DESIGN EXPLORATION - REFLECTION POST

29TH AUG - TBA (WEEK 1 - WEEK 14)

NG VEYHAN (0349223) / BACHELORS OF DESIGN (HONS) IN CREATIVE MEDIA

DESIGN EXPLORATION

ASSIGNMENTS DOCUMENTATION

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Instructions

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End of Semester Reflection

Experience

This module overall has been a technically challenging experience for me. With designing a watch face as part of the first Task, I was able to experiment with procedural generation processes to create assets for my work. The process of creating both 2D and 3D elements from scratch then blending them together is something that I have never done before too so it was a fresh experience. Task 2 also challenged me by introducing me to an entirely new workflow for animation as well as entirely new software. There are also many details that separate experienced and inexperienced Live2D artist, such as certain assets looking out of place when viewed at certain angles. Not to mention that both tasks were able to help me work on my illustration skills, which I am interested in but found lacklustre as of now.

Observation

While both of the Tasks I have executed over the course of this module could be considered to have "simple" outputs, one being just a watch face and one being a character model, the amount of attention to detail that is required to create an outstanding product is mind-boggling. Largely I noticed that my practical skills couldn't keep up with ideas that I made, as much of the reason for why I felt my work was lacking is due to poorly rendered lighting/shading etc. I could spend hours and hours trying to fine tune a section of hair on the Live2D model, only to have it come out looking extremely amateur-ish. However, over the experience of this module, I myself have also accrued hands-on knowledge that I can apply on any future works that employ a similar workflow.

Findings

On a purely technical level, I noticed that around 60% of the quality of an illustration comes from the lighting of the piece. When shifting through different illustrations for referencing character designs, there were some differences between newer and seasoned illustrators. Many artists and designers tend to be able to draw characters with reasonably good proportions and good compositions. However, many of them tend to come off looking flat or two dimensional with no depth. This is something I hope to work on in the future in illustration as a hobby.

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