The Animal Project 2

Design Lab. 03.16.2021

Create a two-dimensional translation of the endangered animal’s form and habitat using a limited amount of color and fonts. The poster will also narrate the story of why the animal is currently endangered with the generation of context and and communication.

Starting with some quick thumbnail sketches, I explored a wide variety of composition possibilities. Birds are very dynamic animals, and there are many positions I could illustrate them in. Since they usually fly in flock, i wanted to have the Ibis at least come in pairs, where I can play with the narrative and interaction between the birds. The two main causes of endangerment would be de-habitation and overhunting, and I tried to tell both stories in my sketches. I personally thought the hunter narrative provoked more empathy as the human figure was visible.

The text part of the poster is also important as it should complement the visuals.

Color schemes:

I found that different color schemes can indicate the type of lighting it receives during different seasons and times of day. Having the bird itself contain at least 4 different colors, I had to limit its surrounding to 3 colors. When choosing these tones, I utilized color theory to create a theme. There is a combination of saturated and muted colors, which bring depth to the illustration.

In-Class Observations and Feedback:

• Having an object that is on the edge of the frame and cut off brings attention because it is in the foreground.
• The viewer’s visual flow relates to hierarchy. Using this we can create movement within the frame
• More detail on the closer objects creates depth.
• There is a story when something is more dominant than the other, playing with scale gives a sense of power.

First Iterations

March 18th

Version 1:

This version uses symmetry to create a balanced composition. The beaks and necks also form into fluid lines that fluids the eye through the composition. Having the text squeezed in between the birds seem to be a little tight, but this composition also means that there is no space for the environment.

With no space for a hunter in the background, I could only show hints of deforestation. However, this point of view is very high up in the trees, which mean the tree stumps are technically not visible. In the end, the tree stumps looked like printed blocks due to the repetition, which also looked kind of cool but did not suite the prompt of this project.

Even though this is a rough iteration, I still think it’s a unique composition that distinguishes itself from others.

In-Class Feedback and Observations:

• More negative space in between the type and bird
• There is negative space but there is not enough
• The margin of the bird (-5%) is too tight to the border
• Look for tangents, for example, the tail is touching the branches
• Tree stumps are not “tree stump” enough doesn’t because it doesn’t show enough depth
• The leg ended up in the front, which is confusing
• Its 7 colors not 6
• Color combination is similar to a traditional painting from asian countries (do we want this to be intentional?)

Version 2:

This version captures an Ibis that is about to take off to create potential energy. The two mini Ibises are further away and guides the viewer towards the hunter. Having the main setting in water, it was hard to create depth within the composition. The piece of grass indicates the horizon line, but it is still unclear what is going on in the background. The hunter narrative works in this case because it balances the frame by having the two main characters on two sides.

Thinking about the intersection project, how can you create a sense of depth and detail using a minimal amount of colors? Talking with Conner, I learned that the correct approach to this project would be to imagine if we had to cut these pieces on paper. Using image trace in the end harms you because it doesn’t do a good job at understanding the animal’s form and shape. Sectioning the objects into its basic shapes and form will ultimately benefit the next animation project as it is easier to animate them in motion.

Version 3:

This version has a horizon line that distinguishes between the water and sky, but the color is the same as the feathers if the Ibis. I worry that the wing part will be confusing. I also couldn’t pin down the color of the hunter. It would be too hidden if it was the same color as the grass, but it also stands out too much when different.

Out of the two types of composition, I felt that this one was a safer option, as there is more room to play with the environment.

In-class Feedback and Observations:

• Students and professors think this version has better composition and movement
• Hunter same color as bird is a bit tough
• The waterline needs to be adjusted
• Missing subtext in general
• Play with font and hierarchy more within the text
• There is an orphan
• Having the subjected captured at a moment in time makes it more natural than a formal portrait

Second Iterations

March 23rd

After the critiques from previous classes, I quickly added more color to the posters to see what it would look like in 7 colors. At this stage, it was time to narrow down the direction and aim for minute details instead of more mock ups.

I intended to expand more on a third composition that I was not able to finish earlier, but Margo did advise me to instead focus on one of the previous iterations because it is more developed.

Even though some people liked the composition, I realized that my objects lacked depth. there wasn’t enough shading and detail to the Ibis. By turning down the opacity, I was able to create shadows within the wing to distinguish its shapes. Even though it is easy to outline the wings with thin lines, I found it helpful to instead think of them as shadows and vary the line weight.

Another issue I had was that I couldn’t find the fonts requested for this project. The font Crimson Text was not available on Adobe fonts, but Margo taught me how to use google fonts and font book. I think I will be using this method in the future to find more interesting fonts.

Looking at the fonts available, I tried to compare them side by side. Sans serif fonts are better for reading and serif fonts looked more elegant. Narrowing down my options, I chose to use a serif font for the Title and a sans serif font for the main body text.

While almost everyone in studio were sitting outside in the sun on our picnic blankets mourning over our mid semester grades, I talked to Jess for a while about adobe tricks and hacks. She taught me how to make custom brushes in Adobe illustrator so that I wouldn’t need to draw each piece if grass individually. We also looked at cool fonts on the internet, which we could use in the future for other things.

I first created one patch of grass using the brush tool, I was pleased by the way it naturally curved and had negative space. However, replicating one piece of grass looked very fake, as it again looked like it was a print pattern instead of nature illustration.

I found a “cheat” way by changing the size and orientation of the grass. After going through multiple versions of different size and colored grass, I was able to create a semi realistic rendering of a grassy pond/swamp.

I debated a lot about the color of the hunter, having a darker color balances the frame but it also doesn’t make sense in terms of order of depth. With only a limited amount of colors, I struggled to distinguish depth between the foreground and mid ground. The color issue also applies to the grass, as I try to distinguish between branch and grass, even though the size of the grass indicates depth, the same shade of gray did not make sense.

After looking at color schemes of the area’s landscape, I was inspired to try out other color versions to play with depth and lighting.

Dani Feedback:

In-class feedback and observations:

• The red color sky version is nice because it ties in the red color in the ibis nicely
• the relationship and space between the two smaller birds is unclear, it is hard to distinguish which one is closer to the viewer
• the wing is too close to the hunter, making it seam like they are almost touching
• The hunter’s position is confusing because there isn’t enough body space in the bushes to hide, it should be slightly higher and to the right more.
• It is better for the hunter and grass patch be the same color
• The horizon line is still a bit harsh, having another piece of grassland to the left will help not only help soften the line, but also create more balance
• Add more reflection things to the grass patches and have the ones in front have wider and less curves.
• the subtitle fights with the title because they are about the same size while in serif vs. san serif.
• Focus on the movement and how the eyes move around the main character. (right now, it is bird>text>bird>hunter)

Third Iteration

March 25th

After adjusting all the issues pointed out in the feedback, I created a black and white version of my poster to re-evaluate the depth. I found that my saturated red and dark brown fighted against each other.

Some other things that I adjusted was the direction of the highlight on the log and added highlights on the hunter and gun. This allowed these objects to stand out since they have an important role in telling the story. The half hiding sun indicates the light source, so everything is adjusted according to that element. All the light reflections in the water and objects therefor are the same color as the sun.

Version 1:

This color scheme is more clean, and gives a good contrast against the dark browns.

Version 2:

The redish color sky makes more sense for a sunset and I also wanted to deviate from the color scheme that I always do.

Using the studio’s printer, I was able to print out my poster but with inaccurate colors. Having the poster physically in front of me and taping it against the wall, I was able to see the flow within the composition better. Everything is connected with two loops, moving the eye through the page.

In-class Feedback and Observations:

• Between the three parts of land and three ibises, the amount of detail decreases as it goes toward the background. In this case, decrease the number of colors used in the smaller birds, and make the lines wider in the further grass patches.
• scale down the hunter’s size about 75–85 percent
• the brown is a bit dark and harsh, lightening it will help ease the eye
• the number of words in each line is around 12, which makes it harder to read. Controlling the word count per line to around 9–10 is better.
• the margin on both sides of the text is still a bit tight and these distances are unbalanced because of the jagged edges on the left.
• the perfect geometrical shape of the eye and sun can seam superficial, using the point select tool, we can slightly adjust the shape.

Final Version

March 27th

After fixing all the issues addressed from in-class feedback, I also added detail to the ibis because I thought it needed to match the level of detail as the land it is on. These smaller shadows follow the feathers’ form and direction.

the reason I didn’t follow Q’s feedback on having the furthest bird just one shade of white was because I thought it stood out too much. Instead, I just took out the red to help show that hierarchy, which I think still works.

Before submitting the final version, I had a mini crisis in which I kept thinking it could be better. Letting it go was too big of a commitment because I felt like I was missing details. After checking if there were any tangents or awkward intersections, I accepted this finished piece and turned it in.

Conclusion:

I am pretty pleased with how this turned out, without that much knowledge using Adobe illustrator, I learned to use more tools such as custom brush and art boards. Ending the project with 16 art boards, I also only had 7 layers that were unnamed and unorganized. Next time I use Adobe illustrator, I wish to organize my layers in a more efficient way so I can take less time to create better projects.