [comic]

Fig. 2.25. GIF animation [comic]

Fig. 2.26. Animation frames [comic]

Fig. 2.27. GIF animation [comic]

Fig. 2.28. Animation frames [comic]

Fig. 2.29. GIF animation [comic]

Fig. 2.30. Animation frames [comic]

Fig. 2.31. GIF animation [comic]

ANIMATION [COVER]

The cover animation consists of four stages, first the middle eye closing followed by Mr. White's eye opening. Once he closes his eyes, Mrs. White would open her eyes. Once she closes hers, the middle eye would then reopen.

Fig. 2.32. Animation frames [cover]

Fig. 2.33. GIF animation [cover]

WEEK 15: Final Outcome

Reflection

Experience: This project overall was very fun! It can take a toll on your device, especially if you are doing a detailed artstyle but the process of it all and seeing the characters come to life through both the artwork and the animation is worthwhile. It is definitely a favourite of mine because I get to explore in different techniques, not to mention reading the story itself which was quite interesting. 

Observation: This project, while being fun to execute, can still test your patience and have its own challenges. While doing this, I would hop onto different parts to keep myself going and I would copy/paste certain panels to other canvases which made the whole process become a lot more confusing. Another bad habit I noticed within myself was not naming layers while doing the assignment because most of the time, I would delay that part until I finish the actual artwork, which I admit is counterproductive because naming the layers is supposed to help me as the artist and avoid unnecessary effort of searching for that one specific layer. 

Findings: When searching for reference, I referred back to media I was already familiar with, especially considering I consume too many with horror/thriller. So, finding out this assignment and the book chosen was a delight, to word it simply. Revisiting the comics I used to read made me appreciate them more, especially looking at it from an artistic point of view as well as seeing how much love artists put into creating their characters. After finishing this assignment, my respect towards comic artists definitely increased because of their dedication.