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.)

Jimmy Timmy Power Hour

One of my favourite childhood things was when Jimmy Neutron and Timmy Turner crossed over to each other's worlds. Since The Fairly Odd Parents has a 2D look and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius has a 3D look, this made the characters look very different from what the usual viewer is used to. I thought it it was pretty cool to see the two in the different universes. It was pretty cool for my mind as a child to see this kind of change in animation.

Timmy's Universe:

 

Jimmy's Universe:

Animation Favorites

So for my post this week I decided to share my favorite animated TV show and my favorite animated movie.

1) Fantastic Mr. Fox

I know that this movie was in my post from last week, but I am posting about it again because I really love this movie. This is Wes Anderson's only animated movie so far, and he absolutely nailed it! This movie is so aesthetically amazing, as well as having a stellar cast and a great story. The animation in this movie is so wonderful. Every thing whether is be a tree, an animal, the hunters, a house, anything has its own energy in the film. Also the use of color in this film is brilliant, everything is so vibrant and beautiful. I also love that it is stop motion.

2) The Legend of Korra

Nickelodeon had a show called Avatar the Last Airbender which was a show in which people in this fictional version of the world could control elements through a force called "bending" each person can only control one element except for the Avatar who could control all four elements, and existed to bring harmony to the world. After the first show ended, Nickelodeon decided to reboot it. Korra is the new avatar to the same world, but with a new set of problems. This show is awesome because the animation involves people controlling fire, water, earth and air, so each of these elements has a different vibe so they need to move differently. The animators did a great job of making each element act differently. Fire was a lot of bursts and short quick movements, water was very smooth and fluid, air was light with a lot spirals and quick movements, and earth was a lot of levitating solid forms and pushing or pulling. I highly recommend this show to everyone.

Good-guy Nickelodeon

Starting this year, Nickelodeon will be awarding an animator with the best animation chosen from a contest with a $25,000 scholarship.  Anyone 17-24 can submit a short starting in april with the contest opens and be eligible for the scholarship.  By partnering with Get Schooled, founded by Melinda and Bill Gates, and working with Viacom, Nickelodeon is able to fund this project and their goal of bringing fresh animators into the business and expose their work to the public.  More information about the contest and the scholarship can be found at www.getschooled.com.

Wallykazaam!

In honor of the one-year anniversary of my favorite current kids' show, I figured I would introduce you all to Wallykazam!

Wallykazam first aired on Nick Jr. last year as the first literacy-centered show on Nickelodeon. The network had themed shows around language with Dora and countless other educational programming, but this is the first centered around teaching kids to read. Not only does Wally teach kids to read, but it's also an adorable show, with great characters, and really interesting art. Wally and his pet dragon, Norville, go on all sorts of journeys around their magical land, and with regular appearances from series regulars like, Bobgoblin the Hobgoblin, the show is truly one of the best ones on TV for preschoolers.

This Friday, February 6th there will be a one hour Wallykazam! special on Nickelodeon at 12:00pm EST. In the lead-up to the special, Wally and his friends have taken over the Nick Jr. website and iOS app, so if you want to check out the show, this week is a prime opportunity.

Avatar

Last month, the famous Nickelodeon series, Avatar, just concluded the fourth and final chapter of the Legend of Korra. It's amazing to think that an animated series that began in early 2005 consistently entertained so many viewers over the span of ten years. What's even more amazing to realize is that while the characters have changed throughout the series, the style of animation has remained the same. In elementary school, I remember rushing home to catch the latest episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender; a fictional series, based on modern martial arts, that highlights a group of friends who can "use the force" to move the world's elements: water, fire, air, and earth.

The color pallet utilized throughout the series, accompanied by the varying camera shots and object motion tracking draw the viewer into the animated world. Even though each of these characters are fictional, the accuracy of detail in the faces, skin tones, and emotional storyline invite the viewer to befriend Aang and his friends on their journey to save the world (Even the animals resemble real-life animals!).

It's also interesting to note that each of the voice actors for the series physically act out their lines to better interpret the scene and provide strong vocal emphasis to increase the realism of the cartoon. Even the direction of vision for the actor is identical to the cartoon (below). And it's interesting to note that this animation doesn't even incorporate motion capture.

 Give it a watch; you'll enjoy it!

Flash Animation Overview Part 2: Symbols

So, we've gone over what Flash is, and what it's been used for. Now it's time for how it's used.
Flash can be used to make frame by frame animation, but what makes it so efficient is the ability to use symbols.

Titmouse Animation's "Superjail" is done in Flash

Symbols are similar to animating on cels. Cels, short for celluloids, are transparent overlays that are painted on, producing parts of animation. Cells allow for pieces of a character or scene to be animated, while other pieces are kept the same. They're like layers.

Symbols are like cels. They're vectors stored in Flash that when put together, form a character or object, or whatever you're animating. How the symbols fit and move together is called a rig.

Each individual piece of the rig is a symbol. Animating with symbols allows for jointed movement, which is much faster and streamlined than drawing the same bit over and over again. How well this works can depend on the skill of the animator, the rig itself, or even the design of the character and how it translates to being a flash puppet.

For example, the show El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera uses Flash well. All the characters are rigged well and are expressive.

However, more often than not, Flash is used more as a crutch as opposed to a tool. Canadian-American show Johnny Test has dull character designs that barely move much. Things are static and dull in the show, with the same animation popping up often.

Avatar: The Last Airbender Opening Sequence

Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko probably didn't go out to create one of the most critically acclaimed animations ever to grace the Nickelodeon station, but they did, and here we are.

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a feat of cultural references, storytelling, fantastic animation, drama, and comedy, all blended together in an easy-to-swallow package that will most like stick with generations of children and adults alike. The show appeals to its demographic (12 to 18 year olds) with the action-oriented fight scenes and the humor, but the story is thick enough to appeal to older viewers as well.

No matter what way you look at it, Avatar: The Last Airbender is a good show to spend your time watching. The quality of the animation is also top notch, and the opening animation from the very first episode definitely reflects that. Please note the animation style, reminiscent of eastern paintings, which the show draws a lot of its atmosphere from.