In this module, we were given a brief to produce an activity pack with included board game for Nando’s restaurants for one of three predefined demographics; families, children or young adults. This brief is relevant to the module because it is something that professional illustrators do every day; activity packs are a staple of some restaurant chains, especially ones that typically accommodate children, and so there is a lot of call for new ones to be designed and made.
Because the activity packs were being produced for a particular demographic, it was important that the design and content of the packs would suit said demographic. This brought up the importance of market research; it is no good to arbitrarily put together an activity pack without any idea of what styles and content are actually suitable for the demographic you are producing it for. Not only is this act professionally bankrupt, it could endanger one’s career as an illustrator.
Market research is important not only for deciding what the visual style of one’s work will be, but also how to design their characters. This was a point that I was very grateful to learn: designing characters for a professional product is a far more considered and complicated process than simply visualising them in your head and then scribbling them down. In this case, I wanted to produce a carnival-themed activity pack for children featuring a family of anthropomorphic chicken characters; a father, and mother and a child. Knowing the shapes and colour schemes typically associated with children’s products, carnivals and Nando’s restaurants proved invaluable in the design stage.
One of the most challenging aspects of character design is making sure that the characters one designs for their chosen demographic are relevant and can carry a brand based on their characteristics and visual appeal. Characters such as Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Dennis the Menace and Homer Simpson are all recognised around the world by people young and old, and they represent highly lucrative franchises that carry monumental legacies. Looking at them from a visual standpoint, their designs are very straightforward, allowing any person viewing the characters to easily relate to them. This relatability and ease of communication is something I strive for in my own work, so analysing these classic characters and the way they are built should give me some clues as to how to design more memorable characters.
In order to make my chicken characters seem ‘real’, I decided to study the anatomy of a chicken and work from there. While not many characteristics of real chickens made it into the character designs, it was worth deconstructing chicken anatomy to see what I could incorporate and what I could change to make the characters more anthropomorphic.
I tried two slightly different styles of drawing the characters to see which would be more visually appealing, and also easier to draw. I tried different costumes on each set of characters to get a feel for how their looks would differ based on their anatomy. The final set of characters ended up featuring a mix of each character set’s costumes.
As with the theme and the design of the characters, the colour palette is an important thing to consider when designing for a specific demographic. In the case of my activity pack, I knew from my research that primary colours are common in products aimed at children. Primary colours are also commonly associated with carnivals, as they are used heavily in costumes and decorations. Looking back at the characters mentioned previously, their designs include plenty of primary colours. There is a very good reason for using primary colours in design: since red, yellow and blue are the most basic colours, they are the most instantly recognisable and visually striking. When used carefully, they can improve a design manyfold. However, liberal use of primary colours can make a design look cheap and garish, so careful consideration is highly recommended. Making sure that the colours are not too saturated, unless one is making a psychedelic design, also helps to ensure that the image is not too harsh on the eye.
Since this module was about designing an activity pack, and not just designing characters, we had to consider the composition of the imagery on the outside and inside of the activity pack and the artwork of the board game. Producing a series of thumbnails, roughing out compositions for the outside and inside of the activity pack, proved to be a worthwhile exercise. Whenever I draw for my own enjoyment, I always sketch a thumbnail of the intended drawing first. Since I started doing this, I have found that my drawing has improved greatly. When designing for a client, making sure that your design will work before committing to it will save a lot of headaches further along in the process.
When it came to producing the digital illustrations of my characters, I learned some new things about the Adobe programs. For example, I did not know that you can link Photoshop files to an Illustrator file by placing the Photoshop file directly into Illustrator in order to avoid including a white background around the images and to enable better resizing.
I created the digital illustrations in Photoshop. I considered using an art style commonly used by Disney, drawing the outlines in a darker shade of the colours they surround, but I decided against it in order to save time and to keep the imagery clear. I made sure that the majority of the colours kept to the primary colour palette, with some different colours in order to hold the imagery together in a more plausible manner. I employed a cel-shading effect when shading the illustrations to keep the bright look of the art while giving it more depth and form.
At first, I tried to import my Photoshop files into Illustrator by simply copying and pasting, but they still had a white background even after I removed it in Photoshop. It was here that I learned an invaluable feature: by using the “Place” option in Illustrator, you can insert a Photoshop file directly into the Illustrator program. By doing this, your illustrations will retain all the qualities of the original Photoshop files, including not having backgrounds if you do not intend to have them. There were other features of Illustrator that we needed to use, such as setting printers’ marks and exporting the document at a quality that is suitable for print.
I encountered a major sticking point when working with Adobe Illustrator. Since I lack experience with the software, I found it incredibly confusing and hard to use. I kept trying to use key commands that are used in Photoshop and doing the wrong action, which proved to be very annoying. I also struggled to grasp the mechanics of the software, such as how to use the pen tool and how layers, lines and shapes are treated. For me, Illustrator ended up being little more than a template in which to place my illustrations within the activity pack maquette, with very few of the software’s features being made use of. I did produce a crude layout for the board game, though I would like to have made something that looked more professional. I do not enjoy using Illustrator, and I will most likely not use it again.
Despite my incompetence with Illustrator, and though I am disappointed with the overall quality of my work, I am happy that I managed to submit the activity pack and board game on time. The rush job at the end was entirely my own fault, since my time management was poor throughout the module. I put things off while I concentrated on other modules, mainly because I found this module to be rather difficult. It is a nasty habit of mine that I need to kick, putting things off because they’re hard.
Despite difficulties on this module, I did learn some valuable lessons on how to work in an efficient and professional manner. As previously mentioned, time management is something that I need to work on, as well as getting over the frankly immature habit of avoiding difficult work. Besides learning what I need to improve on, I also gained some new skills and knowledge that will doubtless help me in my future career. For example, I learned how to design characters that suit the demographic I am designing for, instead of just drawing what I want to draw. I also learned more about effective graphic design in the thirteen weeks of this module than I did in three years of college, which is testament to its effectiveness.
One of the things that has held me back as an artist is that while I knew I should study references in order to help improve my skills, I did not know what I should be looking for. The resources provided on the module have cleared things up for me and, although I found that the approach of the module was somewhat heavy-handed, I appreciate their availability.
Despite metaphorical and literal headaches, this module proved to be a worthwhile endeavour. I struggled with some of the more complex aspects of the process, but I am glad that I had a supportive environment in which to get through them. I have never been very good at graphic design and while I did not enjoy using Illustrator, I am glad that I learned something about putting together graphic designs. Since I am unpractised in producing graphic design, I am considering going into business with a friend of mine who is a student of graphic design and is already doing freelance work.
I appreciate getting some insight into how the industry works and how illustration is an integral part of many kinds of businesses and products. I am glad that I learned how to design characters to appeal to a demographic, and what to look for when conducting market research and when figuring out aesthetic elements like the colour palette. I did not fully understand networking before starting this module, but I now use Twitter every day to keep up with the illustration industry. Once I have finished at university, I will update my Twitter account so that I may use it for professional purposes, and I will probably set up a Facebook page and upgrade my blog.
Overall, this module has been difficult yet rewarding. Despite struggling with the more professional aspects of the module and ineffectively fighting with Illustrator to get it to behave how I wanted it to, I did enjoy the experience of going through a proper design and development stage (though I neglected to document my progress, I’ve never been any good at that). The brief seemed relevant since, as previously mentioned, it is the kind of thing that illustrators and designers do every day, and the sooner I get used to doing work that every other illustrator does, the better. For every frustration I experienced on the module, I learned something valuable to making my way in the industry, and the things I learned will doubtless enable me to improve my skills in ways that are relevant to working professionally, not just for posting pictures on deviantART.
After university, I am considering getting work in an animation or design studio. I know of at least one independent studio in my hometown of Manchester that I might be able to get an internship at. I will consider going freelance if I dislike working in a studio but, given my disability, I have trouble dealing with people, especially strangers. I do not know what will happen in the years to come, but I know that if I learn as much as I can and fill up my metaphorical toolbox as soon as I can, I will stand myself in good stead to make a solid living in the creative industry.
