IVN - Task 4: Webcomic

|| 1/12/2024 - 5/1/2025 (Week 11 - Week 14)

|| Te Li Wen, 0367811

|| Illustration and Visual Narrative

|| Task 4: Webcomic

Instruction

Research

Reading

We had to read a novel "The Monkey's Paw". The story was interesting to me as it catered towards thriller and suspense which I enjoy reading. Since we had to adapt a certain part of the story into a surrealism comic, I chose a part where I wanted to show how desperate the wife was and how she had lost her mind after her son's death.

Chosen Passage:

The sounds of her sobs died away on his ears. The bed was warm, and his eyes heavy with sleep. He dozed fitfully, and then slept until a sudden wild cry from his wife awoke him with a start.

"THE PAW!" she cried wildly. "THE MONKEY'S PAW!"

He started up in alarm. "Where? Where is it? What's the matter?"

She came stumbling across the room toward him. "I want it," she said quietly. "You've not destroyed it?"

For the cover, I considered two different ideas for how I wanted the monkey’s paw to appear in my composition. The first idea was a straightforward concept, a hand reaching out toward the viewer. However, I decided against this since I anticipated that many others might use a similar approach.

Instead, I thought of another composition with a more unique and unsettling sketch where the monkey’s paw is gripping the wife’s face, with one of her eyes visible through the grasp.

I researched a little on what surrealism meant on Pinterest and here were what I found.

Figure 1 Surrealism Research

Ideation Process

Following that, I saved some images from Pinterest that resembled my ideas of how I wanted my art style to be.

Pinterest

Figure 2 Panels Drawn By Junji Ito

Figure 3 Shigaraki Tomura From Boku No Hero Academia By Kohei Horikoshi

Sketch Process

Figure 4 Comic Sketches

This is the sketch of my adaptation of the passage. I separated the speech and SFX so I could see the background better.

Figure 5 Cover Sketches

I drew the sketches out and asked my friends for opinions on which sketch I should go for as the final cover and in the end I chose the 1st cover where the monkey's paw is grabbing on the wife's face.

Digitalization Process

Figure 6 Making Panels

I started by making the panels so I know where I would draw the characters on by using the shape tool to make the panels.

Figure 6 Making The Eyes of The Husband

I used the brush tool for the eyes and then I expanded the eyes so I could adjust the shape of the eye easier. Then I repeated the steps and copy pasted the above panel and dragged it down to the 2nd panel and made the eyes closed.

Figure 7 The Husband Waking Up

After that, I moved on to the 3rd panel where the husband had woken up by the scream of his wife. I used the same technique and used the brush tool to draw him out and then turned some lines into shapes. While I was in the middle of making this panel, I decided that I should make my own hatching brush to make it easier for myself and also lessen the lag since I crashed a couple of times when I drew the lines.

Figure 8 Wife Stumbling And Windows

I used the shape tool to make the windows which was pretty simple. Then I drew out the wife using the pen tool of just her silhouette so she seems more eerie as a husband stares at his wife anxiously prancing about.

Figure 9 The Wife Staring

With a similar method, I used the brush tool to draw her disheveled look and the used the pen tool to color in their silhouettes.

Figure 10 Wife's Words And Animating Frames

I then added the final touches with the speech bubbles and the SFX and also made some of the animated frames separated in a different file since my Adobe Illustrator could not handle part of the file.

Figure 11 Cover Making

Finally, I drew the cover page using the brush tool and shape tool.

Final Digitalization

Figure 12 Final Cover PNG

Figure 12 Final Comic PNG

Animation Process

Figure 13 Photoshop Animation

I imported the file into Photoshop and turned it into animating frames. After that, I added a frame and closed a certain layer that was not part of the frame and repeated for a couple more times until the animation became a loop.

Figure 14 Comic Animation Frames

Here are the frames I did for the comic.

Final GIF Animation Outcome

Figure 14 The Final Cover GIF

Figure 15 The Final Comic GIF

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nfNPFmvqSMNtg_3dB5LkyqCK3XWSOhiio6khG3BOqwg/edit?usp=sharing

Click Here For The Drive Link

Reflection

Reflecting on this assignment, I can confidently say it was the most challenging yet rewarding project I’ve worked on so far. Unlike previous tasks, this one truly pushed me to apply the knowledge I’ve gained throughout the course in creative and practical ways. It required me to adapt my artistic style, demonstrating how much I’ve grown and understood from past lessons, which made the process both demanding and exciting.

One of the most fulfilling aspects of this project was exploring new art styles and techniques that I hadn’t experimented with before. It felt refreshing to step out of my comfort zone and bring new elements into my work. The story we had to adapt was also incredibly captivating — one of the most engaging online books I’ve read. Translating those ideas into a visual composition was both a challenge and a thrill. Seeing my imagination come to life on the page kept me motivated throughout the project, making the entire experience enjoyable from start to finish.

Looking ahead, I’m excited to apply what I’ve learned to future projects, further refine my skills, and continue growing as an artist.

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Te Li Wen (0367811)