Audrey Gracia Djohari / 0348120
Illustration & Visual Narrative
Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor’s University
Task 3 & Task 4 (Final Project): Webtoon & Motion Comic
JUMP LINKS
- Lectures
- Visual Research
- Webtoon Process
- Character Design
- Webtoon Final Outcome
- Motion Comic Process
- Motion Comic Final Outcome
LECTURES
WEEK 7 :
3-Acts-Structure (Storytelling Basics)
- Central Theme
1. Major Theme- An idea that is intertwined and repeated throughout the whole narrative.
2. Minor Theme
- An idea that appears more subtly, and doesn’t necessarily repeat.
- Conflict
- Conflict is what drives the story.
- It’s what creates tension and builds suspense, which are the elements that make a story
- Conflict is what engages an audience. It’s what keeps them white-knuckled, at the edge of their seats, waiting impatiently to see if the protagonists will overcome their obstacle.
- Characters
A story includes several characters, each with a different role or purpose. The most important are antagonist and protagonist.
1. Central Character
- These characters are vital to the development of the story.
- The plot revolves around the central character.
2. Protagonist
- A protagonist in a story has a clear GOAL or CONFLICT.
- Although protagonists don't always need to be admirable, they must command an
3. Antagonist
- Brings problems to the protagonist.
- 3-Acts Structure
1. Setup:
- Show the world in which the protagonist exists (Example: The lord of the rings started by Galadriel explaining the 7 rings and conflict that happens in the world).
- Setup ends with conflict being revealed.
2. Rising Tension
- The series of obstacles
3. Conflict
- The point of highest tension.
- The major decisive turning point for the protagonist.
4. Resolution
- What happens after the conflict is over.
- The protagonist finally overcomes the problem.
Figure 1.0: Traditional 3-Act Structure Chart
Important Question:
What makes a story worth reading? The conflict of the main character
- Homework
Prepare a short story for you to base your character on. Employ the three-act structure. Max. 300 words.
Figure 1.1: Example of Short Narrative
WEEK 8 :
How to Make Comics
- Ideas can come from experiences.
- Don't browse google for story ideas.
- You can start with a random word
- Brainstorming, Create a mindmap
- Write down your ideas.
WEEK 9 :
Transitions
- Moment-to-moment
Moment-to-Moment transition is the constraint along with page and panel form, that most denes storyboarding from comics or sequential art. Within the course of the media, they are used to map there can be cuts that embody any one of the other six transition classes listed here. But the storyboard itself is a strictly Moment-to- Moment depiction of another form of media.
Figure 1.2: Moment-to-moment Transition
- Action-to-action
Typically focuses on significant events or movement from panel to panel, and over larger intervals of time between moments.
Figure 1.3: Action-to-action Transition
- Subject-to-subject
A cut between two related moments, but focusing on a different subject in the same scene. Think conversation in a restaurant, or a shift of focus onto another actor in the scene. 
Figure 1.4: Subject-to subject Transition
- Scene-to-scene
A Scene is a series of events that happen in one location and a continuous period of time. A change of location or significant jump in time between panels is considered the end of a scene and the start of a new one. 
Figure 1.5: Scene-to-scene Transition
- Aspect-to-aspect
It can be an interesting way to jump around a scene, taking in key details or letting the characters focus wonder. It’s also a good way to introduce their environment to a reader, though the player's eyes perhaps or inviting them to wander away from the players a bit.
Figure 1.7: Aspect-to-aspect Transition
- Symbolic
Symbolic transitions deal with the unreal, the felt, and the imagined. Moving the readers from an imagined or recalled space to either another or a real one.
Figure 1.7: Symbolic Transition
The idea is that instead of having panel gutters or borders as separate graphical elements at all, the images are melded and mixed together. Overlapping and interlacing. Folding is how I nd I think of it often. Breaking down many of the traditional functions of comics panels, and working instead to fold space on the page.
As the reader’s eye travels over the contour of one gure, it finds itself on the other side in a separate ‘moment’ or ‘aspect’ or ‘space’ of the scene, giving a ‘Rolling’ sense of movement through space and time in the story, rather than the traditional isolation of one moment and aspect, to another in paneled comics design.
Figure 1.8: Rolling Transition
- Non Sequitur
Provides no logical connection between panels. These are not common at all, outside of surreal abstract or gag comics. In part because we’re likely to infer some kind of meaning even when none was planned, and that leads them to be perceived by readers more like Aspect to Aspect transitions. The most enlightening thing to learn about them is how resilient the desire in readers is to perceive a narrative between juxtaposed moments or things.
Figure 1.9: Non-Sequitur
Gutters
Understanding Comics & Effective Visual Communication
- Pitching
- Inspiration
- Concept (Keywords)
- Image References (Visual Style, Layout, Character References)
- Sketches
- Moodboard
Figure 1.10: Mood Board
- Hollywood Formula
1) 3-Acts-Structure
Figure 1.11: 3-Acts-Structure
2) Write a logline
3) Avoid using character names, describe them using adjectives
Example: the wizard boy, a man with a mysterious Kabuki mask,
INSTRUCTIONS
VISUAL RESEARCH
- Famous Webtoon Artists' Artwork
Figure 2.0: Elena by Jorge Jaramillo. Webtoon
The next comic I read was Lore Olympus. It's actually a romance comic but I found the characters very unique. They look different from the rest of the series in Webtoon. Each character has an iconic shape so that it makes it easier for the reader to remember. Not only that, the colors are bold and beautiful. They're not realistic at all, but they somehow radiate a very good feeling to the reader. The artist surely has a unique taste in making the characters. I also like the cropping in each panel, they are quite simple but necessary. Every panel gives so much information that pulls the reader even deeper into the universe.
Figure 2.1: Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe. Webtoon
WEEK 9:
- 3-Acts Structure
- #1 Attempt
Act 1: Setup
Once upon a time, there live a man who loves his family so much. He has a
beautiful wife and a 5-year-old daughter.
Act 2: Conflict
One day, the man is driving his family on their way to a theme park to
celebrate the daughter’s birthday, until suddenly a huge truck from across
the road flies over and falls on top of their car. And he blacks out.
Fortunately, the man and his wife survive that accident, however, their
daughter is in a comma. And it takes several weeks until the daughter
recovered fully.
But because of that accident, the man notices the behavior changes of the
daughter. She keeps talking to an imaginary friend and she acts weirder
from time to time. One time, his daughter is even hurt physically by that
mysterious being.
And because of that, the man starts to feel terrorized at home by this
imaginary being. Odd things start to happen and he becomes sure that his
daughter’s condition is a metaphysical problem instead of medical, and he’s
afraid this evil being will murder his daughter sooner or later. So he
decides to seek help from a pastor and does an exorcism.
Act 3: Resolution
Until finally, he wakes up in a psychiatric hospital. Realizing he never
had a daughter nor a wife. And he realizes that he’s actually the truck
driver who gets drunk and causes the accident, the family involves in that
accident never survived. And it’s in corner of his rubber room, that he
sees the imaginary friend, smiling at him.
- #2 Attempt (Abel's House)
Act 1: Setup
On December 5th, 2001, a family tragedy occurs in a house called
"Abel's".
On December 5th, 2021, two siblings have just moved to a new
town. The reason they move in is that they just lost their parents
and this is the only town where they have a relative. By using their
inheritance money, they rent a two-story house at a very reasonable
price. Little do they know that the house has a tragic and evil
history.
Act 2: Conflict
On the first night they check-in, the sister sees a mysterious man
standing outside the house. She gets rid of the freaky guy and he leaves
with a warning that "Abel will kill you". Later that night, she's woken
up by the sound of her dog barking, and at the same time, she finds her
own brother staring at her hollowly. Turns out, the brother murdered the
poor dog. And all of the sudden, he starts chasing her as if he's
possessed. She runs to the balcony only to find a dead end.
Act 3: Resolution
Until finally, there's a bang on the door, and turns out it's the
mysterious man. He kicks the door open and starts attacking the
brother. He then speaks to 'Abel' who turns out to be the demon that
possesses the house. The demon comes out of the brother's body and
possesses the man. It all ends with the man, sacrificing himself to stop the demon.
>> At last, after deep consideration, I went with the second
story "Abel's House" because I think It's more personal to me so I
would be able to compose the story better.
- How I came up with the story
When Miss. Anis said the comic genre should be horror, I honestly felt
a bit unsure and not confident at all. Because I've never been a fan
of the horror genre. However, I tried to think of something I'm most
afraid of, and I remembered a personal experience that happened not so
long ago.
One night, I was in my house with my Mom and brother. My Dad was not
at home so it was only the three of us. I was doing my assignment on
my laptop so I sat near a desk where my Dad put the CCTV monitor which
allows us to see all the rooms in the house, including the front yard.
Suddenly, a mysterious man is peeking through our window. It was all
black and white in the CCTV so it was a straight-out-of a horror movie
experience.
I was so shocked that even my dog noticed. The man was definitely not
normal, because he acted as if he saw something and he started
punching the wind. He looked anxious and unstable. I held my dog so it
wouldn't run outside because I was too scared to let the man know that
there's people in the house, I don't want to make him angry. I called
my Mom and my brother, and we just stood there watching the monitor,
hoping he would leave. Eventually, the man run away as if something
scared him, I would never understand. But the feeling of horror and
the thoughts of the man who could literally break into my house and hurt
my family was quite traumatic. Who knows what could go wrong? So, my
experience was not something supernatural, but it definitely brings
goosebumps to me, and hopefully, I could bring that feeling to this
comic I'm making.
My Story's Keywords: Dark Past, Freaky Man, Haunted House
- Color palette & Mood Board
I chose this color palette for all the panels. I think the colors would be suitable for the horror genre and I just like how it creates a bit of vintage horror atmosphere.
Figure 2.6: Kuntil Anak
Figure 2.4, 2.5: Color Palette
- References
"The Kuntilanak, also called Pontianak, is a mythological creature in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. It is similar to Langsuir in other Southeast Asia regions. The Kuntilanak usually takes the form of a pregnant woman who is unable to give birth to a child." -Wikipedia
Figure 2.7-2.9: References
WEEK 10:
- Characters Design
1. Sarah & Joel
Two siblings who just move to a new house that turns out to be a house
full of tragedy. They just lost their parents so they use the
inheritance money to rent a house in a new city where they have
relatives. Both of them are protagonists. Sarah is the main lead of this
story because she witnesses everything.
- Sarah's Character Traits: Nerdy, Mature, Easily Scared
- Joel's Character Traits: Curious, still mourns their parents' death, Playful
Figure 3.0: Sarah & Joel (Protagonists)
2. Spot
Spot is Sarah's and Joel's dog. The breed is unknown. Spot is a smart
and brave dog. He is close with Joel because they spend so much time
together.
Figure 3.1: Spot (Side Character)
3. The Freak Man
The freak man has a dark past with the house that still haunts him
even after 30 years. Making his soul restless and unstable. After the
tragedy, he lives on the street without any actual homes. He never
dresses up again and often time he feels depressed. But he never
really leaves the town because he feels that it's his job to keep an
eye on the haunted house.
Character Traits: Unstable, Creepy, Brave, Depressed, Sacrificial,
Guilty, Restless
Figure 3.2: The Freak (Protagonist & Antagonist ?)
4. Abel
Abel is an evil spirit of the house. She's not a ghost, but a devil.
She's always thirsty for blood and she doesn't like everyone who lives
in the house. She makes sure everyone who lives in the house regrets it.
Most of the time, she often possesses her prey and makes them murder
their loved ones.
Character Traits: Evil, Bloodthirsty, Hater, Satanic
Figure 3.3: Abel (Antagonist)
WEEK 11:
- Comic Sketches
Figure 4.0: Abel Sketch
Figure 4.1 Complete Panel Sketches
Sketches are done digitally on iPad (ProCreate App).
Page 1 (1 panel)
- Setup
- Prologue / Past Tragedy (5 December 1991)
- Introduction to the setting: the haunted house where all the
events take place
Page 2 (2 panels)
- Still in the past
- Introduction to The Freak Man
Page 3 (3 panels)
- The Past Tragedy
- Freak Man realizing that he has killed his own baby unconsciously
Page 4 (3 panels)
- Freak Man realizes he also killed his own wife.
Page 5 (1 panel)
- It shows Abel's presence symbolically (introduction to the antagonist of the
story)
Page 6 (1 panel)
- Title: Abel's House
Page 7 (1 panel)
- 30 years later, the Present Day (5 December 2021)
- Introduction to the renovated house
- Introduction to the Protagonists (Sarah, Joel, and Spot the dog)
Page 8 (2 panels)
- Shows the protagonists' situation and the reason they move to that
house.
- The dialog shows that Sarah & Joel are siblings
Page 9 (2 panels)
- Shows how the conflict starts: Joel finding Abel's Satanic book
- Joel being possessed by Abel's spirit
- There are dark fogs to show that Abel has taken control over Joel's body
Page 10 (2 panels)
- Sarah meets The Freak Man
Page 11 (2 panels)
- Freak Man tries to warn her of the evil Abel.
Page 12 (1 panel)
- Freak Man leaves Sarah
Page 13 (2 panels)
- The clock indicates night time (3 AM)
Page 14 (1 panel)
- Another conflict happens: Spot the dog is dead
Page 15 (1 panel)
- Possessed Joel is holding a bloody knife behind Sarah. It shows that he
killed the dog.
Page 16 (3 panels)
- Climax of the story
- Sarah and Joel are on the balcony, it shows how the past tragedy is
likely to happen again
Page 17 (3 panels)
- Resolution
- Joel got hit by the Freak Man
- Sarah is saved
- The real antagonist is revealed: Abel
Page 18 (2 panels)
- Abel is shown
Page 19 (2 panels)
- The Freak Man sacrificing himself so Abel won't bother Sarah & Joel.
Page 20 (2 panels)
- The Freak Man being possessed by Abel
Page 21 (2 panels)
- The Endgame: Freak Man tries to kill Abel who's possessing his body
Page 22
- blank
Page 23 (1 panel)
- Shows Abel Screaming Angrily
- It's a cliffhanger scene because nobody really knows if The Freak Man
manages to kill Abel by sacrificing himself or if Abel survived.
Page 24 (1 panel)
- The End
WEEK 12:
- Comic Digitization
Figure 5.0: Pen Tool and Curvature Tool
Figure 5.1: Editing in Adobe Illustrator
I found it very helpful to sketch everything first using my Apple Pen.
Because it is quite impossible to draw everything from scratch in
Illustrator using my touchpad.
Figure 5.2: Digitization of AI
Figure 5.3: Comic Pages
- Thumbnails
I created 2 thumbnails for the webtoon posts:
- Thumbnail #1 (1080x1080 px): Abel's Face
- Thumbnail #1 (1080x1080 px): Abel's House
Figure 6.0: Thumbnail #1 (1080x1080 px)
Figure 6.1: Thumbnail #1 (1080x1080 px)
- Summary
On 5 December 2021, A man finds himself unconsciously murdering his own
wife and infant. And he realizes that the evil spirit that occupies the
house makes him do it, which later is known as 'Abel'.
Thirty years later, on 5 December 2021. Two siblings–Sarah & Joel,
along with their dog, Spot, just move to a new home without knowing the
tragedy behind the house. They start to realize that things are off when
a mysterious man suddenly terrorizes them on the day they move in. That
man is none other than the same guy who kills his own family in 1991. He
turns out to be a mentally unstable guy who lives on the street. That
day, the man warns Sarah that "Abel will kill you". Sarah is extremely
terrified of him so she told him to go away by calling him a freak.
That night, several disturbing things happen. Spot (the dog) is murdered
brutally by Sarah's brother, Joel. Which shocks her to death, because
Joel would never do anything like that. Joel starts chasing her while
holding a knife. Sarah runs around the house until she's cornered on the
balcony–the same place where The Freak Man's wife is killed. However,
The Freak Man shows up and he hit Joel with a rock until he falls
unconscious. Sarah screams. But turns out, The Freak Man is trying to
save her. He tells her that Joel is possessed by the evil spirit of the
house: Abel. The same spirit that possesses him in the past.
And at that moment, Abel appears. Before she can attack Sarah, the freak
man stops her by calling her "an old friend" and he asks Abel to take
him instead, not the kids. Then, Abel starts possessing him, but the
freak man has a plan. Once Abel is inside his body, he uses his
remaining strength and consciousness to use the knife and kills
himself. The story ends with a cliffhanger, it is unknown what happens
to Abel.
- Webtoon
I've uploaded my comic on Webtoon, however, I still couldn't open my
own comic in https://www.webtoons.com/en/. It says that 'not available in your country. So, to see how it
turns out, I also posted my comic in https://www.webtoons.com/id/?webtoon-platform-redirect=true. I've pated the link on the final outcome part.
Figure 7.0: Webtoon Upload
Figure 7.1: Webtoon Preview
WEEK 14:
- Webtoon Comic Final Outcome
Webtoon Link:
- Indonesia: https://www.webtoons.com/id/challenge/abels-house/abels-house/viewer?title_no=711289&episode_no=1
- English: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/abels-house/abels-house/viewer?title_no=711281&episode_no=1
Google Drive Link: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1-6KvDsoRCG8tk8_FV8XLtB0jwW8lJijR
Figure 8.0: Complete Panels, JPG
Figure 8.1: Comic Final Outcome, PDF
MOTION COMIC
WEEK 14:
- Animation Planning
- Pages: 25
- Panels: 44 panels + 1 blank panel
- Final Video Maximum time: 3 minutes (180 seconds)
- Max time per panel: 4 seconds (4x45 panels = 180 seconds)
Scene 1
- 1991 Sky
Scene 2
- 1991 House
Scene 3
- The Freak Man's Eyes (closed)
- The Freak Man's Eyes (opened)
Scene 4
- Knife Falling
- Baby
- The Freak Man Crying (Tear Drops)
Scene 5
- Freak Man Calling "Honey!"
- "What have I Done"
- Dead Wife
Scene 6
- Reality (Freak Man Crying)
- Satanic Symbols Rotating
Scene 7
- Title
Scene 8
- 2021 House
- Sarah, Joel, Spot walking
Scene 9
- Sarah, Joel, Spot
- Living Room
Scene 10
- Joel Walking Upstairs
- Finding the book
- Opening the book
- Dark Fogs
Scene 11
- Sarah on Laptop
- Freak Man Outside
Scene 12
- Freak Man
- Sarah Shouting
Scene 13
- Confused Sarah
Scene 14
- Clock
- Barks, Whines, Shrieks
- Sarah waking up
Scene 15
- Spot is Dead
- "SPOT!"
- "no, no, no, no"
Scene 16
- Sarah crying
- Knife Man
Scene 17
- Balcony
- Joel & Sarah's Silhouette
Scene 18
- Joel being Hit
- Sarah’s Eye
- Freak Man Returned
Scene 19
- Freak Man Mentioned Abel
- Abel Appears
Scene 20
- Freak Man
- Abel
Scene 21
- Abel flying
- Abel's book floating
- Sarah Shouts
- Freak Man Possessed (Zoom in)
Scene 22
- The Suicide Scene
- Sarah Screaming
- Blood
Scene 23
- Blank
Scene 24
- Abel Screaming (Jumpscare)
Scene 25
- "Abel Will Return"
- Animation (After Effects)
Effects that I used:
- Echo
- Dissolve - Unmelt
- Dissolve - Vapor
- Ovals - Concentric PAL
Figure 9.0: Echo Effect
Figure 9.1: Ovals Effect
Figure 9.2: Unmelt Effect
Figure 9.3: Scene #21 Composition
It took me days to finish up my animation. Because I found it quite
hard to preview the exact timing on AE since the composition is quite
laggy and they're not real-time when I play it on AE.
My 1st attempt was a failure, many scenes are too slow
and too fast. Then, after I watched my first attempt outcome, I
tried to correct the timing and added more elements and effects. In
total, I rendered 3 times until I managed to get everything quite
right.
These are my experimentations (without Audio):
Figure 10.0: #1 Attempt, Motion Comic
Figure 10.1: #2 Attempt, Motion Comic
Google Drive Link: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1-EDp6hPRoXX7Ny1x-3sbWei-a395EJmj
Figure 11.0: Motion Comic Final Outcome (with Audio), MP4
- Duration: 2 minutes 45 seconds
- Genre: Horror
- Summary:
On 5 December 2021, A man finds himself unconsciously murdering his own
wife and infant. And he realizes that the evil spirit that occupies
the house makes him do it, which later is known as 'Abel'.
Thirty years later, on 5 December 2021. Two siblings–Sarah & Joel,
along with their dog, Spot, just move to a new home without knowing
the tragedy behind the house. They start to realize that things are
off when a mysterious man suddenly terrorizes them on the day they
move in. That man is none other than the same guy who kills his own
family in 1991. He turns out to be a mentally unstable guy who lives
on the street. That day, the man warns Sarah that "Abel will kill
you". Sarah is extremely terrified of him so she told him to go away
by calling him a freak.
That night, several disturbing things happen. Spot (the dog) is
murdered brutally by Sarah's brother, Joel. Which shocks her to death,
because Joel would never do anything like that. Joel starts chasing
her while holding a knife. Sarah runs around the house until she's
cornered on the balcony–the same place where The Freak Man's wife is
killed. However, The Freak Man shows up and he hit Joel with a rock
until he falls unconscious. Sarah screams. But turns out, The Freak
Man is trying to save her. He tells her that Joel is possessed by the
evil spirit of the house: Abel. The same spirit that possesses him in
the past.
And at that moment, Abel appears. Before she can attack Sarah, the
freak man stops her by calling her "an old friend" and he asks Abel to
take him instead, not the kids. Then, Abel starts possessing him, but
the freak man has a plan. Once Abel is inside his body, he uses his
remaining strength and consciousness to use the knife and kills
himself. The story ends with a cliffhanger, it is unknown what happens
to Abel.
FEEDBACK
Miss Anis said to keep it PG-13. For example, she said we can replace gory scenes with splashes of blood or any other elements.
REFLECTION
Experience
When I first heard that our final project would be making a comic, I was quite intrigued. However, I felt really down when I found out the genre should be horror. I always hate horror in any kind of form and I never really explored it. So, this would be my first time making something horror. After a long process of idea exploration, I could finally have the ideas and concepts. To be honest, this is definitely the hardest final project I've worked on this semester. The difficulties I found in the animation process were super stressful. I had to move all my work to a different file to export it to After Effects. It took me a very long time and the animation process really made my brain hurt. But, overall, it was a very challenging project and unforgettable experience. I learned a lot more about Illustrator and After Effects.
Observations
Through this final project, I learned so much about storytelling
through illustration. It was more complicated than I expected. I learned
things like panels, comic sound effects, transitions, etc. And most of
them always involves 'planning'. I observed that planning the story
panels before the execution was the most important part because it would be
nearly impossible to make everything at once Adobe Illustrator. However,
I was never the type of person who plans everything, so I struggled very
much in the planning process. It was just difficult for me to come up
with ideas when I still have so much time until the deadline, my brain
just didn't work. But now I've seen the advantages of planning a comic.
It made me feel more sure about my story and it helped me improve a lot
of things. It also gave me a lot more time to fix some errors.
Furthermore, I also became more thoughtful about how people will react
to the visuals I create. Making this comic made me realize how important
it is to make sure that we convey the right visual so that people react
the way we wanted. Sometimes, how we think people will react is
different from how people actually react when they see our artwork.
Findings
I found that making a comic requires so much energy, time, and thinking. We have to consider the right color, transition, character building, effective communication and make the story itself interesting enough for people to read. It's similar to making a short movie, but I'm working on it by myself. I also found that it's important to plan and determine the clear concept, color, transition from the beginning to create a communicative and visually promising comic. And it's important to place the right color to emphasize a certain scene.
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