This is my last update on my final project! It’s done now of course, but I figured I would post one more progress update from when I was still working on it. Like I said in my last update, I am making four illustrations based on major styles of animations that we learned about in class. Can you guess my last two styles?
If you can’t completely figure out these last two styles you’ll just have to wait for class today! I can’t wait to see everyone else’s finals, good luck on all your presentations!
So I thought I would share some some process on my Final Project. I’ll be doing four different illustrations based on different animation styles that we have learned about in class. They will also be self portraits. Can you guess the styles that these two were inspired by?
(For anyone that does read Chinese, the one character is wrong and has been edited in the final illustration.) And if you don’t recognize these styles, the first is inspired from UPA Rooty Toot Toot. The second is inspired from Puppets in Prince Achmed. Good luck with finals everyone!
So this week we talked about documentaries and how animation can be used for documentaries as well. It made me think of the film Surf’s Up. Have you all seen it? Here is a quick synopsis:
“Surfing means everything to teenage penguin Cody Maverick (Shia LaBeouf). Followed by a documentary film crew, he leaves his home in Antarctica for Pen Gu Island, site of the the Big Z Memorial Surf Off. Cody wants to be respected and admired, and he believes that winning the competition will bring him what he craves. However, an encounter with washed-up surfer Geek (Jeff Bridges) teaches Cody about what is truly important.”
As the synopsis states, the animated film is shot as if it were a real documentary. The process is actually pretty cool. Although Surf’s Up is anything but true (I mean, there are talking animals…) shooting the footage in this way makes it feel like a real documentary. Some footage is blurry with quick cuts. They show different takes with the clapboard and boom microphones can often be seen in the corners of the shots. It also allows us to see different sides of the characters. The audience is able to feel like they are really following along in Cody’s adventure, rather than just sitting in a theatre seeing a movie about a surfing penguin.
Here is a short clip to give you an idea of the style of animation and cinematography! Click HERE.
So in light of our guest speaker presentation today (which was awesome) I thought I would show you guys this book. I got it at Collector’s Plus which is such a cool place. If you haven’t been there yet I highly recommend it. I love ‘The Art of’ books because they allow the audience to see behind the scenes of major animated films. This one features Dreamwork’s The Croods. It was a really fun and visually pleasing film, which is evident in it’s concept art and look development. These are some of my favorite pages from the book. Hope you enjoy and can check out Collector’s Plus as well!
ANIM223 - HISTORY OF ANIMATION 