Illustration & Visual Narrative - Task 1: Character Design
24.9.2025 - 22.10.2025 (Week 1 - Week 5)
Cheyenne Liew Khye Yean / 0378330
Illustration & Visual Narrative / Bachelor of Design (Hons) Creative Media
Task 1: Character Design
Cheyenne Liew Khye Yean / 0378330
Illustration & Visual Narrative / Bachelor of Design (Hons) Creative Media
Task 1: Character Design
LECTURES
Week 1Mr. Hafiz gave us an introduction to the module and showed us the basics of the Adobe Illustrator interface.
Week 2We were given more information on our first assignment, along with a deeper dive into character design. Mr. Hafiz instructed us to start sketching the silhouettes of our 3 characters.
Week 3No lecture (self-directed).
Mr. Hafiz gave us an introduction to the module and showed us the basics of the Adobe Illustrator interface.
No lecture (self-directed).
Week 4Mr. Hafiz clarified any confusion regarding the assignment. He talked about how the line art and silhouettes of our characters should be done in Illustrator. He also mentioned the importance of progression updates, as it plays a big part in our final grades. Additionally, he discussed the importance of proportion in design and advised us to check out Adobe Color for colour palettes.
TUTORIALS
Week 2
Figure 1.1 Bezier Game Outcomes, Week 2 (2/10/2025)
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
- CREATE CURVES: Click + Drag
- BREAK HANDLES: Click + Drag + Alt
- STRAIGHT LINES: Click + Hold Shift
Figure 1.2 Vormator Tracing Outcome, Week 2 (2/10/2025)
INSTRUCTIONS
Task 1: Character Design
- Produce 3 character design illustrations using the silhouette and line art method in Adobe Illustrator.
PROCESS WORK
Week 2
Figure 2.1 Character Moodboard, Week 2 (6/10/2025)
I started off by making a moodboard for my characters. I found it quite hard, considering I didn't have any ideas in mind yet, but after some scrolling, I decided to work with medieval-esque elements.
Figure 2.2 Character Sketches and Silhouettes, Week 2 (7/10/2025)
These are the first set of sketches and silhouettes I did, but I didn't exactly have dominant shapes in mind when sketching. This made it a bit tricky to refine the designs later on.
Figure 2.3 Warped Character Sketches, Week 2 (9/10/2025)
Week 3
Figure 2.4 Character Moodboard #2, Week 3 (12/10/2025)
I created a new moodboard, maintaining some elements from before, while also looking for references with clearer dominant shapes.
Week 4
Figure 2.5 Character Sketches and Silhouettes #2, Week 4 (13/10/2025)
I developed a new set of character sketches using a triangle, rectangle, and circle as the dominant shapes. This time, I focused more on making sure each character clearly reflected its dominant shape while still maintaining interesting poses and distinct personalities.
Figure 2.6 Character Lineart Process, Week 4 (14/10/2025)
Figure 2.7 Character Lineart, Week 4 (14/10/2025)
I began tracing my character sketches using the pen tool in Illustrator, refining the overall shapes and setting up the base outlines for later refinement.
Figure 2.8 Width Tool Process, Week 4 (15/10/2025)
Figure 2.9 Character Lineart with Width Adjusted, Week 4 (15/10/2025)
By following a tutorial given in the lecture slides, I adjusted the line widths of my characters, giving them a more dynamic and expressive appearance instead of looking flat and uniform.
Week 5
Figure 2.10 Colouring Attempt #1, Week 5 (21/10/2025)
Figure 2.11 Colouring Attempt #2, Week 5 (21/10/2025)
I didn't have a set colour palette in mind when I started with the colouring, so I decided to experiment around first. I tried applying the 60% 30% 10% colour rule when colouring, but I felt that my characters had a bit too much detail for that. On top of that, the colours just did not look good with the characters.
Figure 2.12 Colouring Attempt #3, Week 5 (21/10/2025)
Figure 2.13 Colouring with Gradients, Week 5 (21/10/2025)
Figure 2.14 Characters with Highlights and Shadows, Week 5 (22/10/2025)
FINAL OUTCOME
Final Characters
Figure 3.17 Final Character Designs, Week 5 (22/10/2025)
Submission Board
Figure 3.18 Reference Board, Week 5 (22/10/2025)
RATIONALE
I wanted these characters to look like they belonged in the same dark fantasy universe, linked through an earthy, muted colour palette. These colours help evoke the mood of a medieval setting.
Character 1 is built based on a triangular shape, which conveys a feeling of being dynamic and unpredictable. Its pointed hood creates a sense of imminent danger and hidden power, further emphasised by the small ball of fire it holds. The minimal use of colour enhances the focus on the triangular shape.
Character 2 is based on a rectangle, which communicates strength and reliability. His wide, solid stance makes him the sturdy, unmoving anchor of the group. His muscular build and the heavy axe he wields visually establish him as the primary source of brute force.
Lastly, Character 3 uses a circle as its base shape, which suggests softness and changeability. Its organic form and flowing tentacles contrast with the rigidity of the others. The large eye acts as a focal point, making it the approachable yet magical and unpredictable one of the three.
TECHNIQUES APPLIED
I chose to use an earthy, muted colour palette for my 3 characters to match the dark fantasy, medieval theme. For the lineart, I used the width tool as taught in the tutorials to vary line thickness and add visual interest. Gradients were also added to give the characters more depth. Lastly, I used the 60% 30% 10% colouring method across all three characters to create a sense of cohesion within the group.
FEEDBACK
Week 2: Apply clear dominant shapes to the character design and adjust some detailing.
Week 4: Sketches, silhouettes, and lineart are good. the pose of the character in the center is a little boring due to it being front-facing, but all are fine to proceed with.
REFLECTION
Initially, I found myself intimidated by this task. I was never the best at drawing from my imagination, so I felt that this was gonna be a challenge. I spent days scrolling through Pinterest looking for inspiration, I wasn't sure what style I wanted, but I knew I wanted to include weapons and non-human entities. Although I had to repeat the process due to the first one not meeting the task's expectations, the change turned out to be better, as I much prefer my second set of characters. I struggled quite a bit with the colouring, experimenting blindly and colour-picking from various artworks on Pinterest, which didn’t quite match my designs. I also encountered an issue a day before submission, my Illustrator crashed and deleted all my colouring work, but thankfully, I had saved a few JPEGs and screenshots to recover the colours. All in all, despite the frustrations, I came to find the process enjoyable and fulfilling as I watched my characters come to life.
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