Illustration and Visual Narrative - Task 1:Character Design
2.10.2025 - 22.10.2025 / Week 2- Week 4
Aida Tan Jie Fei / 0385645
Illustration and Visual Narrative / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Task 1: Character Design
LIST
LECTURES
Control Pen Tool Exercise
Figure 1 Bezier Game
Figure 2 Exercise of Pen Tool
After finishing the Bezier Game practice, we were asked to do some exercises provided by the lecturer. Following the reference pictures, we had to trace the given shapes and then add color to the objects.
Character 1:Otter
Figure 3 Otter
At first, I was thinking about what animals live in the water. Then, when I was watching videos on TikTok, I saw that the otter was very cute and could be one of my characters. I like how otters always look friendly and playful. The otter is inspired by Mrs. Otterton from Zootopia and real photos of otters. To match the project requirements, I made my otter stand upright and used a rectangular shape as the main body structure to show stability and balance. I also added a fish to the otter because, in many videos I watched, otters are often seen eating fish. This small detail helps make the character look more natural and connected to its real-life behavior.
Character 2:Crab
Figure 4 Crab
The crab idea came from ChatGPT. I asked for a character that could be designed based on the shapes used in Adobe Illustrator and the Week 2 exercise, and that’s how I got the crab idea. In one of the reference examples shown by the lecturer, there was a character designed using the shapes from the Week 2 exercise, so I decided to do the same. The crab clearly shows the use of a square shape, which makes the design look balanced and symmetrical.
Character 3: Cat
Figure 5 Cat
The cat idea is based on the cartoon called Black Cat Detective. In the story, the black cat always helps people and solves problems, showing that it is brave, just, and smart. I really like this cartoon, so I chose the cat to become one of my characters. I made the cat sit down to clearly show its round shape, which gives it a friendly and calm appearance.
Sketch and Silhouette
Figure 6 Three Character Sketches
Figure 7 Character Silhouette
Final Work
Figure 8 Final Character
Techniques Applied
We learned to use the Pen Tool to trace the edges of objects and apply color fills.
Self Reflections
At first, I tried to design my characters as humans, but after creating three of them, I found that their shapes and silhouettes looked too similar, so I decided to give up on the human designs. After that, I started exploring other ideas. During the process, I found it quite difficult and made many sketches, whether they were animals or objects. In the end, I chose animals for my final characters. I have to admit that my work is not very creative and feels a bit like copy and paste, but I will work harder for the next task.
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