For the Narrative Project, we explored the question: How can I tell a visually structured story?
In this unit, we developed our storytelling skills by writing a short suspenseful story and then bringing it to life through visual art and audio production. Using Adobe Illustrator, we learned techniques such as the pen tool, live paint, and patterns to create illustrations that supported our narratives. In Pro Tools, we learned how to record and edit voiceovers to create polished audio that enhanced the storytelling experience.
One of the most valuable parts of this project was learning how to build a compelling character. Before creating our stories, we explored our characters’ personalities, motivations, and conflicts by thinking about what they wanted and what stood in their way. This process helped me understand how strong narratives are driven by character development and meaningful challenges.
I also enjoyed learning Adobe Illustrator because it gave me skills that I have continued to use in other projects. The techniques I learned helped me create designs beyond this assignment, including posters for Freestyle events and other graphic design projects. Overall, this project strengthened both my storytelling and design abilities while teaching me how visual and audio elements can work together to create a more engaging narrative.
The Visual Narrative project began in English class, where we studied a variety of short stories and learned the key elements of effective storytelling. As we read, we focused on identifying what the main character wanted, what obstacles stood in their way, and how conflict helped move the story forward. One example was The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, in which the main character, Gregor Samsa, suddenly transforms into an insect. Because Gregor had been the primary provider for his family, his transformation prevents him from working and creates financial hardship for those around him. Throughout the story, Gregor also faces emotional conflict as he becomes increasingly isolated and is treated as though he no longer belongs in his own family.
Analyzing stories like this helped me understand how conflict creates tension and keeps readers engaged. We also read other short stories and watched short animated films, which gave us inspiration and ideas as we began developing our own narratives.
My Flash Fiction
My flash fiction story, A Bitter Taste, was inspired by the idea that everyday habits can sometimes reveal deeper struggles. While reading stories and watching animations in English class, I learned that strong narratives often center around a character who wants something but faces obstacles that prevent them from achieving it. I used this concept when creating Maya, a young professional who desperately wants to fit in with her coworkers and maintain the image of having everything under control.
Throughout the story, Maya faces both external and internal conflicts. Externally, she struggles with rising living expenses and financial insecurity. Internally, she feels pressure to belong and fears admitting that she is having difficulties. Even though she dislikes coffee and cannot comfortably afford the daily expense, she continues buying expensive lattes because they have become a symbol of fitting in with her coworkers. This conflict creates tension as Maya’s financial situation worsens, eventually leading her to ask her mother for money while hiding the truth about her circumstances. Through Maya’s story, I wanted to explore themes of social pressure, appearances, and the sacrifices people sometimes make in order to feel accepted.
Final
A Bitter Taste
Maya never really liked coffee. It was bitter, burnt, and made her stomach ache. But when she moved to the city and started working at a marketing firm, everyone drank it. No matter the day, night, or afternoon, it was a staple. The clatter of the mugs and the hiss of the espresso machine filled the office every morning like a ritual she couldn’t escape. So she bought one too, every morning, a caramel oat milk latte, extra caramel; the caramel was to hide the coffee taste.
Every morning, she’d wait in line with the same crowd, Emma with her slick back, Daniel with his gold watch, all of them talking on the phone and tapping through emails. When the barista called her name, she smiled brightly.
But the lattes added up. Her rent was high, and her paychecks couldn’t keep up. She opened her banking app, and stared at an overdraft alert. She opened it at work, closed it, and the second she got home, tears started dripping down her face.
She convinced herself it was a shock, or even that it didn’t exist at all. But it was real, and she knew it was real, she knew this was coming. But she didn’t let that bother her, at least not outside the comfort of the four blank walls of her apartment on the west side. Later that night, she called her mom “Hey, Mom” and she started off softly. Her mother’s voice was warm. “My landlord raised the rent again, could you spot me just a few hundred?”. Maya lied. There was a pause, her mom gave her the money. Maya felt a weight lift off her chest, and yet it wasn’t replaced by another one by the actions she just committed. Maya exhaled a sigh of relief.
The next day, a meeting was called at the local coffee shop down the street. Everyone ordered their usuals.
Maya stood at the corner table, latte in hand, watching people swarm around her. She felt the familiar itch, the gnawing urge to belong. As the foam settled, she took a sip anyway.
Recording
We were assigned in Digital Media to voice record and edit our short story by adding music, sound effects , and fades. I did mine using Adobe Audition and Pro Tools.
INSERTED STORY BUT STORY HASNT BEEN UPLOADED TO
SOUNDCLOUD YET
Reflection
I told my story really well, I exaggerated the parts that needed to be , and made it clear that the dialogue was dialogue and not just narration from the tone of my voice. Also, the sfx all made sense , I used 6 of them like required and all of them were panned and volume controlled really well using automation. Im most proud of the sfxs I added, because they make the listener more engaged because I picked out really fitting sounds and edited them nicely and neatly. I most value, the fact that we can edit and cut out the mistakes of the audio production. I appreciate the fact that we can make our projects a lot nicer and neater in the software than if we were to just record.
Exquisite Corpse
One of my favorite parts of the Narrative unit was applying the skills I learned in Adobe Illustrator to create visual art projects. In addition to designing album art for my short story, I enjoyed creating the horizontal exquisite corpse and participating in the physical product creation project. The exquisite corpse activity was especially fun because each student created a section of a drawing without knowing what the others were drawing. When all of the sections were combined, the result was a unique and often surprising artwork that showcased creativity and collaboration.
The physical product creation project was another highlight of the unit. Using Adobe Illustrator, we designed artwork that could be applied to real products such as stickers, mugs, mousepads, clothing, wood lanterns, and other items. I enjoyed this project because it allowed me to create something tangible that I could take home and use. It also showed me how graphic design can be applied to real-world products and demonstrated the practical uses of the skills we were learning in class.
Beyond these projects, I also learned how to customize my website by creating section banner graphics in Adobe Illustrator and implementing them using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). This experience helped me understand how design and web development work together to create a more personalized and visually appealing website. Overall, these projects strengthened both my artistic and technical skills while giving me opportunities to be creative in different ways.
Short Story Album Cover
In Digital Media, we were assigned to create an album cover for our short story recording. In Design, the narrative creature I created had an intricately made background that featured a city. Since my story is set in a city. I was super proud of this background I made in illustrator, so I cropped it, put some text and used it for my short story cover.
Physical Illustrator Project
In Digital Media, we were assigned full creative freedom, to use our newly learned illustrator skills to create a design and print or carve the design onto anything. While most people did T shirts and mouspads, I decided to do something a bit more challenging. My “design” instead was a puzzle, and not just any puzzle. A 3d puzzle that a kid put together without glue. This was extremely challenging, because since I decided to use a lazer cutter to cut it out of wood, every measurement needed to be precise since it needed to fit together nicely. I decided to do a dinosaur since its a very childlike object, and I thought it would be interesting to have to make it stand up on its feet, and have all the bones fit together realistically.
Artist Statement
Using Illustrator for image creation was different from both Photoshop and traditional drawing. Illustrator uses vector shapes, which made it easier to create clean lines and precise pieces that could be resized without losing quality. Compared to Photoshop, which is more focused on editing images and working with pixels, Illustrator felt better suited for designing something that would eventually become a physical object. While drawing with pencil and paper feels more spontaneous, Illustrator gave me more control over the structure and accuracy of my design.
For this project, I created a 3D dinosaur puzzle that could be assembled by hand. I chose this project because I wanted to create something interactive rather than a piece of art that is only viewed on a screen or page. Dinosaurs have always represented imagination, exploration, and childhood curiosity to me, so they felt like the perfect subject for a puzzle. Designing the puzzle required me to think about how each piece would connect and support the overall structure, which added an engineering aspect to the artistic process.
What may not be obvious to viewers is how much planning went into making the puzzle functional. Every piece had to be carefully designed so it would fit together correctly while still maintaining the dinosaur’s recognizable shape. This project is important to me because it combines creativity with problem-solving and shows how illustration can extend beyond two dimensions. Overall, this Illustrator project helped me explore new ways of creating art and demonstrated how design can be both playful and interactive.
Reflection on Il vs Ps
Using Illustrator for image creation was different from both Photoshop and traditional drawing. Illustrator uses vector shapes, which made it easier to create clean lines and precise designs that could be resized without losing quality. Compared to Photoshop, which is more focused on editing images and working with pixels, Illustrator felt better suited for creating a design from scratch. While drawing by hand can feel more spontaneous, Illustrator gave me more control over the placement, proportions, and details of my artwork.
