How do illustrators amplify the meaning within a message

How do illustrators amplify the meaning within a message?

I am going to be comparing two interpretations on “Alice and wonderland” the movie version directed by Tim burton compared to the game “Alice” that was produced in 2000 by American McGee.

  Alice in wonderland is a 2010 adventure film based on the famous novel written in 1865. This is based on 19 year old Alice returning to the “underland” after being there when she was 5. The movie is based in a futuristic dream with all these unusual yet astonishing creatures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o-19MnWlUc

 The game “alice” is also based on the novel “alice’s adventures in wonderland “ and “through the looking-glass” only this game is a completely different interpretation, the game is set in a more old, cynical, scary and eerie scenery.  This version is based on a nightmare rather than the movie version where it is a dream. American McGee has managed to convey a darker and more sinister interpritation by using dark, ominous, gloomy colours, the characters are all evil creatures.

Story Development

Story Development -  Three Act Structure

Jean-Luc Godard - "Every movie needs to have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order"

The three act structure is based on 3 criterions

Criterion one – Protagonist – this is the person or thing that stands in for the viewer this can be subtle but there is nearly always one there. Movies normally begin with a basic story to give us an understanding of what is the “norm” in the movie is also introduces the protagonist to help us establish our views. The protagonist is the person who makes a choice that leads us to the main action a prime example of this would be in the movie Avatar…

Jake Sully (the protagonist) was a paraplegic Marine. After finding out that his brother who was involved in an experiment in another world called Pandora but got killed in a robbery. He decides to take his place. In exchange for surgery sully needed to fix his legs he agreed to help gather intel for the military unit.  

Criterion two – Equilibrium – this is where there is balance, this doesn’t always mean it is good but it’s the normal state for the subject, in the middle of the movie this tends to get disturbed and starts a sequence of events, the crisis. In the chosen film this is where jake sully takes on an "avatar" identity and goes through a series of events in order to become part of the Na'vi tribe to get the intel the military are wanting but the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora

The third criterion is that the 'outer story' is usually accompanied by an 'inner story' in which the protagonist changes or grows emotionally, phycological story. This is sometime formed in some sort of romance or change of view on there outlook on life. This is the case in the movie avatar when Jake starts to make a strong bond with the native tribe and starts to fall in love with the beautiful Neytiri.

In the end the actor comes to rest, balance is restored but in a different situation. Its about getting things back to a sense of order By the end of the film the characters come to rest in a new, different state of equilibrium, Avatar is a prime example of this, after the war Jake gets changed and welcomed into the na’vi tribe as one of them.

Story Development - Character Design:

There is always a lot of thought that goes into designing features of a character the four main aspects being Protagonist, Antagonist, Dialogue and Stereotype. The character I have chosen to analyse is Jake Sully the main character in the movie Avatar.

The three main important features when designing characters:

Appearance

Action

Interaction

This is Jack sully in the beginning. He is human and in a wheel chair after being in the royal marines, after agreeing to take his brothers place to become an avatar everyone doubts him due to his lack of training, all he could think about was getting his legs back.

You see jack character change drastically in the movie as he learns the na’vi way of life and is in with the action to helps save there world, he become this heroic character who chooses to take the life of an avatar.

Reflective Visual Journal.

Reflective Visual Journal.

Drawing:

RVJ is a visual reflective journal is a creative diary for the development of your thinking; it’s a place to store ideas and develop them. It’s a place to collect, organise, develop, refine, edit and evaluate visual material this can be through text, drawing and photographs. This is a vital tool to enable to engage with visual communication practice, reflect on your work helping you see what is a success or a failure.

Drawing plays a vital role when it comes to your RVJ. Drawing is a method to help gain insights and perhaps even to find inspiration. It is essential to engage a physical connection between hand, eye and the creative side of the brain. It arouses the mind, stimulates thinking that can make certain aspects of an idea visible which would normally be hidden for the naked eye.  Drawing is a different way of thinking than in words. Leonardo has developed these ideas by “thinking on the page” he invented things and created by drawing.

Leonardo De Vinci

You don’t have to be an amazing drawer to be able to express your ideas these are simply there to help start the ball rolling to express, communicate, explore and help with overall ideas and development . It also tends to develop into something totally different on your final outcome.

“I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else”

                                                                                    Pablo Picasso

Reflection

Reflection is another crucial function of the reflective visual journal as this helps others grasp exactly what you are trying to convey and why, This is one of the main procedures for the visual communicator as it shows the viewer how they got to there final outcome and why. It also illustrates all the other ideas that have been thought of. If we just drew what we see who’s to say it will be interpreted in the same way? If we just wrote our ideas how will other people able to know what we are trying to convey visually in the sense of composition, lighting, where the subject stands etc.

Arthur Getz

Arthur Getz (1913-1996), New Yorker cover idea sketchbook, 1948-58, Gift of Melvin R. Seiden in honor of William M. Griswold, 2007; MA 7159.38, © Estate of Arthur Getz.

Arthur Gets is a very renowned illustration artist and is also very passionate in fine art, He painted cityscapes and landscapes, drew political cartoons, wrote and illustrated children's books, and explored mediums and techniques such as etching, encaustic, and ink brush drawing. Like most artists Gets has hundreds of reflective visual journals expressing different idea’s along side a written brief explanation of what he is trying to achieve. As you can see drawings get taken and developed.