Task 3: Sequential Art (Digital Triptych) – 30%

ILLUSTRATION & VISUAL NARRATIVE - Character Design

Assignment Duration: Week 

NAME: SITI NUR HASYIMAH ISMAIL

STUDENT ID: 0348369

PROGRAM: BACHELOR IN FASHION DESIGN TECHNOLOGY

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

 

1. Instructions 

2. Class Exercises & Individual Task

3. Reflection

Instructions

 

Based on the characters developed in Task 01 & 02, you are to create, illustrate and publish a 3 part narrative structure in an illustrated form.

Submission Requirements:

• 300-word story (Act I, II & III)
• Panel planning (Panel 1, 2 & 3) - Refer Week 07 Lecture
• Storyboard sketches for 3 panel artwork utilizing transition
• Illustration in A3 format featuring 3-panel artwork showcasing transitions (refer to Week 7 Lecture slides)
• Include use of texture of your choice within the illustrated narrative (comic)
• Include Title (using the Appearance Panel)
• Export to PNG: Final Artwork WITH title (you may include your name/signature somewhere that is not invasive of the composition)

Individual Task

1. 300-Word Story

Vesper, the Music Queen, sits slouched on her black throne exactly like always. One leg is thrown over the armrest so her studded spike heel sticks up in the air. The other heel dangles a few inches above the floor, sharp and dangerous. Her black crown is tilted, her long hair falls everywhere, and she looks completely bored. The giant hall is dead silent. She only thinks one word: “hmm…”

The huge doors suddenly bang open. A lord from the neighboring kingdom of Thornridge storms inside. His armor makes loud clanking noises with every step. He hates that a woman is in charge and has come to take her place. He raises his giant axe high and screams as loud as he can: “I WILL TAKE YOUR THRONE!!” The yell echoes around the room. All the guards freeze in fear.

Vesper never stands up. She never even sits up straight. She just reaches over, grabs her black guitar, and plays one slow, low note. The deep sound moves slowly through the air like a wave. The second the note hits the lord, his legs stop working. His axe slips from his hands and crashes to the floor. He falls hard to his knees right in front of the throne. His forehead ends up only an inch away from the sharp spike on her dangling heel. His voice is tiny and scared now. “My queen…” he whispers, shaking. Vesper looks down and gives the smallest smirk. She is still slouched exactly the same way as before. One single lazy note broke the loudest man in five kingdoms. From that day on, nobody ever tries to challenge her again. She rules everything without ever leaving her throne or even bothering to look interested. One note is always enough.

2. Panel Planning

Panel 1:

- Vesper lounges on her black throne, one leg crossed high, studded spike heel glinting menacingly, the other heel dangling lazily just above the floor

- Thought bubble: “hmm…”

- Expression/mood: Terminally bored, half-lidded eyes, faint trace of amusement

- Atmosphere: Dim blue-purple gothic hall, heavy shadows, eerie silence

Panel 2:

- Close-up on the raging lord storming forward, axe raised, face twisted in fury

- Speech bubble: “I WILL TAKE YOUR THRONE!!”

- SFX: None from him (just raw roar)

- In the background/foreground: Vesper casually plucks one slow, deep note on her black guitar

- Slow, heavy musical notes ripple outward from her guitar strings toward the lord

- Tiny text near her hand: *plays slow note*

- Mood: Explosive masculine rage vs ice-cold feminine indifference

Panel 3:

- Weak speech bubble: “my queen…”

- Tiny text next to him: *drops to his knees*

- Vesper still perfectly slouched, same position as Panel 1, now wearing a satisfied smirk

- Tiny text near her face: *smirks*

- The last slow music note from her guitar fades in the air above the broken lord

- Mood: Instant pathetic surrender, delicious humiliation, total dominance without effort

3. Story Board Sketch

4. Illustration Progress

My process started by illustrating each figure for each panel.

Next, I added detail to each figure—faces, clothing, hair, and accessories—concentrating on finalizing the character designs at this stage.

I decided to reuse the background from Task 2, as the characters follow the same theme. This approach saved me a lot of time. Once the background was assembled, the illustration was almost finished, requiring only the final touches of shadows, highlights, and dialogue bubbles.

 

To complete the illustration, I designed the comic’s title, which serves as the final detail in the composition.

5. Final Artwork

6. PDF File

Reflection

Doing this Vesper three-panel comic was a pretty long grind, but it turned out way better than I thought it would. At the start, I had the basic idea clear in my head—her just chilling on the throne, some loud warlord bursting in yelling about taking over, then one slow guitar note and he’s done—but getting it onto the page took forever. The first panel was the easiest; her lazy pose and the spiked heel came together quick once I got the throne angles right. The second panel was annoying though—I kept tweaking the guy’s angry face and the speech bubble placement because the composition felt off, and the musical notes exploding out didn’t look dynamic enough until like the fourth try. The third panel took the most time; I redrew the kneeling pose a bunch because I wanted that total defeat vibe without it looking too stiff in my style, and adding the little *smirks* caption made it finally click. The whole thing probably took a lot longer than it should have because I kept zooming in on tiny details like hair flow and shadow edges. In the end, I’m actually happy with it—the flow from cocky boredom to instant domination feels right, and the colors tie everything together. It wasn’t smooth sailing, but seeing the final strip makes me want to do more of these shorter Vesper stories.