Design Principles - Task 3: Development & Design

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Name: Liong Xenyi
ID Number: 0383125
Module: Design Principles (GCD60804)
Date: 3/3/2025 - 17/3/2025 (Week 5 - Week 7)
Degree: Bachelor of Design (Honors) in Creative Media
University: Taylor's University 


Task 3: Development & Design


Table of Contents


Previous Tasks



Module Information Booklet





Task 3: Development 

Recap of Task 3: 
After the visual analysis, you will now create a work of design, based by the idea you have proposed in Task 2. You are expected to apply your knowledge of design principles in your idea development and final design. You may use any medium and/or materials, except for full photography, that are suitable to convey your final visual message.

My 3 Ideas:

Sketch 1 
Fig 1.1 Sketch 1


Sketch 2
Fig 1.2 Sketch 2


Sketch 3
Fig 1.3 Sketch 3

Out of the 3 sketches I have proposed in Task 2, I will choose sketch 2 to proceed with my final design, as I feel it conveys the story and emotions more with the audience through simplistic yet effective design principles used. I will further develop the idea to make it better and more attractive.



Development of Sketch 2
I added a little more details to the sketch, so that it has a better flow and make it more attractive to the eye. The hands will make it seem as if Orpheus is more desperate to reach out to Eurydice, but couldn't reach her in the end, which also create a better flow of movement from the top right, travelling diagonally towards the bottom left. The hands have similarity and form a rhythm, which creates more unity.

Fig 1.4 Sketch 2.1


My Line Art Process
This is my progress of creating line-art to have a clearer figure before I start colouring.
Fig 2.1 Sketching Eurydice with References


   
Fig 2.2 Eurydice's Sketch                              Fig 2.3 Eurydice's Line Art

Fig 2.4 Orpheus' Sketch

2.5 Orpheus' Line Art


Background Process
I filled in the colours while adding the background colours and shapes.
Fig 3.1 Background Colouring


However, after the feedback given by my lecturer, I should make the Underworld more evident so that the audience can understand it without my description. I decided to make it more similar to the original painting - I made the hole of the cave entrance instead, using an oval shape and vines to signify it as the entrance to the Underworld, and the Underworld (dark blue) will take the majority of the space in the design to show that Eurydice is getting dragged down. 
Fig 3.2 Background Colouring #2


The bigger hands are to show Orpheus' desperation in getting Eurydice back; so close yet so far, he didn't manage to get her back, shown by the hands that couldn't reach her.
Fig 3.3 Process of drawing the big hands

Fig 3.4 Finished Big hands


Later, I added the vines to show the Underworld's entrance, a cave that Orpheus is trying to get into, but the vines are stopping him.
Fig 3.5 Vine Drawing Process

Fig 3.6 Finished Vines


I didn't manage to capture the change, but I changed the dark blue to a darker blue shade, so that it shows more contrast between the living world's brightness and the Underworld's darkness.


Colouring Figure and Adding Details
I filled in the colours for the two figures.
Fig 4.1 Eurydice Colouring

Fig 4.2 Orpheus Colouring

I cleaned up the edges, any line art or colouring that is out of place. 
Fig 4.3 Cleaning up Process

I then added the hands that are grabbing Eurydice down.
Fig 4.4 Grabbing Hands Process

Fig 4.5 Finished Grabbing Hands

Lastly, I changed the colour for the line art to make Orpheus and Eurydice more appealing and eye-catching. Orpheus' line art is coloured with the contrasting yellow, and Eurydice's line art coloured with the contrasting dark blue. 
The lines highlighting some parts of the figures will show the principle of closure, so that the viewer can fill in the missing shapes for themselves, with Eurydice being more incomplete to show she is gone from the real world, as Orpheus will have more details. 
Fig 4.6 Different line art colour



Final Design

<Liong Xenyi_When Doubt Comes In_Task 3>


Write a 200-word rationale explaining/defending:
i) the decisions made in your design 
ii.) the meaning/purpose of the design
iii) the design principles that are employed to create the design.

My Rationale:

  I decided to use a simpler yet effective way to show the myth of Eurydice and Orpheus, using more dynamic poses and elements to create more flow and rhythm, while being eye-catching with the contrast. Instead of showing them on either side of the painting, I made Orpheus hang from the top as if he is trying to catch a falling Eurydice, to have a falling movement show that Eurydice is getting dragged down into the Underworld. Orpheus' body is fully stretched, showing his desperation and need to reach Eurydice, while Eurydice is shown to try and reach up towards him. The hands are placed next to each other to show that they were very close in being together once again, but alas, failed at the end.

  I decided to use contrast to show the big separation between the Underworld and living world, as dark blue shows the dead world while the bright pale yellow shows a normal world of life. Orpheus is filled with the dark blue colour, with the contrasted line art emphasising on his body as a living one, as well as to represent the doubt and fear he has. Eurydice is filled with the bright pale yellow, signifying her as empty to show that she is dead, alongside the hands grabbing her to make her form seem incomplete. To indicate the Underworld, I made the living world part the cave entrance, adding vines to show it's a cave, and at the same time, acts like a blockage, preventing Orpheus from entering the Underworld once again. The bigger pale yellow hands used are to show Orpheus' desperation and uncertainty in trying to reach Eurydice, breaking through the vine blockages, but in the end, still not being able to reach her, while also adding more flow in the empty spaces of the Underworld. 

  The purpose of this design is to show the myth of Eurydice and Orpheus in a different way and style to the ones I have seen, and even though it is simple with two colours only, the composition and elements used are enough to tell the story with more emotions shown. I intended to show more emotions through adding the big hands (Orpheus' desperation and fear), adding a more dynamic body posture, the couple reaching towards each other, the smaller hands forcefully dragging Eurydice down, and the contrast that separates the two lovers. I named this design "When Doubt Comes In", inspired from the song "Doubt Comes In" from the musical Hadestown, which also inspired me to pick this design for this task. In this story version, Orpheus overwhelmed by doubt is the main cause of sending Eurydice back into the Underworld, which I see is fitting for the title. 

  I used several design principles I have learned to create this artwork. Emphasis is drawn to Orpheus, as he is filled with a dark colour contrasted against the light foreground, making him the focal point. The cave entrance serves as the foreground, making the figure stand out. The vines surrounding the figure uses radial symmetry to bring emphasis on the figure. Flowing from the top right, there is movement created to follow his body, towards the hands that are then outstretched to Eurydice, as it continues to flow from her outstretched hand towards her dress filled with hands of the shades. The shades' hands create a sort of movement, mostly facing up, as it shows as if they are pulling her down, portraying movement of her going down. The added lines of the linen clothes and flowy shape also adds to the movement in the artwork, while adding harmony as similar elements are placed close together (hands, vines, linen). 

  The repeated curvy hands show a sense of pattern and rhythm, as the mind would group the dark hands as a similar group of shades, while the bright hands are of a similar group belonging to Orpheus, while creating movement from the rhythm. The Gestalt theories I used are principle of continuation, closure, proximity, similarity, and figure/ground, using incomplete shapes and lines to allow the human brain to fill in the gaps while grouping similar elements together, such as the shades' hands creating empty gaps on Eurydice. I also used contrast of two complementary colours, dark blue and bright pale yellow, to emphasise on the two figures using figure/ground, while also to show separation of the different worlds and bodies. I added asymmetrical balance on the Underworld area, adding weight at the bottom to show the feeling of Eurydice being dragged down, by adding multiple hands on the Underworld foreground and on Eurydice figure. 




Feedback 

Week 6 - The sketch with its meaning behind it is good, but I should add more details to clarify what I want to show to the audience, as it is a bit messy and the artwork is flat. Add more details and shading to indicate a clearer image. 

Week 7 - My explanation for the design principles I used in the design is good, put them down as my rationale and reflection. The colour for the Underworld and living world is not really known, so I should indicate more clearly which side is which.


Reflection

Upon finishing my final design, I realised that it takes a lot of work and understanding of how to effectively use design principles to the fullest. Even though it is my first time creating a full artwork digitally, I managed to overcome obstacles and learned how to use the functions to my very best in the given time. Making my final design, I learned to plan on how to incorporate effective design principles that can carry the message or story I want to tell to the viewers. And along the journey, I discovered more about this story, on how I could tell it and how I interpret it, as realisations came to me, like using what kind of elements to show Orpheus' emotions, or how to create the movement of the shades. Even though sometimes I didn't know what to add and that it took a long while, I managed to finish this, and I am happy with the final outcome. This task pushed me to learn using a digital art software while helping me learn how to use design principles well.






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