For this sound I had a number of ideas bumping around in my head and I was quite confident that I could produce some good drawings from this sound. Having said that, I did struggle to get started with this, which surprised me a little, but I feel that was because I had too many ideas and I was struggling to narrow them down.
Once I got my head clear I actually had a lot of fun with this sound. However, I do feel that I was limited somewhat due to my lack of resources at the time, as I'd have really liked to experiment with other materials such as acrylic and oil pastels, yet unfortunately I didn't have these materials at home (I know I should really invest in some).
However! I do feel that I managed to produce some really interesting visuals of this sound. I feel that these responses are the most abstract so far and I am really pleased that I have managed to break through that wall of thinking in sound waves. Because this sound was very electric and 'fuzzy', I wanted to create lines that were very rigid and bold. I feel that I have some really good responses and I'm actually looking forward to animating this one!
So the second sound was a LOT more difficult than the first sound to visualise as anything other than bubbles popping and a dripping tap and for a very long time that's all I could think of; bubbles and broken taps.
Not only was this sound more difficult for those reason above, but also because this sound was a lot more complex than the first sound I listened to. For a start there are at least 3 different sounds that change pitch and merge together within the first section of the sound, which made it extremely difficult to distinguish each separate sound as its own. Another reason it was so hard was because within all of the merged sounds there was a rhythm to the sound, as cycle, which I also had to try figure out in order to visualise this sound. Because I was struggling so much with this sound I decided to sit there and draw the sound as I listened to it very quickly into my sketchbook several times. This then gave me the idea to focus upon drawing one sound at a time that I heard whilst listening to the sound, this way I was able to separate the sounds and get a better understanding of how that sound was made up and the shapes and lines I could use to represent that sound visually.
This helped a lot to break the sound down and I was then able to move on and create some experimental drawings that combined all the sounds together once again.
In terms of line making and colour use I really wanted to create more creative pieces of work and I wanted to push myself out of thinking sequentially. I feel that thinking this way for this part of the project is making me limit myself and preventing me from exploring different ways of line making.
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I feel that I have successfully managed to create more abstract pieces for this sound and I am really pleased with my outcomes. In particular I really like the first two coloured drawings I created. I really like the colours and the shape of these two drawings and I feel that they explain my views of the sound well.
Bambi was also another childhood film that I really enjoyed watching over and over again but never really stopped to think about the effort put into the making of the film and appreciate the detail and the beauty of the environments within the film.
Again, this is another example of a very detailed environment, but what I love most about Bambi is the way that the atmosphere of the forest is captured through the art style and the colour palette used. I feel that the colours used, whilst possibly brighter than they would be in real life in some case, really help to transport you into that forest scene and really help to create that sense that you are really there. I also feel that the colours used within the scenes make it so you can almost 'smell' the flowers and the grass around the characters for yourself.
Another aspect of the environments in Bambi that I particularly like, is the way that they create such a strong atmosphere and really help to convey the mood of a particular scene or event within the film. Overall, Bambi has some great forest environments that make the film more believable because of the amount of detail that has been put into them. This has definitely encouraged me to think more about my own environments and consider how the small details within an environment can help to make it that much more effective.
The Land Before Timewas one of my favourite childhood film series, but I obviously had no appreciation for the effort that went into creating the environments within these films. However, now I do. Although these films are extremely old, I still feel that the backgrounds within them are incredibly detailed and very well drawn. They are extremely atmospheric and tell the mood of the story in a very clear fashion through the tones and colours used within them.
I really like this about the animation and I feel that it adds a lot to the actual story, as it creates a very strong atmosphere for the audience to engage with and it also helps the audience to relate to the characters mood. By drawing an audience in this way, I feel it makes the story more emotional, as it invokes emotional and personal responses to the colours used within certain scenes. For instance, the image above suggests sadness and loneliness, with the possibility of danger due to the red hue emerging from behind the rock.
It's not only the colours and detail I like about the environments within this film but also the depth that is created within each environment. Despite the fact that children are very unlikely to pay attention to the details in the background of films like this, the detail in the distance is still consistent to the detail in the foreground, which I feel helps to create this strong sense of depth and it makes it feel like the environments the characters are in are never ending.
Finally, the spacial awareness within these environments is also very well thought out and works very well in the telling of the story. Overall, I feel that this film has some great examples of very successful and imaginative environments that fit really well with the theme of the storyline and the characters. Not only that, but I feel that it gives an audience a great sense of the world that the characters live in and it's very easy to feel almost like you're there in those environments with the characters.
The Boxtrolls is a film that I thoroughly enjoy and which also has a beautiful range of environments that help to tell the story in a number of imaginative ways. The thing I love the most about the environments within this film is the range of colour and the combinations of colour that are used to help convey the mood of that particular scene or place or even the mood of the character or situation. The film uses dark grungy colours for the overcrowded, misshaped cobble streets of Cheesebridge, which helps to convey this idea of things hiding in the shadows and lurking around the corners and the fact that the colours are mostly dark other than the warmth that radiates from the soft yellows and oranges of the lights, it still feels welcoming to me, as it is a setting that I am familiar with in my own life.
Another thing I love about the environments within this film is the depth that they create and the way that you feel drawn into them and feel as though you can step into the environments that are laid out before you. The sets used within this film are so wonderfully made and I really love how they are used within the film. They create these wonderful 3 dimensional worlds that are used extremely well in helping to convey the overall story of the film.
I also really love the style of the environments and the way that they work extremely well with the characters. It's not only that I feel the environments work really well with the rest of the animation, but I feel that they are pieces of art work on their own that they tell their own individual story alongside the story of the characters.
Overall the environments used within The Boxtrolls are a really good example of effective environmental storytelling and there's a lot of things that I can take from this animation that will help me to crate better environments within my own animations.
For the first part of this brief we were told to create 5 drawings that visually represent the sounds we have chosen to analyse and animate. In order for me to find the most appropriate material to visualise my chosen sounds I have to conduct a lot of experimentation with a range of materials. At first I thought this would be the easy part of the task, as I enjoy experimenting with materials and I feel that I am in good need of some experimenting. However, I couldn't have been more wrong. It is actually really difficult to visualise sound and create shapes and lines that you feel accurately represent what you're listening to, but it's even more difficult to find the colours that match that sound too.
For my first sound it took me quite a while to get started and find the right shapes, lines and colours that I felt would represent the sound well, but I eventually decided to write down words that the sound made me think of such as, bold, colourful, sharp, etc. This really helped me to decide how my lines should look and it gave me an idea of what kinds of colours to experiment with too.
After creating a series of small experiments I'm still unsure about which style goes well with my chosen sound however I do prefer the coloured chalk pieces over the others, as I really like the texture and the vibrancy of the colours. Bold colours and contrast are things that I want to create to create a visual of this sound, but I do feel that the other drawings are lacking something and that the chalk drawings stand out a lot more than the others.
I will move on for now and see if I can think of anything else for this sound as I work on the others.
Alongside an observational sketchbook I have also been keeping a gerneral sketchbook in which I write down my ideas, conversations I've had with people, materials that I've been experimenting with and inspirations and artists work that I like. I feel that it's a good place to keep all of my jumbled thoughts in to come back to later.
Now that I have finished my Animation: Process and Production, I finally have some free time to focus on my own personal sketchbook. Unfortunately I haven't been able to focus on this part of the brief at all, which is something I need to work on when completing other briefs alongside this task.
I know I've only done TWO more since the last time (there's no excuse that makes this acceptable). I need to try and increase my sketch time and make time to just sit down and 'doodle' and jot down ideas that I have (and some of them are pretty awesome I have to admit, my brain is beautiful). I'll try to do more work guys. Sorry!
Today we were given a new brief in which we are to focus upon attempting to visualise sounds and represent them through images and eventually animations.
I'm really looking forward to this task, as it will give me a chance to experiment and explore a wide range of materials and it will also allow me to experiment with new materials. I also think that it is going to challenge me to step way out of my comfort zone. Not only that, but it's going to give me the chance to explore other animation techniques other than digital.
Throughout this brief I wanted to challenge myself to improve my drawing skills and more importantly, the time it takes me to create images of a good quality, as I feel that I take too long when drawing accurate images. I feel that I have managed to do this quite successfully within these past few weeks and I am pleased with the outcomes (okay some more than others).
Water colour
Biro
Coloured Pencil
Fine liner
Chalk
The first place I visited was Newmillerdam, as I was familiar with this place. I took a selection of media with me including water colours, coloured pencil, chalk, Biro and fine liner. I found it quite easy to draw in this area and I managed to find some good areas to draw from. Having this, I do feel that some of my drawings could be improved upon. In particular, I feel that my chalk and fine liner drawings could use a lot of improvement, as they were quite rushed and I know that I can do a lot better with these materials. Out of all the media I used whilst there I think that my Biro drawing is the strongest, as it contains a lot of tone and I feel that there is a good sense of depth within the image.
Biro on Envelope
Water colour and fine liner
Fine liner
Coloured pencil on Brown Paper
Fine liner
I then decided to go to The Wakefield Cathedral, as this was another area that was close. Again I took materials such as Biro, water colours, coloured pencil and fine liner. Also, before going to the location I decided to prep a couple of pages that were made of different types of paper. I wanted to see how the materials would work together and what textures this would create. Whilst I was here |I felt very uncomfortable, as there were a lot of people around and I couldn't find any places to set up that meant I could sit there for a while and it made me feel rushed. I feel that these 5 images are the weakest of the collection that I did and I feel that I would benefit greatly from practicing drawing buildings and also from drawing in more crowded public places. In addition to that I feel that I should also try and limit myself to a certain amount time for drawings in order to become quicker at drawing. Although I feel that these are my weakest images I feel that the coloured pencil is quite well done and I am pleased with the tones I managed to achieve with only two colours.
Biro and Tissue Paper
Water colour and Fine liner with Brown Paper
Fine Liner on Brown Paper
Fine Liner
Pencil
Finally, I visited Rivington Terraced Gardens. Here I continued to use the materials I had used before but I wanted to focus mainly on the most successful ones and see if I could develop them further by combing them and trying to create more detailed images. I found that this drawing session went a lot better than the one at The Cathedral and I felt a lot more confident and comfortable. I feel that this is my strongest collection out of the 3 and I feel that there is a slight improvement in my line work and my work with the fine liner. Having said this I don't feel that the fine liner on the brown paper worked very and I found that the water was just soaked up by the paper rather than dispersing the ink how I would have liked it to. Maybe Biro would be better on this material? (hmmm). My strongest piece has to be the water colour with fine liner and brown paper, as I feel that it has the most depth out of the 5.
Overall, I feel that I did well and produced some nice outcomes. Having said this, I feel that I need to work on drawing buildings and I also feel that I need to work on creating depth within my imges to make them appear less 2D.
Overall, I
have found this module to be very challenging yet satisfying, as I have learnt
a lot about animation and its processes following on from the previous project.
I feel that I have been challenged enough to help me improve on my skills and
to learn new ones in the process. I also think that this module has helped me
to improve greatly from the previous module and I also feel that this module
has helped me to continue to push myself out of my comfort zone.
Reflecting
upon the task I was giving for this module, I feel that I have managed to
successfully explore all aspects of the animation process and the production of
animation through the work that I have produced. I feel that the biggest strength
I have found throughout this module is my capability to deal with stress and
pressure, as I have been under a lot of pressure throughout this module due to
being behind schedule at some points throughout the task. Despite this, I have
managed to stay calm and finish the work to meet the deadline.
Another
thing that I feel I have developed over this project is my digital drawings.
They have improved greatly since the last project despite the fact that it has
only been a short period of time.
However, although
this module has pushed me beyond my limits and helped me to develop my
professional skills as an animator there are still things I need to improve on
that could help me to be more organised and to meet deadlines better with less
pressure and stress. I feel that the main problem I had within this module was
my time management. Although I have improved greatly on my time management from
the previous project, it still wasn’t enough to help relieve some of that
pressure that comes from working on a project. In order to improve on this I
should take into considerations inconveniences such as illness, which will put
me behind schedule and I should plan for such things in order to ensure I have
enough time to complete the work even if such things do occur.
Idea
generation is another thing that I could benefit from improving on. Throughout
this project I spent a lot of time trying to come up with an idea I could run
with, which put me behind from the beginning of the project, as I couldn’t find
an idea to run with or to begin experimenting with. I feel that Visual Language
could really help me here, as I have to produce quick responses to the tasks
given. However, I feel that I could also create a sketchbook with storyline
ideas that I create in my own free time that I could use to help kick start
idea generation in future projects.
Altogether,
this module has been a very big learning curve for me and I feel that it has
helped me to find key improvements I need to make in order to help myself as an
animator.
In 1985 animation began to move towards the Digital age with John Lasseter and Steve Jobs co-founding Pixar Studios in 1986. It was here that Luxo Jr. was created, which was the animation that showed the full potential of 3D animation and was ground breaking to the way animation was seen from then on.
Luxo Jr.
Although we are currently still in the Digital Age of animation, there have been many animations that have explored the many different potentials of animation ranging from digital to traditional. There have been many animations that have begun to explore combining detailed animations with complex and moving story lines such as, When the Winds Blows, which explores the difficult subject of nuclear war.
It's not just traditional animation that has developed throughout this period, but it is also stop motion animation with the recent production of films such as Coraline and Boxtrolls created by Laika Studios, in which modern technology is combined with traditional stop motion animation to create beautiful stories that are full of life and magic.
The Digital Age of animation has also seen animation being used for more artistic purposes rather than just commercial or entertainment purposes. And despite the fact that animation was seen to be a dwindling aspect of film and cinema the Digital Age has seen it rise to great heights once again and develop with the advances of technology.
As the Golden Age came to an end the Television age began to rise with cinemas wanting to run double bills and matinees to compete with TV. With TV becoming more popular by the minute, broadcasters were demanding large quantities of programming on low budgets, which proved to be extremely difficult within animation and demanded some changes to be made to previous methods.
This lead to animation studios recycling things such as walk cycles and reusing backgrounds, which slowly lead to the quality of animations decreasing dramatically and feature animations being replaced by much cheaper mass produced animations by companies such as Hanna-Barbera.
There were many short animations that were created in mass for TV use such as The Flintstones, a Hanna-Barbera production. programmes like this were extremely popular and were watched by many throughout it's production and would later be turned into live action film.
The Flintstones
During this period, due to time restrictions and budget limits animation found itself returning to a more experimental form and being used in combination with other methods such as live film for example, Ray Harryhausen's Jason and The Argonauts, is notably recognised for its use of stop motion creatures, in particular its skeleton characters. during this period other stop motion animations were created that had a very big impact on society and the animation world. For example, during this period Jiri Trnka created a masterpiece, The Hand, which demonstrated the repression of the Czech Republic in 1965.
Also throughout this period, the UK were creating more animations in the form of stop motion that were very successful and were popular among families and children throughout the TV age. During this period the production of Star Wars had also begun and sadly, Walt Disney died in 1966. Towards the end of the TV age people had also begun to experiment with digital animation for example, Roger Mainwood's Autobahn music video.
Towards the ed of the TV age digital animation was becoming something that was being explored more.
By 1928 animation had developed its own 'language' both technically and artistically and was on the rise commercially. The Golden Age of animation saw the birth of profitable animation, not only was animation seen as art, but it was also seen as a form of money making and had become extremely popular. With people such as the Fleischer Brothers, Reynaud and Starewicz, it was seen that animation could be used for entertainment purposes and that animation was more often than not funny to watch. This allowed Walt Disney charge ahead with a whole new vision for animation and the Golden Age began.
Steamboat Willie was Disney's first ever animation that was also the first animation to a fully post-produced soundtrack synched with the footage. Walt Disney had worked alongside Ub Iwerks to produce this short animation and it was extremely successful not just in terms of popularity, but it was also a huge step in animation and was seen a significant influence to future animation and it is seen as this today.
Steamboat Willie, 1928
From here animated cartoons began to flood in. Only one year later in 1929 Disney made another animation with synchronised sound. The Skeleton Dance from Disney's "Silly Symphonies" was developed to fit around composer Carl Stalling's work rather than the other way around. It is argued that this could have possibly been the first "music video" ever produced, as this animation was created to fit the music rather than the music being made for the animation.
The Skeleton Dance
Right up until the end of the Golden Age in 1957 animations were being created across the world in many different countries such as, Japan, Russia, Germany, New Zealand, Uk, China and Canada. Throughout this period there were many significantly influential animations made using many different techniques such as stop motion animation and Pixilation.
However, the most advanced form of traditional animation, that could be said to have had a huge impact on how animation was created aesthetically at the time, would be Disney's Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs created in 1937. This was the largest budget animation that Disney had made so far and it had 1000 different people working on it. Not only was it huge leap in terms of length and budget of the animation, but it also combined other animation techniques together such as rotoscoping with traditional animation. During the making of this animation, Disney also introduced complex layered parallax animation.
Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, 1937
Overall, the Golden Age of animation was an extremely important part of animation history and it has help to mould and sculpt the animation processes and techniques that we use today.
