Early stop motion is noted between artists in use and UK around 1905. The early King Kong 1933 was the forerunner of this advancement of blending film and animation.
There animations I remember watching at easter and xmas in the school holidays were The 7th voyage of Sinbad 1958 (a re-run I hasten to add!) and Jason and the Argonauts (1963)…. The use of 3D models to explore other places that with magical creatures was amazing.
Bill Fleming* quoted saying “the problem with technology is it can greatly simplify some tasks while greatly complicating others…. In 2D, the animator simply draws the body perfectly and doesn’t have to worry about the technology getting the way or falling short. Being a digital animator means also being a technical engineer and in many cases a programmer.” (Pg 8-9 Chat Animation and popular culture, (originated in Withrow, s, ibid 2003 p54)).
* He is recognized as a leading authority on Photorealistic 3-D graphics and creature/character creation and is the author of the 3-D Photorealism Toolkit published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Paul Driessen*, talks about his process one which I am much more familiar with the one of starting with words, ramblings on a page and then bullets points thought clouds and finally a few sketches. "My workings are rather rough and un-polished, but you see the scenes through this". This is Pauls example below:
Using personal memories, experiences and iconic imagery build a character with a backstory a believable character who has a sounds knowledge of who they are even if they are just a watering can?
A Paul Driessen storyboard example below:
* Paul Driessen has been consistently prolific in the world of animated shorts since the early seventies, and has subsequently produced over twenty-five films both in Canada and the Netherlands.
My drawings from my sketchbook taking an ordinary object and characterising it:
Research is a key component of building characterisation, Wells describes in his book the key elements for this process: technical planning - can the software facilitate what is required? Is the resource available and appropriate? Research is necessary as it informs the project both in relation to form and content.
With this in mind my 3D project is based on work of the emotional assertiveness characters I have created for a client. The characters portray actual emotions and are used to show how we can interact to have a win/win philosophy of communication and engagement with each other.
From this solid background, the research and work with the client, I feel I know how they will approach problems in stories and scenarios.
"When you have gone through this process it becomes obvious in your work that you have another level to add to the film process, they become real. And after all films animations are about suspending disbelief and taking the audience into another world"
Work here by Minoru Meada above and below. shows a real life scene and the creation of the animation backdrop allowing for authenticity.
Narrative drawing like that of artist...
Mario Minichiello a politically engaged illustrator makes the point about what it is to draw and deiniate the character of theme into being. He considers that the Grammar is the mark making, the syntax the composition, the meaning is the content and subject. Minichiellos work particularly of war torn environments reminds me of the painting of Stanley Spencer, his documenting of the World War One horses and the trenches, his painting had a skewed perspective much like Minchieollo.
The main thing I am interested in of these examples is their basis in reality, inspired by real life, is the limit of their scope perhaps?
I pose this question because if this is the case then that allows for the rise of metaverse, of other worlds.
Fantasy has always been in animation but the new realities we can create with mixed, virtual and augmented realities expands the animation world into a new sphere, the end of a chapter which allows new ways storytelling in a new universe.
So much to discover in each area of 3D design each giving me a different idea on creation and perception of a storytelling process.
Inspired by the writings of: Wells, P 2006, Fundamentals of Animation, AVA Publishing, London, GBR. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central.