The concept behind this one is a little bit more abstract than the other little sequences within the animation. Whereas the others show the Kittypillar interacting with each designated object or action, this one presents Kittypillar in a much more bizarre and whimsical light. In this sequence, we see the daisy in the centre of the screen sprout the face of a Kittypillar which twitches and wriggles as it appears. I thought that this would be quite a cute little variation on the ‘standard’ interpretations of each title. I am still particularly pleased with the boiling effects that I am using in each of the sequences, it gives the animation as a whole (when all watched together in full sequence) a very light-hearted and whimsical manner – a much more home-made appeal.
I will have the other minor colours in the Kittypillars face appear as and when each facial feature does. The Kittypillar will obviously be starting out yellow / orange, like the standard centre of many flowers that you would typically find in any garden. As for the daisy itself I think that I will be leaving the petals mostly white with a hint of colour at the tips, just to make it look a bit more visually appealing. If it still looks a bit out of place with a white background as well, there will be green or blue added to give the impression of grass or sky.
I may add additional sound effects to each appearance of each body part in another small test, but if it seems a bit too much in comparison to the other sequences then I will just leave things as they are – with a simple meow and a few purring effects here and there. Traditional ‘pop’ sound effects may seem suitable in this part of the animation but as previously stated, they may seem like a possible step too far and take away from the sequence as a completed piece. Without any sounds as this video presently is, I think it just seems to be missing something as a whole. This will be rectified shortly with further experimentation with editing.
After deciding to go for a more abstract / expressionistic style for my “Black Dog Days” animation, I was suggested several videos from which I could take aesthetic reference. I used to never be a fan of this odd traditional / almost minimalist type of scribbled design, but much more recently, I have come to appreciate it for it’s innate ability to portray emotion much better than hyper-realism ever could. It has strong resonance between innocence and profound feeling, because often, this style is used for heavily dramatic animations. It will admittedly be quite a difficult / intensive route to take on this project, but nevertheless, I think this style is utterly ideal for the emotional message I will be trying to portray. My piece will be predominant in black and white, with a small inclusion of colour spotting.
As promised, here are all of the subsequent black dog sketches done in the abstract style, which I attempted for the first time in this morning’s blog post. I have to say, it was a little bit hard to wrap my head around at first, but I managed to churn out some pretty half decent attempts at this style. Again, using reference photos as a basis, I created more black dog character silhouettes, each in different poses and with different demeanor.
I still think that my original sketch is by far my favorite. Nevertheless, I will endeavor to produce some more in order to create more portfolio work and concept art to contribute to this project. I would like to give the glow of the eyes a more ethereal effect, perhaps editing a soft glow on afterwards using Photoshop or other such editing programs will help me to achieve this. I want to have a healthy mix of traditional and digital, so here’s to future creations!
This morning I came into uni of my own accord, even though it is my day off. I know, super student No. 1 right here! Upon arriving in the New Media studio, Gareth, my tutor, asked what my plan of action for the day was, and I proceeded to crack on with doing some more abstract / surrealist doodles of the black dog which will be appearing in my Narrative Assignment for this semester. I have decided to have the overall aesthetic of the animation to be quite sketchy and traditional looking, as I think that it will encapsulate the emotions felt when suffering depression a bit better than having everything so figurative!
Through the use of some reference images found on Google, I sketched out the very basic preliminary shapes that I would if I were creating a complete representation. There are the standard: circles, geometric shapes, pieced together to make some semblance of a creature. Having these in place on the foundations of the image is key to keeping at least some consistency in its composition.
UNDERLYING FRAME
I decided against outlining every contour and shape on the dog, as I was sticking by making it less figurative. Instead, I just followed the outline silhouette of the dog, using sharp straight lines and jagged edges, to connote the daunting feeling / fear that comes with depression. The only details which I put in which are more defined are the teeth, because they just seem to add to the “scariness” of the image. The varied thickness in the lines add to the aesthetic quite nicely.
SILHOUETTE OUTLINE
After drawing that stage of the image, I pondered over whether I wanted to add any more slight details to the character. Firstly, I put the tongue in (which you can see in the image above). After that, looking back at the reference image at the top of this post, I opted for putting the eyes in. I left them blank and white just because it stands out much more, and with them looking quite piercing, they add a little bit more of that daunting factor which I want to come through with the finished character design in the future. I added the nose in the same fashion, because it gave the face a bit more of a sense of shape.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
As you can see, once I added a sense of the black matte colour of the dog, the eyes are immediately thrust into being more prominent. I like how the dog looks quite chunky, although I will try to recreate the image with much more distorted and exaggerated limbs – making them longer and thinner / extending the jaw and so on.
I’m going to do a few more images like this today just to see how it all pans out – I.e, using different dog breeds as a reference point. Although, I have to say, I like the shape which the doberman produces when I reference that. It is quite a sharp and angular dog anyway, and very slim, so the contours of its muscle structure look fantastic in silhouette. I can’t vouch for how successful the images will be with longer haired dog breeds, but we will all see when they have been produced. Off the top of my head, I can think of Alsatians / Belgian Malinois / Czech Wolf Dogs being a sound reference point, still maintaining nice curvature in its frame to look at.
For part of our second year at University, we will go through the process of researching, planning, and creating a Documentary / Non-Fiction animation piece. In order to achieve this goal, I will be researching various subjects and topics which could be useful towards choosing a final concept. This will require an adequate amount of time and dedication in order to make this piece a successful one. Whilst we aren’t required to fully complete an entire video, it is strongly advised that we get at least an adequate amount done. I am sincerely looking forward to starting this project properly, when the next semester rolls around.
At present, I am intending to do something animal based, or perhaps an interview piece. These ideas were inspired by animation television shows such as “Creature Comforts” (Aardman) and “The Ricky Gervais Show”.
The format in which creature comforts is made is utterly fantastic. I will do a follow up post which shows in depth research into the process by which the series is made, its creators, and its humble beginnings. I just love how the artists create the designs for the characters, purely through listening to the pre-recorded clips of the interviewees. I might make an attempt at something similar, purely for practice purposes with lip syncing.
Likewise, I will make a blog post with information and research about “The Ricky Gervais Show”, which came from humble internet beginnings, and has turned into a massively popular venture. This style of non-scripted opinion-based talk show is not only amusing to listen to, but also gives us an clever take on how people perceive different aspects of life and interact with each other. I am a big fan of the show – but personally don’t much care for the actor / comedian Ricky Gervais. As is the case with many people, I watch it for the commentary by Karl Pilkington.
I have been looking a little bit into propaganda animations from Communism, and Democracy, to the Disney films of World War II, which emphasised their point in a very biased manner. As well as the infamous “Der Fuehrer’s Face” (1942) cartoon, in which we see Donald Duck as a German Soldier, there are the much darker, heavier pieces which also portrayed Nazism. “Education for Death” (1943) was a Walt Disney produced film, which was based on a non-fiction book of the same name. Because it was under government contract, it was made to show a very biased, albeit offensive, depiction of the Germans. The film is rarely shown on public broadcast because of this, but is available for viewing on the “Walt Disney Treasures: On the Front Lines” DVD released in 2004.
I will do several animation tests which correspond with any ideas I come up with for a subject – most of which will most likely consist of pencil tests and animatics. Of course, there will be plenty of sketchbook notes and doodles which will come along with the research of the subjects and for the initial animations.
I’m looking forward to learning some new information whilst taking part in this assignment. At the suggestion of our tutors, we should look into a subject which we don’t know much about. Not only will we be expanding our knowledge, but we will also benefit from looking at new alternatives of research. We will most likely stay much more interested in a new subject, rather than regurgitating the same information over and over again. Getting bored is a definite inhibitor to the creative process, and we don’t want that now, do we?
A fascinating variation on informative non-fiction animation, is the style of the videos by “RSA Animate”. The format for these videos are a literal translation of the phrase “illustrating thr point”. They take recorded lectures by different figures in politics and education, and through the power of hand-drawn animation and “After Effects”, create videos which display the speakers point. Best of all, whilst keeping the interest of the viewer through stylised imagery, intelligible subjects are discussed, and something is therefore learned. My favorite video from this series, is probably “RSA Animate – Changing Education Paradigms”, because it has a mild humor to it, and touches upon important outlooks on children and how they thrive and fail within certain learning environments.
Recently, the French art school Gobelins has released a small series of videos on Youtube which touch upon subjects such as faith, corruption, slavery, illiteracy, life and death. They are all featured in the “Dessins Pour La Paix / Cartooning For Peace” series, which is available to watch on the official Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/gobelins. One from the series which particularly captured my interest, was “Our Father” (2012) because of the sinister undertone in contrast to its light-hearted visual style.
“Matches” (2012) is a cinematic portrayal of the feuding between Irish citizens in Belfast during the 1970s. One thing in particular about the animations produced by this School of Art, is that for the most part, proper dialogue is not used. This makes the animations universally understandable, and so can be enjoyed by people from a multitude of different countries.
“The Line” (2012) shows an abstract representation of the ongoing conflict between Unionists and Republicans. Depicting the two warring sides as bizarre creature-like beings is obviously a nod towards the almost animalistic nature of the violence which occured at the time in which it was most rampant.
One animation which I have come across recently, which really stood out and got me thinking, was “Is It Love?” (2011). This is an awareness film created by Royal College of Art graduate Em Cooper. It is created using a technique of using oil paint on glass. The film was commissioned by ADVA and Devon County Council (See the webpage here: http://www.devon.gov.uk/domestic_violence).
The testimonies heard in the film were real life accounts of violence suffered by local women. The strongly expressive paint strokes and stylised characters within the animation really bring home the awfulness of the subject that the film is about. Visual style is something I will have to take into account when I decide on a topic.
I will have a look at some more documentary animations which are available, and post any outstanding finds I come across on here in due course. Now, I am going to try and narrow down my options of what I will base my project on, and keep you all informed as I intend to go along.
AbbieSTABBY 