Major Project 1 - Task 2 : Design Proposition

24/02/2025 - 11/03/2024 ( Week 4 - Week 5 )

Wang Yifan / 0368363

Information Design / Bachelor's of Design Honors In Creative Media 

Task 2 : Design Proposition

---

INTRODUCTION

---

Task 2 : Design Proposition

Week 4

In the fourth week, our group gave a presentation

Here is the feedback we got from two teachers:

Feedback Summary from Task 1

After completing Task 1 – Proposal Development, our supervisor provided detailed feedback on the areas we needed to improve:

 Character Design

• Redesign characters to better match their personalities and character descriptions.
• Ensure that the protagonist’s confidence and transformation are clearly reflected in his appearance.
• The firefighter mentor should have a strong, wise, and authoritative presence.
• Characters should have marketability, meaning they should be visually appealing enough to work for potential merchandising.

 Environment Design

• The architectural style of environments must align with real-world references.
• More detailed illustrations are needed, focusing on key locations such as:
  • Fire Station – Should reflect a functional and historically accurate design.
  • Townhouses – Need more detailed facades, window structures, and overall realism.
  • Urban Streets – Should feel immersive, including elements like fire escapes, storefronts, and street signs.

 Story & Storyboarding

• The story could be made more engaging by introducing an antagonist.
• Consider making fire itself a character, giving the protagonist something to “fight” against.
• The storyboard should clearly reflect emotions and character arcs throughout the animation.

For Task 2 - Design Proposal, I focused on refining the environment design. Based on feedback from my supervisor, I worked on improving the architectural details to ensure our design effectively supported the narrative of the animation.

Progress : 

I adjust perspective and architectural details to ensure better depth and readability.

Incorporate more references to improve historical accuracy. Based on research into the architectural style of Manhattan, New York, I create concept designs showing city streets, apartment buildings, and urban layout.

Fig1.1 Search for buildings that match the theme

Redesigned the fire station with historical and functional accuracy:

• The fire station was designed with historical accuracy, incorporating real-world elements from early 20th-century firehouses.
• Arched doorways, decorative windows, and a traditional bell tower reinforce its importance and heritage.
• The entrance has a large garage door, allowing fire trucks to be stored efficiently.
• The overall structure suggests stability, reliability, and strength, aligning with the themes of heroism and duty.

Fig1.2 Search for real fire buildings in Manhattan

After communicating with the team leader, I started painting with Procreate

Fig1.3 Fire building sketch

Refined the townhouse design:

• Researched Manhattan-style residential buildings, analyzing proportions, window placements, and exterior materials.
• Large bay windows, decorative iron fencing, and ornate rooftop details help establish a wealthy, upper-class neighborhood setting.
• The exterior design incorporates small greenery and window details, making the scene feel more alive and immersive.

Fig1.4 Search townhouses

I started painting by making sure the architectural elements matched their real-world locations and adding more details to make the townhouse look more realistic.

Fig1.5 Townhouse Sketch

Urban Street Scene design：

• The multi-story apartment with a fire escape is designed to reflect classic urban environments seen in cities like New York.
• External staircases, window placements, and storefronts create a realistic, functional street layout.
• The narrow sidewalks and street signs add to the realism of the scene.

Fig1.6 Search Urban Street Scene

I tweaked the composition and perspective, adding details like street lamps, window sills, and urban clutter to make the environment feel more dynamic.

Fig1.7 Urban Street Scene Sketch

Week 5

After talking with Mr. Kamal Bahrin, he was very satisfied with my environment design and asked me to help Shao Han complete the three-view drawing of the character and create a suitable character with the environment as the background to make the picture more harmonious.

Character Perspective & Drafting Process

After completing the environment design refinements, I shifted my focus to character perspective studies and drafting detailed turnarounds.

Before starting the sketches, I gathered references from multiple sources:

Firefighter Uniforms & Equipment:

• Studied real-world firefighter suits, focusing on straps, padding, and protective layers.
• Analyzed how fabric folds and armor plating interact with the body in different poses.

Character Anatomy & Poses:

• Researched standing postures to reflect personality and confidence levels.

Fig1.8 References

Facial Expressions & Age Progression:

• Collected references for age differences, particularly how wrinkles, muscle tone, and facial features evolve over time.

Fig1.9 References

Creating the Initial Sketches

• Started with basic shapes and proportions, ensuring consistency across all angles (front, side, back views).
• Focused on body posture and silhouette readability, refining linework to match the character’s personality.

Fig1.10 Drafting Process 1

Fig1.11 Drafting Process 2

Fig1.12 Drafting Process 3

Submission : 

Google Drive Link :https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1c19naeh3iTStzICZT4O_51jp7PKhixr3?usp=drive_link

---

FEEDBACK

Week 4 

Mr. Kamal mentioned that environment design should support the story more directly and include richer details. I was encouraged to make backgrounds feel more connected to the setting and mood. This made me go back and refine my sketches with better structure and storytelling in mind.

Week 5 

I was reminded to reference real-world architecture, especially since our setting is inspired by New York. This helped me improve the accuracy and realism in my environment designs, making them more suitable for use in storyboards and animatics.

---

REFLECTION

Experiences

In Task 2 – Design Proposition, I worked on refining environment designs and helping Shao Han with character turnarounds. This phase required more attention to detail, ensuring that both characters and environments were realistic, immersive, and aligned with the story’s themes.

For the environment design, I researched real-world architecture to improve locations like the fire station, townhouses, and urban streets. By incorporating historical and functional elements, I made these settings feel authentic and lived-in.

For character design, I focused on Miles’ transformation—illustrating him as both a young civilian and a professional firefighter, as well as designing his mentor. It was important to capture their personalities and growth through posture, clothing, and facial expressions.

Observations

• Character Design Poses and costumes help make Miles’ transformation from a young, uncertain civilian to a confident firefighter more believable.
• The mentor’s design needed to convey wisdom and experience, which I achieved through pose details and costumes.
• Environmental details enhance the storytelling, the structure of the fire station needed to look practical and historic, ensuring it was consistent with real-world designs.
• The design of the townhouses and city streets had to capture the local architectural style to make the scene feel more immersive and connected to the story.

Findings

• Strong visuals enhance storytelling - character design, poses and gestures should clearly communicate their role and growth in the story.
• Environment design is more than just background art - it should support world building and interact with characters and plot elements.
• Iteration is key - improving a design based on research and feedback can significantly increase its realism and narrative impact.