ANIMATED SELF

So for my animated self project I did a few different doodles of ideas on scraps of paper, that I have since lost. But basically I had three different ideas, the first one was to use my original PPP presentation idea with minnie but have us walking through the woods and have it all magical with particles imposed on top and magical fairies. And the snapshot of me being about how I'm away with the fairies with minnie in the woods. However I thought about this and ruled it out because there's no way I'd be able to control Minnie and I'd need another person to help film and I thought to look clean and professional I need to do it really well and do a few attempts and to be honest I wanted something that was more easy to define.

So then I thought about me making a nest out of all the stuff I've used this year to help with my work, my needs, my paints, pens pencils, glue etc. And have that as an animation, And then instead of having me build the nest why not have me in the nest like a sparrow collecting shiny objects. Or or collecting skills. I deliberated. I thought oh no, ee by gum, I've got it why not have me being born as an animator in this nest of art material goodies. But I wanted to develop it so it'd be all colourful and like magnetic movement rhythmic and pulsing at the end like my ideas are coming out of me, kind of like a sky arts ident, (the only tv channel with amazeblaze idents), but less clean and professional and more eccentric and my personality.

In the end I was at a loss on how to do it, so I chose the default brush that most looked like spilt paint and went a bit mad on making them look more "spark" like. I also added flashes to make it seem more like a mad scientist at work. And then I ended it with the thought provoking Birth of an animator or a wizard bird? I think the sound of white noise really added to the manicness of the animation. And actually as I was making it I really hated what I was making but I think with the sound it's come together better than I expected. I'm really glad I added the stars to the spinning because I think it builds anticipation to the sparks.  I'm not saying it's good enough to be shown in an exhibition. But I think it's good snapshot of me at the this moment in time and how I feel about where I stand in the industry. 

Also just a note I chose a fiery egg and the orange yellow red to mimic that of the flower that's in the shot before it zooms in, and also I had my camera set to sunny settings, I think it expresses my emotion of actually even though I'm very harsh about my work and very negative of everything that's going on, I am actually in a much happier place than this time last year. And I'm really work hard to not rely on others to make me happy and I am officially over a month smoke free and I'm exercising and people this time last year who I aren't in touch with wouldn't believe it. I've worked really hard this year even if I have left a lot of projects till the last minute. I think for next year I'm most excited about the PPP module and developing industry connections because I know by christmas I'll have enough work to not be afraid to ask for feedback and send off for commentary and showreels etc. It's going well. 

Art and Disney Princesses

www.visualnews.com/2011/07/25/disney-princesses-in-accurate-period-costume/

Here's two really interesting articles I've come across both relating too disney princesses. The first is from an artist, Claire Hummel, who really interested in getting the historical facts right, especially when it comes to costumes. So she's created a series of works that show Disney Princess' in accurate costume. On the whole the characters are still recognisable but there's a lot more detail in the designs. I can perfectly understand why designs would be simplified from an animators point of view, more detail just means so much more work, when they are all taken from feature length films as well I'd simplify them.
http://clairehummel.com/

 http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1KSU0F/:F.4d5D_z:jjgqR+Vg/geekdraw.com/2014/04/gender-flipped-disney-ghibli-characters-sakimichan/

The second article is about gender flipped disney and studio Ghibli characters. I don't think they are quite as successful as the costumes. The artist Sakimi Chan is primarily a fan artist. I think what lets thee illustrations down is how anime inspired the male characters are and therefore they look quite girly. I do however really really like the firey blue woman who I think is a female Poseidon.

I looked at the artist's work and it is primarily anime, and really it's just not my cup of tea I think it's so hard to get your own personality into anime, as a style of character Ghibli owns it, to me you can't draw your own anime character and call it original. But that's fine because Chan's work is fan art, I just really liked the concept of role reversal, I think we have to challenge all the notions that are in the animation industry and rewrite the rules and create our own revolution of what animation is.

The Double Richard Ayoade

After watching Richard Ayoade's last film Submarine, I was not expecting anything like what was on screen. I was just shocked at how dark this was. It was such a thought provoking film because you kept doubting yourself as to whether or not this guy had Schizophrenia. I really enjoyed it. Cinematically this film was unbelievably beautiful, with its flawless lighting, that varied in amber orange/yellow and then stark contrasty ice blue. Along with the dodgy eighties graphics and 90's computers with the vintage costume pieces for all the characters. Everything in this film taken out of this film would be out of place in reality but it all meshed together to tell this story.

I personally find it really really hard to like Jesse Eisenberg as an actor, he just has something about his tone of voice and the way his head hangs slightly more forward than most peoples that is a little bit creepy, I think he makes a better bad guy in this film than he does good guy which is probably the only thing that lets it down for me. It reminded me a lot of Michael Cera in Youth in Revolt where his schizophrenic partner is him with a moustache. I think with this film I was expecting a little bit more comedy and light hearted atmosphere, but I still enjoyed it. I don't think I'd sit through it again though.

Cycle Cinema YSP

http://www.ysp.co.uk/

So I went to this event which was ace. Triplets of Belleville is a film I've seen before but it's by far one of my favourite animations, and I noticed bits that I'd never noticed before this time. It finally made sense why the dog barks at the trains and the dogs train dreams because the train went over his tail. I love it when that happens when you watch a film a second time. I also really loved the atmosphere at this event, the crowd felt like a little community that had come together, you got the background whirring of the bicycles which was kind of like an old projector it just added to the atmosphere and it was family friendly if the kids got bored you just shoved them on a bike. I think it really was a great event a huge success.

I also ran into my friends parents of a girl I went to school with and they were telling about this thing called picnic cinema, and they show films like Withnail and I at slaithwaite (uncle monty's cottage) and the blair witch project and things. So I thought I'd keep an eye out on that as well to see if anything good comes up because Cath was saying they showed the Nosferatu Dracula at Kirkstall Abbey and I bet that was really really atmospheric. The place I'd really really like to go to though, is to somerset house to watch a film. This year I'd go see the Royal Tenenbaums, as I'm on Wes Anderson Hype, last year I think it was the year they showed Ferris Bueller and the year before they showed the Apartment. Always such amazing film choices. And it just looks like an amazing setting. You may say it's not that expensive why don't you just go, you can't plan that far in advance when your on rotas and you don't get that much holiday and last year I was in South Africa. But one year I shall make it.

http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/film/film4-summer-screen-2014

http://picniccinema.co.uk/events-2/

MSMR

http://secondhandcaptures.msmrsounds.com/

MSMR are a band that for the promotion of there album, 'Second Hand Captures', they commisioned cinematographers to put together loops for each song for the music videos. I found them fascinating, almost hypnotic and quite bizarre because there looped sequences, they never perfectly in time to the song. Which I don't think I like. I just thought it was an interesting concept, and I think there a massive market out there for animation for music videos and it's way to get big hits and get your name out there fast by tagging onto the tail coats of a musician/band.  I think I'm indifferent to most of these but I think there's nice elements in each one. In particular, Luke Gilford directed the one with the ferris wheel and the girl swishing her hair. There's one shot where the light is caught in her hair and on the side of her face which is still imprinted in my brain even though it's been over a month since I started to write this blog post and there's another nice shot where the wheel is used as a halo stained glass type effect. I think it would of been more successful for him if every shot had been to this quality, but he's still done well for himself.

Plan for Presentation

So for my presentation, when I first got it I was like oh I so want to make a short film with Minnie (the puppy my family got for christmas), and then the more I thought about it the more difficult I figured this would be really difficult as I would have to convince Minnie to be still and do stuff to film and she's not very well trained. And I don't know how I could metaphorically make it rationalised. So therefore I went back tot the drawing board and I was talking to my friend at work about how I can't swim and I was using the analogy of how I was drowning in work with everything for the last deadline, so I thought that would be perfect for the presentation I could do watercolour background, have me jumping into the deep end, then drowning then swimming, I thought maybe having arm bands because I'm not a proper animator yet, but the swimming I've done is pretty amatuer anyways, I like to think in the presentation when I'm swimming I've got my feet on the floor and I'm walking and by third year I'll be swimming properly.

I thought really hard about it as well and I haven't included my drawings or storyboards and I think that would've made my presentation longer, but I'm going to pause it just after the bouncing sheep and mention that in passing. I've planned it out so I'll scan in my cue cards. It's currently at four minutes, but I know I can blabber on if I'm not careful and at the end I've prepared a bit to say so I didn't want to overwhelm and bore people because I've spoken to other people's in the group and everyones seems to be below five minutes.

Fruitvale Station

Winner of Sundance festival this ghetto blasting film is storming the film festivals this year. I actually watched this trailer and thought what the hell did I just watch. It left me feeling confused, yet after watching the film I'd been to see at the cinema, I was still thinking about it. So I googled the trailer and watched it again. I was trying to work out the plot of the film, and I had to google the plot and I don't get how they have made it into a feature length. Basically it's about the last day of the father figure who's trying to stop dealing. And he's murdered. But to win so many awards you must really like the characters to attached to them so a part of me really wants to see it just to see what the fuss is about but at the same time a part of me wants to be like predictable gang violence and not my thing.

I've been assessing why I like films so much recently. And I think they have become an obsession because they form an escape from real life and therefore I generally only watch films that I can succumb to and picture myself in that world and I think that's what makes them so successful to me. Because if I'd rather live in that film then it's a winner. To me this film doesn't strike me as one I'd rather be a part of. Or say with documentaries I like the ones that tell the tales of interesting people like Bill Cunningham's New York, or Bob Dylan's biopic through No Where Home.

Maleficent Is Coming...

I think I've said this before I'm not the biggest Disney movie fan, because they have so much singing. However I am quite excited for Maleficent, where Angelina Jolie plays the scary lady from Sleeping beauty, it does look very dark for a disney film. And I also really appreciate that they have got Lana Del Ray to sing some of the songs for them rather than using the cheesiest person they could find. So I think it's going to be really good.

I've also noticed that MAC cosmetics are making the most of the film and must have paid for the rights to use the name in the packaging of their latest Maleficent range, including the whitest face powder, the blackest eye make up and rouge-est lipstick. I would if Angelina Jolie got free samples. I bet she user nicer make up than Mac though. I always find it's a bit claggy, I prefer Nars or Dior or YSL.

The future is more film collaborations I want more. So greedy.

http://www.vogue.co.uk/beauty/2014/05/06/maleficent-make-up-collection-mac-angelina-jolie/gallery/1168208

http://youtu.be/8waJ7W3QcJc

Mark Facey, Concept Art/Character design

How Alice in Wonderland/Where the wild things are, are these characters! They are just so adorable I feel like they could be friends with my imaginary friends. I really like the soft like-ability of them through the warm colour palettes and rounded shapes. I think even the darker character you know they would follow the plotline of doing something wrong because of a justified reason, like never being loved, so shoplifting as a cry for attention and then they would see the error of their ways and fall in love with another dark creepy character. They are very other worldly with a hint of innocence behind their eyes, but also remain unique and original designs. They have the right amount of influence of other familiar pieces to make them like able without being copies.

Andreas Preis, Character Illustrations.

I found this artist's illustrations really soulful the warm colours in a mosaic fashion they are so unique. I think this is primarily down to the colour palettes and the line work. The line quality and texture remind me of noir film posters especially in the picture of the owl in a suit it looks very crime scene detective esque. I really like this quality I thought the stood out from many modern illustrators works.

Kaws aka Brian Donnelly

http://www.daily-art.com/kaws-cartoon-world/

KAWS graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration in 1996. KAWS briefly worked for Disney as a freelance animator painting backgrounds. He also contributed to the animated series 101 Dalmatians, Daria and Doug.

While growing up in Jersey City he started his artistic career with graffiti. Later, when he moved to New York City in the 90s, KAWS started subverting imagery on billboards, bus shelters and phone booth advertisements. These reworked advertisements were at first left alone, lasting for up to several months, but as KAWS’ popularity skyrocketed, the ads became increasingly sought after. In addition to New York, KAWS has done work in Paris, London, Berlin and Tokyo.

But only in the late 90s did KAWS begin to create the art which made him famous. He started to design and produce limited edition vinyl toys, an instant hit with the global art toy-collecting community. His work was a hit, especially in Japan, where this genre is well respected and widespread.

So all the information and picture are from the linked article above. When I first discovered Kaws, I only knew about the mouse, cross eyed, giant sculptures and it wasn't till I read this article that I discovered his history. I had no idea that he worked in animation, although I kind of suspected he dabbled in graffiti it kind of has that style to it. 

I think the reason he has managed to make his characters so successful is because of how much he understands the shapes of what's already out there. His characters mimic the silhouettes of Mickey Mouse. He's taken that feature and applied to his own work that makes it familiar and therefore will instantly be successful with the crowds. It's not ground breaking. It's not original. It feels like I've already before because of this reason. Therefore it's just okay. I think it's important to draw influences from your history and draw upon different areas of creativity but you can't take too much otherwise you can't put your name on it. That's what makes Hyungkoo Lee amazing because it barely looks like the original characters where as Kaw's work half looks like the original characters. 

 

Hyungkoo Lee, Homo Animatus

Hyungkoo Lee exhibition Homo Animatus involves that of creating the skeleton of popular animation characters and installing them into familiar poses. In my eyes it idolises these characters and makes a statement about them being archaic and having a presence in the history of society. I don't think that actually anything much deeper is to be read into it and it's just a bit of fun. What I like best is the way the artist has deconstructed the characters down to their skeletons and I think it's an important feature that he has been able to from there tv presence and I think that is why these characters are so strong.