PROJECT 3 / DIGITAL TRIPTYCH

1/6/2023 - 30/6/2023 / Week 9 - Week 13
Adriena Tan Yan Zi  / 0351236
Illustration and Visual Narrative / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media / Taylors University
Project 3 Digital Triptych

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Instructions

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Project 3 Triptych 

1. 3 Act Structure 

Miss Anis required us to choose a story from the given few and work on the 3 Acts structure as the first part of our triptych. 

We were asked to picked a story from this link that we find appealing to base our triptych on and to find the most illustration/ capture the most important part of the 3 Acts. So, I have determined the 3 acts using the story "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe. 

My 3 acts structure 

The protagonist of the story tells the tale in the first person, and he begins by talking about his love of animals and the close relationship he had with his pets. After getting married, he starts to get angrier and more prone to violent outbursts, which he attributes to booze. He starts to treat his wife and his dogs badly as his behaviour deteriorates.

Pluto, a black cat that the narrator adopts, wins the narrator's initial love. However, as his mental condition deteriorates, he starts to dislike Pluto and views the cat as a symbol of his own sinister tendencies. The narrator gouges out one of Pluto's eyes in a fit of wrath. He chooses to hang the cat from a tree out of guilt.

The narrator finds a new home after the house inexplicably catches fire and burns down, leaving behind ashes in the shape of a cat on the burned wall. He comes upon a black cat there that resembles him, but it has a white patch of hair on its breast. He develops an obsession with the cat, and having it around causes him pain. He accidently or maybe deliberately killed his wife while trying to kill the second cat in a fit of wrath. The body of the narrator's wife is walled up inside the cellar to hide the crime. But the second cat continues to haunt him, and the sound of its claws scraping against the cellar wall is intolerable. The narrator tears open the wall, revealing his wife's remains together with the second cat who had been interred with her because he can no longer stand the shame and anguish.

2. Research/ Visual References 

3. Sketches & Process 

First sketch

Here, I worked on the first sketch which displays the author being kind and he lives happily with his variety of pets that he own with and he treats them as a family. Following the sketch, I fill in the colour respectively using the fill tool as I used the pen tool to create the basic shapes of the animals. Then went in with the brush tools for further details and shading. 

As for the second, the most important act, I started with a rough grey sketch of how I wanted the cat to be. After I have a rough idea of the placement and the angle of the cat that I will be drawing, I went ahead and fill in with the bush tool without leaving out the shadings and highlights. Following the story, I wanted to portray the cat with a busted eye and a rope with a noose used to hang the cat up. Of course, I inserted the silhouette of a man standing behind the endangered black cat indicating that he is the culprit. 

For the third act, a dead lady in a brick wall is what I/m trying to illustrate based on the short story. Where the author killed his wife and buried her in their basement wall and soon found the cat lying beside her body after a few days. I started out with making the old broken down brick wall then worked on the dead body which I find the hardest to illustrated as I can't seem to find any standing dead body but it turned out alright in the end. 

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Reflection 

My experience with this triptych was stressful because suddenly we were asked to illustrate 3 artworks at once and that we have to read through the story which will take some time and then pick one story out of them. To be honest, I didn't have the time to read through every single one of the so I just picked the one that was the most appealing to me based on the title which is the black cat. Knowing that it's a horror story, I thought it would be a lot more horrifying like it would have a witch with a pet black cat or something but turns out it's just talking about an abusive author which is quite underwhelming. I managed to squeeze in the time to finish all three acts in time. 

My observation with this project is that creating a flow for the triptych is hard. I couldn't find what to do in the beginning of the act as I'm not sure which part of the story do I want to start with but soon figured it out. The process of sketching, refining, and adding details has taught me the importance of patience, perseverance, and attention to detail in creating impactful flow of story and illustrations.It's also challenging to find a colour that goes well with black as well as a colour that suits the theme of the story with I soon decided on dark blue, gray, red and of course black. 

My findings are I have discovered the importance of building a strong personal style and brand as an illustrator. Developing a unique visual language and voice helps artists stand out in a competitive industry. By honing their skills, artists can create a recognizable body of work that resonates with audiences and attracts potential clients or collaborators. through this triptych, I found that developing the same vibe and art style is significant to stay consistence to draw in more like minded audiences.