Assignment 1: Abstraction

Upon reading the assignment brief, I have decided to use a neighbourhood cat as the object of my abstraction process. This is because cats have a unique and specific form that makes them visually obvious for people to distinguish them from other animals. Due to the nature of the task, I wanted to ensure that when I apply the concept of abstraction, I begin with something and move away from it, yet remain connected to it at the end of the process (i.e. ensure that people can see a cat at the end of the process). 

The original image of the neighbourhood cat.

After taking a picture of the cat in my neighbourhood, I began to brainstorm and create the 5 stages of abstraction through Adobe Illustrator.

Stage 1

In the first stage, I traced over the source image as meticulously as possible using the curvature tool. This is to trace out the overall shape of the cat as well as the background objects such as the shadow, walls and the floor. 

Using the pen tool for tracing

Then, I played around with the details of the image. I included the reflection of light in the cat's eyes, the prominent whiskers, the uneven fur and the different shades that make out the tongue. Each detail utilises a different tool. For instance, I used the ellipse tool to create the reflection of light in the cat's eyes and the pen tool for the whiskers. I also applied the eyedropper tool to quickly get the colours used in the source image. This was especially useful to distinguish the specific shades that were supposed to be used for the tongue and the eye. 

Using the shape tool (ellipse) to create the reflection of light in the eyes

As seen from the image, I also played around with the opacity function to produce the shadow of the cat as well as to differentiate the sides of the wall in the background.

Playing with the opacity function to mimic the cat's shadow

However, after tracing the image, I realized that some parts of the illustration protrude from the artboard itself due to using the curvature tool on the tail (i.e. I did not use the pen tool to trace the edge of the artboard). Hence, I simply used the rectangular tool and the "make clipping mask" action to cut off any protruding illustrations. 

Using the clipping mask to get rid of unwanted objects in the artboard

Since I traced over all the details using the curvature and pen tool, stage 1 of the abstraction process was basically a direct recreation of the original image. 

Completed Stage 1

Stage 2

In the next stage, I got rid of the unnecessary details that were in stage 1, which visually simplifies the overall illustration. 

Completed Stage 2 after deletion of details

For instance, I deleted the walls as they did not play an important part in conveying the centrepiece of this project (i.e. the cat). I also deleted the different shades that make up the tongue and the lines of the floor. 

Stage 3

Then, I brainstormed to see what was needed to be deleted and what was needed to be kept in order to achieve abstraction. Thus, I decided to maintain the idea of the original form of the cat, but took things to a state of simplest expression, by only using black and white. All forms of shadings were removed.

Completed Stage 3 after deletion of details

This means that I deleted the details of the eyes, the tongue, and then the colours of the floor and the shadow as they were not significant in conceptualizing the idea of a cat. 

Stage 4

Stage 4 was simple. I removed all other elements except for the cat. This is to reduce the overall intricacy of the illustration as well as to only retain the main component of the abstraction  -- the cat. 

Completed Stage 4 

Stage 5

Stage 5 has the most drastic change as there is a shift in simplification and deliberate manipulation of the form of the cat. Firstly, I kept only the silhouette of the black cat by removing the eyes and whiskers. Then, I used a blend of techniques -- the shapes tool and the curvature tool -- to retain only the form of the cat without the rugged fur. 

Using the shape tool to form the silhouette of the cat

By adding larger loosely connected shapes, then adding smaller shapes as transitions between larger shapes and using the curvature tool to connect these shapes, I was able to come up with a more simplified abstraction of the cat that is still ultimately, a cat. 

Critique

During the tutorial, I received feedback that the colours could have been simplified from the beginning in stage 1 (due to the restricted use of colours in the assignment brief). Hence, I edited the colours in stage 1 to only contain 3 colours -- red, green and black. 

Final submission for all 5 stages.