TASK 3 : Digital triptych

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12/5/2023 - 30/6/2023 / Week 9 - Week 12
DAVIES ANNIKA ANGELA / 0362108
Illustration and Visual Narrative / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Task 3: Digital triptych 

LECTURES  

Week 9 - light and shadow 
Week 10 - Ornaments 
Week 11 - Continuation of tutorials from week 9 to 10
Week 12 - Consultation of triptych progress 

INSTRUCTIONS 


TASK 3 : Digital triptych 
  • Requirements - break down one of Edgar Allan Poe's stories into 3 act structure 
  • Create 3 acts of panels displaying story visually 
  • Each panel should be 300pt by 600pts 
STEP 1 - Research on chosen story 
STEP 2 - Sketch ideas 
STEP 3 - Digitalise ideas 

STEP 1 - Research on THE BLACK CAT 

Central theme - focuses around the more sinister sides of human nature, especially the subjects of guilt, regret, and the effects of one's deeds. The narrative explores the narrator's journey into lunacy as well as the devastating nature of obsession.
Through the narrator's declining mental health and growing remorse for his violent actions, Poe tackles the issue of guilt. Initially a cherished pet, the black cat comes to represent the narrator's shame and the lingering effects of his wrongdoings. The cat's uncanny power to tell the truth about the narrator's sins emphasises the concept of guilt and highlights the inescapability of guilt.

3 ACT STRUCTURE 

ACT 1
  • The climax of the story: The narrator's violent act of gouging out Pluto's eye.
  • The hanging of Pluto, resulting in the destruction of the narrator's house.
  • The appearance of a new black cat with a white patch on its chest.

ACT 2 
  • The climax of the story: The narrator's violent act of gouging out Pluto's eye.
  • The hanging of Pluto, resulting in the destruction of the narrator's house.
  • The appearance of a new black cat with a white patch on its chest.
ACT 3 
  • The white-patched black cat's relentless presence, tormenting the narrator.
  • The narrator's murder of his wife and her subsequent entombment.
  • The police's discovery of the hidden corpse, resulting in the narrator's arrest.
CHARACTERS 
  • The Narrator: The unnamed narrator is the protagonist and the storyteller. 
  • Pluto: Pluto is the narrator's beloved black cat.
  • The Second Black Cat: After Pluto's death, a second black cat with a distinctive white patch on its chest appears. 
  • The Narrator's Wife: The narrator's wife is mentioned in the story but remains unnamed. She appears as a caring and supportive figure, trying to intervene when the narrator's behavior becomes increasingly violent. Unfortunately, she becomes a victim of the narrator's madness and meets a tragic end.
STEP 2: Sketch ideas 
The first sketches at the top are basically the eyes of the protagonist  who slowly going into the state of madness and show the different stages from 
Stage 1- love of pluto 
Stage 2 - hanging pluto and his eye is in tears 
Stage 3: killing his wife and the second cat is on the wife’s shoulder as if it is hiding , The wife is shown as a skeleton to show that she is dead and there is an axe in her head showing how she died 
The second sketch ideas are the same but this time showing the protagonists face

I then showed Mr Hafiz my work and he gave me the idea to have a cats face and Pluto hanging from the rope as the the cats nose and make the panels have more connection.  


After Mr Hafiz' feedback I did the sketch above and had the idea of using skeletons to show the death of the cat and his wife and the axe in the skull as well as the new cat being alive and on the wife's shoulder.

STEP 3: Digitalising ideas 
PROGRESSION OF WORK

1)

The beginning of the triptytch- I found a reference picture of a black cat and placed in a way that the eyes of the cat are in one panel each and are not cut out 

2)
I decided to image trace the image and modify it by deleting certain bits I had bits of fur remaining so that there is connection between all panels and whiskers show a bit. I used 16colour image trace and I liked the look of it looking like painting.I felt the more graphic the elements looked the more distinct the dark theme can be brought out.

3)
In this image I was trying to figure out how to incorporate the skeleton idea and as I was looking for reference images I could not find good reference images that would match the theme I was going for so I decided to abandon that idea and come up with a more simple idea.

4)
I made the right eye black with some red surround it to show Pluto after the narrator gouged its eye out in a violent act when he became demented. I then found a reference image of a silhouette of man axing his woman and the woman trying to stop him which I think was a cryptic way of alluding to the act 3 with out giving too much away of how that came to be as in the assignment breakdown slides Ms. Noranis gave tips that we should not give the whole story away. I added to draw the rope and use the brush tool and to add the rope pattern .I added blood dripping on Act 3 to allude to the fact that something gruesome happened and the bring out the gory theme. 

5)

I proceeded to add the a big black cat in Act 1 and it fills most the panel to show that it is the main subject of the story. I added grey to white gradient that fades from  ACT 1 into ACT 2. I also used the brush tool to add mist in ACT 2. I added some shadows under the tree brunch and made the cat look like it deteriorated and it is rotting as it was left to hang on the tree.I also made the silhouettes of the man and his wife in ACT 3 darker and more visible.as well as adding a brick wall pattern in the back. 
FINAL WORK 

SEPARATE PANELS 
                              ACT 1                                   ACT 2                                        ACT 3

THE BLACK CAT TRIPTYCH 

REFLECTION
This was my favourite task to do out of all the other tasks because I got to see my skills evolve and improve I noticed that my sketches were not that good and I need to expand my knowledge on how to sketch well so I can better put my ideas down. I also realsied the importance of having consistent theme throughout my work and how it is important to add a good amount of detail.

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