A Plethora of Animation Styles!

Hey, do you guys remember Chalkzone? It was a rather obscure cart that aired on Nickelodeon in the mid 2000's. The thing that always interested me about this show was the shift in art styles when they left the natural work and when into the “Chalkzone”. Granted the main characters never changed they appearance but the world around them after they the charted go through the portal turned into this chalk drawn world.

Although this show has been on for a while and is for children yet again, The Amazing World of Gumboil is surprising with its animation style. Although I would assume the set style is that of the main character, each secondary character carries their own animation style with them, ranging from flat 2-D to 3-D and everything in between. The great thing about The Amazing World of Gumball is the way they incorporate as many different animation styles as they can and the result is somewhat disorienting as well as charming! (But again keep in mind this is a children's show so yeah be wary.)

Walking

https://vimeo.com/39479959

Here's a really cool cartoon from 1968 by Ryan Larkin.

An artist's observation of the way people walk. Ryan Larkin employs a variety of techniques--line drawing, color wash, etc.--to catch and reproduce the motion of people afoot. The springing gait of youth, the mincing step of the high-heeled female, the doddering amble of the elderly--all are registered with humor and individuality, to the accompaniment of special sound.

Cool Morphing Animation Short

I recently found this strange cartoon online and was impressed by how fluid its animation was, especially for such bizarre movements.  Definitely worth checking out.

Charlie the Unicorn

Charlie the Unicorn is an animated series that started back in 2005 and has since become an internet phenomenon. After a few years of inactivity they have announced that they are planning to make a half hour final episode.  The video above pitches the project and links people to their kickstarter. Below is a link to the series thus far.

Cuphead

I was recently reminded of the fact that this game is being released this year, as I had forgotten about it until now. Cuphead, announced back in the summer of 2014, is a "run and gun" style game being developed for the Xbox One and PC that looks like it ripped all of its art right out of a 1930's cartoon. The game puts the player in control of the character Cuphead, who, along with his friend Mugman (who can be controlled by another player for cooperative play), are forced to do the bidding of the Devil after losing to him in a bet. The developers of this game said that all of the art is hand-drawn, and it brings a very unique look to an otherwise familiar video game genre. Between the seamlessness of the drawing's animations and the overall wackiness of the art itself, it's hard to look at footage from Cuphead and not think that you might just be watching a cartoon instead of playing a game.

Color and Movement in MS "Ghost"

I was surfin the net like I'm one to do, when I came across a really rad animated music video. I usually don't like dubsteppy kinda stuff, but I found myself really liking this one!

First of all check out how bobby everything is! It's like the characters are actually dancing to the music. Also the skull guy, even though he don't have no mouth, is designed so well that you always know what he's thinking. Could you make this kind of stuff in After effects? I feel like the bobbing to the music thing is something I've seen us do before in class.

The only thing I really don't like about the music video are the colors of the main characters. Everything is colored really spookily, but the other main characters are these boring flat colors. It makes me more mad than when I strikeout in a softball game. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 

We are the Crystal Gems~

      While trying to keep a hold on my fleeting youth over the summer, I managed to fall in love with a cartoon called Steven Universe. Amazing, the representation in this show is goddamn incredible with gender and sexuality but I also want to cry at the aesthetic that it upholds. While the crewniverse (all of the people who work on the show) keeps the fans updated on tumblr with most of the process that it takes, all of the backgrounds and character sheets that are used are posted in high quality. I've personally found that they help as reference sheets for my own work and actually help a lot as colour palettes. Some are just plain cute, honestly.

      Their early designs were a lot more complex character-wise and it took a little tweaking on their part so they could animate the characters in a quicker fashion but they been noted to say that a lot of their actual focus goes much more into the story, music, and backgrounds specifically. The show tends to have a very overall relaxing quality and after looking at still frames of the show, I've found that it's really the backgrounds of the show that enthrall the viewer and suck them into this almost tangible world.
   
    The detail that is put into some of the backgrounds genuinely gives you more of a sense of the fuller environment and even though the backgrounds tend to be static, the motion of the surroundings can still be noticed, especially in the clouds, the ocean, and the beach scenes. I believe they actually put motion blur on those things, which is honestly very smart and an easy way to get away with minimal animation in the background, keeping the focus up front.

      Another thing that I very much love about SU is that there isn't much hidden in the process that they use to create the show. Aside from the simple behind the scenes that is usually given in a pathetic ratio to the actual show, SU gives more than they honestly should. But who's complaining. They post all of the creator, Rebecca Sugar's, demos for the songs (which, by the way, are adorable) and most of the storyboards including this little bit of the full version of the theme.

      Anyway, what I'm getting at is that you should definitely just watch the show for the weird storyline and the sweet gift that the damn thing is.  The style and the colours are definitely a constant inspiration for me art-wise and the efficiency that they've strived to gain is very admirable. I hope to be able to pump out as much as they have and in that amount of time as well; god knows that my time is spent procrastinating and watching Steven Universe so my extra time would need to be well spent.

"Steamboat Willie" (Walt Disney, 1928)

Steamboat Willie is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. Disney’s Steamboat Willie is a landmark in the history of animation. It was the first animated film with fully synchronized sound and it was the first cartoon to feature a fully post-produced soundtrack. Disney was able to combine technology with handcraftsmanship, naturalism with abstraction, which proved him to be a great artist over time. The audience’s appeal for Steamboat Willie was so strong, that two weeks after its premiere, it was re-released it at the largest theater in the world, New York’s Roxy.

I chose to post this short film because it is great to see the progress overtime and how much animation has improved and changed. I am sure most of you have seen this film already. Enjoy!

Stromae's New music video

I honestly have never heard of this artist before and in reality have never been to passionate about French rap but this video came up on my newsfeed and it is pretty amazing. I'm in love with the style and the message is loud and clear. I'm not too deep into the twitter-sphere but I feel like this applies to most social media platforms. People can get easily wrapped up into social media to the point where it's comical that that it's called "social" media when in reality it makes us more inclusive in the real world.

The story is very clear too the point where it doesn't even need the subtitles. Definitely worth checking out.

Roz Chast

She's a famous cartoonist, who has made a great career off of telling her personal stories and memories through cartoons. Her work shows, and she explains how there is no right way to draw or make a cartoon. I appreciated her artistry and found her story inspirational.

At Home with Roz Chast from NewYorker on Vimeo.

Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop is a Japanese anime series that started in 1997. It only ran for 26 episodes but in my opinion it is one of the best anime series I've every watched. It is a dark western style show which is very interesting because it combines two different cultures.

The animation in the show is pretty standard "anime show" animation. It reminds me of when I used to watch Naruto. The sale of the fight scenes are similar and also other motions within the show as well.

This series Is short and a good watch for anyone looking to get a little more into Anime. It is not on Netflix currently but if you do a little searching you can come across it.

Synergy

Disney and Marvel have had great success recently through their live action features. Guardians of the Galaxy took this summer by storm, and Marvel has treated that success as a launching point for other media based on the film. They've recently announced the creation of a Guardians of the Galaxy cartoon.

Now, this is nothing groundbreaking; superhero cartoons have been a staple for a long time. What is interesting, however, is how Marvel is using the show as a launching point for other media. They recently released a comic book of Guardians that has the same exact art style as the cartoon.

Additionally, they've used the same style for the Disney Infinity toys. This streamlining of look of the superheroes shows a strength in brand which I find to be very cool. 

Bob's Burgers

This week I chose to look at Bob's Burgers - a comedy on Fox.  The episodes are only 30 minutes, but the creators find ways to pack in comedic situations and hilarious banter from all of the characters.  The animation is more of a cartoonish style, reminding me of early South Park episodes.  I like how drawn the characters appear because it keeps the show light and funny.

I also think that the casting director did a good job getting voice actors for each character.  Two of the female roles (Linda and Tina) are actually voiced by men.  However, the voices match the character so much that viewers can't even tell that the characters are voiced by men.  I think each characters voice plays a key role in the success of an animation, and Bob's Burgers has an all-star cast.

Ooh Adventure Time

Today I'm going to talk to you about one of my very favorite television shows, "Adventure Time". For those of you who don't know, "Adventure Time" is a cartoon that airs on Cartoon Network and it was created by Pendelton Ward. It tells the tale of a boy and his magic dog living in a post apocalyptic world of Ooh along with mysterious and magical creatures. Although this show is geared for kids, it has a strong following for people outside of its target audience, including teenagers and adults (and me). The show's appeal is that it is simple, fun, and light-hearted, but below the surface there is a whole depth of meaning to the show. It is brightly colored giving the show a seemingly positive and worry-free world, but there is also very dark themes throughout the show. It also includes witty humor that definitely goes right over the heads of kids who watch the show.

What impresses me about "Adventure Time" is the execution of the episodes and the creativity behind each and every character and scene. Each quirk is unique to this show. One of the main characters, Jake, is a magical dog that can grow and stretch and transform into just about anything. There is also a floating cloud-like character, Lumpy Space Princess, who has more sass than anyone I have ever seen. The character detail is not overly complex, but the colors used in the show are truly breathtaking. The episodes are a labor of love and the process takes about 9 months to create just one episode (including storyboarding, writing, animating, coloring, voice-overs, etc.). It feels like so much more than a kids show to me and I definitely would recommend it to just about anyone.

Powerpuff Girls Reboot

Hi there!

Back in 1998 Cartoon Network debuted an interesting new show. The premise involved three, evil fighting, chemically created young girls. In every episode Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles would defend their town and deal with their own issues of growing up. The show lasted until 2005 and even transitioned in to a highly acclaimed feature movie.

The Powerpuff Girls were loved by many audiences and took risks that many other "children's" programming wouldn't dare to. Fighting gender stereotypes were at the backbone of every episode as the girls would constantly prove their worth and prevail against stronger, more traditionally masculine characters. The villains of the program fought gender stereotypes as well.  One of the recurring villains, HIM was essentially a cross-dressing devil who expressed himself in female clothes. The Rowdyruff Boys acted as a parallel, masculine version of The Powerpuff Girls who constantly ridiculed and belittled the heros, but always ending up powerless in comparison.

The artwork and animation of the show used pastel colors and flashy, short animation. At times the animation seemed almost choppy, but it always seemed to fit within the action packed, comic-like world The Powerpuff Girls lived in. The girls themselves looked young, and fresh. They sported their signature large, baby eyes that could change in a seconds notice if it was time to seek justice. Cartoon Network recently announced a reboot scheduled for the show. They plan to bring The Powerpuff Girls back to television in 2016. Along with this announcement the network also shared a shot of the new animation style for the girls. It features harder lines that add a realm of darkness to the girls persona. I personally am not a fan of this new style and feel like this art style fits in more with the world of the Cartoon Network show Samurai Jack, rather than the bubbly land of The Powerpuff Girls.

Below are the original artwork and new artwork. What do you think? Should they have just kept the original art style or is it a much needed upgrade?

Until next time,

Alex Cammy

...and then came MAN

Hey everyone - so I recently was working on a promotional video for Hempstravaganza, which will be happening next week on campus. I created an intro title sequence and dabbled a bit into using Flash to make a hemp plant "grow" out of the corner of the screen. As I was thinking about Flash, I was curious about the extent to which it could benefit animations when used together with other software, such as After Effects. I came across this humorous, but somewhat pessimistic video that was created using both Flash and AE. It shows an entertaining, yet sobering perspective on the effects humans have on the planet. The artist, Steve Cutts, is a freelance animator from the UK that has produced work for brands like Coca-Cola, Bacardi, Reebok and Kellogg's.

The Story of Stuff

The Story of Stuff is an environmental movement that educates people on the issues through animated shorts. The short movies are about things such as drinking bottled water vs tap or what happens to electronics after we throw them away. They range from about 8 minutes to 20 minutes and are entirely animated (with the exception of the narrator). Since these videos are a little long and the topic doesn't necessarily grab the audience's attention, I think the animation keeps you more focused and interested in what they are trying to say. They are overly simplistic, from the information to the animations, which is helpful for people because it presents the problem in a comprehensive way.

The animations were made using photoshop and flash but I think something similar could be made using after effects, but it might have a less cartoonish feel to it.

Freerange was the company that produces the films and in their case study, they show how they created the simple design and applied to everything related to the project. So the concept of The Story of Stuff is now recognizable by the sketch design and animation.

Children's Animation?

I found this video online that have some pretty cool cartoon-ish animations. The movie features some young French boys and an elaborate Nerf gun battle, complete with smoke and blood. According to one website, the kids made the video themselves (which would be completely amazing). However, that is not evident from the youtube page. Regardless of who is responsible for the graphics, I enjoyed the style of the graphics and would love to be able to incorporate something like that into my demo reel. I'm not sure if it's because it reminds me of movies from my childhood like Bedknobs and Broomsticks which incorporates humans and animation, but it's a style I find myself drawn to, and would like to see more videos using this style.

How To Do It

Welcome everyone!. The following project structure is intended to provide you with a methodology to be both specific and help you track the progress and meet your milestones. Since individual projects vary widely some points might not apply. However, you can use it as a roadmap to define/clarify your deliverables and go back to it frequently and methodically.

It has four distinct phases:

DISCOVERY

This phase helps you understand the big picture and the opportunity to achieve the main goals of your project; to take an idea from conception to completion in the most effective manner.

Brainstorming, sketch models, scenarios, analysis and feasibility assessments.

Define the requirements, scope, timeline, budget (your time and resources) and benchmarks for the project.

Requirements of Analysis:

• Prioritize and validate requirements based on quality(1) and strategic factors
• Determine success criteria and metrics
• Define a preliminary list of production requirements.

Synthesis:

• Produce a final document with the discovery result.
• Develop a high-level implementation plan. (storyboard)
• Present a timeline and a budget estimate.

DESIGN

During this phase, create the look and feel of the solution (style). Develop the story requirements, the creative components, the technical design and infrastructure that supports the project.

Creative Design:

• Storyline
• Script
• Storyboard
• Art Direction
• Audio Design
• Production Design

Technical Design:

• Software requirements
• Set/backgrounds/location/plates
• Lighting diagrams
• Special efx design
• Models, textures

PRE-PRODUCTION

Develop and integrate all the creative, technical and information components.

Creative Production:

• Story
• Character Design
• Prototypes
• Graphics, 3D video/audio production needs
• Technical integration

Technical Production:

• Green Screen
• Lighting
• 3D camera
• Sound
• System testing
• Problem resolution
  

DEPLOYMENT

Demonstrate the solution after all final specifications and testing results.

Live environment:

• Rendering
• Audience Test performance and feedback
• Implement promotion/communication strategies

Showtime!

That's all folks!

1-Quality: the true nature of things, the peculiar and essential character

All Illustrations custom made by Rich Powell