Alma - Rodrigo Blaas

Alma from Anderson on Vimeo.

The video starts with a view of the city, slowly ease in/zooming in on the main character, dancing through the street and writing his name on the wall. As he turns around, he sees a doll which looks just like him, so he tries to investigate. The shop door opens and he is greeted by an array of dolls, with a doll on a tricycle trying to get out the shop door.  As Alma reaches for the look alike doll, he ends up turning into the doll and we see that every doll there was also a child, and the cycle continues, awaiting for the next victim.

The animation uses digital process, such as Maya and possibly Unity 3D (however this is used for game design), which gives the animation a young audience approach matched with the softened and big eyed design of the main character.
In this animation short, I like the use of the detail of the frost and the snow falling, matched with the texture in the characters clothing, aids the aesthetics of the short.
The use of reflection of the characters expression as he looks into the window display works well through how it shows the intrigue and curiosity of the character. The movement of the character runs smoothly and life like through the slump and casual body language of the boy. 

Fear of flying - Conor Finnegan

A live action animated short film by Conor Finnegan.

FEAR OF FLYING from conorfinnegan on Vimeo.

This animation short contains a beautiful model set and backgrounds matched with the process of a digital animation layered on top. The use of this animation fits well with the story, which portrays an owl who has a fear of flying, and matched with this model and digital approach, it somehow engages the viewer more.

The plot follows an owl named Dougal who goes out to buy and stock up on food for the upcoming winter and bumps into two other owls, Lucy and Dick, who are about to fly south for the winter.
As he is too scared to fly, he lies and tells them he'll meet them later, and after buying food he ventures home. During that night he is then robbed by a squirrel and all of his food has gone. Knowing that in order to survive he has to fly south, he attempts to fly and falls straight to the ground. He decides to try and walk south but as soon as it looks as if his luck has ran out, he finds an airport in which he boards a plane and heads south. After flying in the aeroplane he believes he has overcome his fear of flying and meets Lucy again in the south.

A glimpse into the MAKING OF "FEAR OF FLYING" from conorfinnegan on Vimeo.

It was interesting to see the making of the animation through how they moved the model and merged this process by layering the digital animation over the top. I also like the use of the pulley to move the model which is then replaced with the digital limbs. Adding both of these processes together worked well through how the tactile appearance of the set and model make the short aesthetically pleasing and the digital process being used for the kinetic movements of the characters. The use of the green screen in the background is genius through how it gives a sense of depth and the scene being in another animated world. 

Salesman Pete

Salesman Pete from Salesman Pete on Vimeo.

from the steakollective.net

http://steakollective.net

Salesman Pete is an animation created by the Steakollective group, who design short animations full of humour and aesthetically pleasing digital illustrative designs.
(See more of the animations, such as Meet Buck and Dog, on their vimeo.)

The story follows a salesman who is actually a secret agent and has a microprocessor implanted into his brain by some mad scientists, which gives him amazing strength and other qualities such as being able to cook. His steak sidekick joins him on his mission to retrieve this magic stone that can change anything into seafood, which has been stolen by some villains.

This animation holds gorgeous digital painted designs giving a unique style to the short, which makes me love it that much more with the added humour of the piece. The facial expressions of the characters makes the animation that much more fun and intriguing through how it completely portrays the emotion across to the audience without the aid of dialogue.

I would imagine that to be able to create this piece more than one digital animating program would have been used for certain parts of the short, for example mixing After Effects, Photoshop - Frame by Frame and Maya.

Walter Drop - designed by Steakollective

Back to the future redesigns - Steakollective

In the Steakollective group, there are different illustrative designs which are interesting to see as I can imagine each being animated into a short through the cartoony ink and colour of the characters. 

Undone - Stop Motion by Hayley Morris

The stop motion animation "Undone", portrays the affects of Alzheimer's through the use of the sea and string as it devours an old mans memories and identity. The model of the old man is made with such attention to detail and semi realism which makes the model seem slightly creepy through how the rest of his body is made from similar string to the one that is taking his memories.

- Summary of plot -
An old man at sea fishing at sea, catches a blossom tree, which fades along with what could be a memory.
nostalgia and loss. Catches another memory, which he tries to hold on to but the string takes it away. He keeps catching memories alas the string tears it away, leaving the man confused and sad.
eventually the string and sea engulfs him and he reverts back to being a child.
- End -

I feel that this video beautifully portrays the way Alzheimer's effects people through the use of string as it eats and drags away his memories and the sea, which is distant, desolate and vast. The added sound track aids the animation through how it makes the stop motion feel daunting through the distant obscured voices that seem to echo and unravel into the sound of the sea, making the scene quiet but not peaceful.
In this short, the sea makes the character shown isolated, with suggestions of fear, bewilderment and child like mannerisms as he approaches each memory with confusion.

The sound track includes what I can only describe as a high pitched kettle whistle, distant obscure voices, the sound of crumpled paper which gives me the interpretation of alienation, empty space, unravelling and makes me think of something slowly being chipped away.

Eddsworld - Hammer and Nail by Edd Gould

Eddsworld is a youtube channel which posts short animations about 3 main characters in a day of their life. The main characters, Edd, Matt and Tom, all have different personalities which aids the humour of the animations. Edd Gould makes his animations through the use of the program Adobe Flash and Photoshop, this can be seen through the digital illustrations and movements of the characters.

I love the animations of Eddworld, through the amazing short stories that are matched with great humour and simple illustrative style that attracts an older audience, 12 +. A younger audience would not be suitable through some scary images, for example the zombies in 'Zombeh Nation', and the character design. ( A younger audience needs a clear objective, cute drawn young aged character and repetition of the objective with bright and pastel colours). The use of the digital program used to create the animation works well in this short as the characters movements are smooth and change to the next action point easily with out any jagged movement.

In this particular episode Edd and Tom decide to build another floor for all of Matts collection of bits and pieces, and instead of hiring builders, they try to do it themselves. As they begin to build, their neighbours mock them with their extension they built last week. Matt is given the task to buy nails, but buys everything but nails... After the roof has been built and built again, Matt is able to move his stuff into the attic, however when he goes to sleep, he gets attacked by something in the darkness...To be continued in part 2!

In part 2 of the video, Edd and Tom go up to Matts room and discover that Matt has tided his room and Matt has been possessed. After an argument between Matt and the demon, the demon retreats back into the house, not letting anyone else back in. Desperate they ask the neighbours for help but get laughed at instead, then the demon knocks down the neighbours extension, which was actually a cardboard cut out. 

The trio go head first into the house and reason with the demon after a beating from the spirit. The demon realises that he is actually haunting the wrong house and haunts the neighbours instead. 

Youtube - Tumblr - Twitter

Carn

- Summary of plot -

A dark tale, which portrays a young boy lost in the woods, cold, tired and hungry, the boy collapses and is greeted by a wolf. The wolf gives him a chance to life, by killing the wolf, wear its fur and eat it's flesh to survive, in return he must look after the wolf's young. The boy accepts and devours the wolf.
It cuts to the boy's parents looking for him, however when they come across their son, all they see is a wolf and the mother shoots the boy dead.
- End -

Carn - Jeff Le Bars from Jeff Le Bars on Vimeo.

I adore this animation, the composition of the 3-D and pose to pose animation fits beautifully within this stylised illustrations which create a tense and chilling atmosphere.
The use of making the character become silhouetted as to emphasise the blood works well as it drags the focus of the audience in and captivates them, making you feel shocked that a scared little boy has turned into this other creature that wears the skin of the young wolf cubs mother.
The music that accompanies the boy as he finally meets his parents again gives a sense of forboding as the realisation of the parents not knowing that it is their son and not the wolf, gives a cringeworthy effect as you wait for the gun to be fired. I found it especially shocking that the mother did not hesitate, grabbed the gun and shot her gun. (Then again they did think they could see a wolf.)
I feel that this animation has a moral behind it, something among the lines of, 'Whos the real monster?' or 'you are what you eat' in the sense of the boy eating the wolf.

Jeff Le Bars Sketch for short

Jeff Le Bars - Carn design

Jeff Le Bars  -  Tumblr   -  Vimeo

Louise Bagnell

Louise Bagnell's graduate short, which she made in 2007, portrays a timid girl that doesn't have enough confidence to make friends and decides to go exploring, where she can be herself in her own world. She stumbles across a 'jack in a box' and angers a robot bee which flies out of the box. As she runs away from the bee, she accidentally bumps into another character, and they become friends, exploring together. 

This animated short would be suitable for a young audience through the use of the main characters design, the colouring used, the music and the plot of the story.
In my opinion, I believe that Bagnell uses traditional pose to pose animation through the sketchy design of the characters and the background illustrations. 

Marmalade by Louise Bagnell

 Blogspot     -    Tumblr     

Food - Jan Svankmajer 1992

Jan Svankmajers work is something to be inspired by through the composition of the animation, the plot and how smoothly the pixilation runs. I feel that the pixilation works well with these stories, as it would not be as funny and flow as well if the animation was made traditionally with cel animation, the use of people with in the animation makes the humour and the plot work.

Svankmajers work inspired me through how he used perspective and angles of his frames to his advantage to get the point of the action across to the audience.
The audience of this video would only be suitable for an older audience through the plot used and the more complicated storyline. For a younger audience, a simple story with bright colours is needed to attract the attention of the target market.

- Summary of plot -

This video shows 3 pixilation, animations that suit the theme of Breakfast, Lunch and Tea.

The first part of the video - Breakfast -

Shows a man walk into a room and sit down with another man, he sees that in order to get food, he has to follow a few instructions which is around the sleeping mans neck. The use of the humour merged with the animation well, especially with the model clay face as the man pulls out the other mans tongue to pay for the meal. I love how the plot forever continues through how the next person who comes to eats a meal becomes the next 'serving machine'.

The second part of the video - Lunch -

Two men sit down for a meal at a restaurant and try to get the attention of the waiter. One of the men decides that he can't wait any longer for food, and begins to eat the flowers on the table, in which the other man decides to follow in suit. In the end they begin to eat their clothes, the cutlery and the table, till the man decides to eat the other man.

The third part of the video - Tea -

It begins by showing a man adding different condiments to his food which we cant see yet however from the sounds of the condiments, it makes the audience feel as if the food is vile and disgusting.

It pans out to show him eating an arm, which I believe could have been his own arm, as his left arm is made of wood. It then shows other people eating other limbs, such as legs, boobs etc.

It had a funny approach to self cannibalism but also a suggestion of 'people will eat/try anything', I feel that this also relates to peoples self greed.

- End -

Alex Grigg - Phantom Limb - Late Night Work Club

Late Night Work Club presents GHOST STORIES from Late Night Work Club on Vimeo.

Griggs animation, Phantom Limb, starts at 18:40.

Griggs animation short portrays a woman who has lost her arm and her partner who feels guilty for the loss of her arm. In this short we follow the man as he tries to cope with his guilt, which ends up engulfing him and causing him to drink and see her arm wherever he goes.
He comes back late one evening and realises that he can be there for her and act as her other arm.
The music used in the animation adds to the feeling of loss and dread that both of the characters are coping with at the same time. Matched with these aspects, the form of the digital based animation absorbs a traditional feel to it through the line and solid fill of the illustrations.

The animation runs slowly and is visually stunning through the art portrayal and the plot of the short.
In my opinion, I believe that Grigg has used digital and pose to pose animation through the movement of the characters and colour used in the short. The pose to pose animation would have been used for the movement of the characters and the transport used, the digital side being the application of colour and putting every frame together.

(Griggs part is shown at the start for 10 seconds. Animators were given a set of colours to work with and animate imagery of their favourite show on Cartoon Network.)

Grigg also animated a 10 second short in a collaboration with other animators for the company Cartoon Network. The task was to create a 10 second short of your favourite cartoon on CN and only use a certain set of colours. 

A detailed close up of Griggs part of the video collaboration

In my opinion, Griggs has created this short through the use of a program such as flash and merged that with a part traditional animation of pose to pose. These both work well together as flow smoothly into another and create a different dimension or plane in which the character travels through for a sword.

Alex Grigg   -    Tumblr    -   Twitter

Lil' Red by Cale Atkinson

Lil' Red from cale atkinson on Vimeo.

Cale Atkinson creates his work through the use of digital media, in my opinion I would guess that Atkinson uses both pose to pose animation and flash/other digital animating aid, e.g Adobe Premiere. 

In this short, I can instantly tell that the animation is digitally produced through the use of rough and variation of line matched with the bright and colourful scenery of the video.

The music matches well with the animation through the use of the xylophone and the upbeat melody of the song. It seems to help portray the distance that the girl has travelled and the speed of the wolf.

The plot of the video runs with an edited and interpreted version of the Brothers Grimm, Little Red Riding Hood, which can be seen through the use of the wolf and girl wearing a red hood. 

Target audience would be acceptable for a young audience from age 10 but not suitable for any younger audiences through the lack of understanding with the plot and the imagery of the wolf.
The wolf is portrayed in a rough sketchy line quality with red backgrounds and speed lines, which adds to the dark atmosphere of the villain in the animation.
When watching the video, you automatically think that the wolf will catch up with Lil' Red and 'gobble' her up, however she beats him up instead and makes the wolf her 'slave', giving a happy ending to the story.

Take a look at his website and twitter....

Cale Atkinson - Twitter 

Pixilation - Luminaris

Whilst researching into Pixilation, I found an animation called "Luminaris" by Juan Pablo Zaramella.
I love the composition of the piece, through both the era that it is set and the rich colours which intwine with the plot of the animation.



 - Summary of Video -
The video follows a mans routine of going to work, making lightbulbs, and everyday he takes a few of the glass materials and adds it to a jar at home, which is nearly full. We see that the men make lightbulbs by chewing glass and the women give light to the bulbs by blinking at the object. We then see the man fired from his job for being caught stealing the bulbs and his plan for these bulbs are ruined. We then find out that his partner at work wants to help him and they create this hot air balloon light bulb which takes them away into the night.
- End -

 In my opinion, the video holds a stylised 1950's and steampunk appeal to the animation, through the cg set design and the modelling used. The 1950's feel emits from the character design and the over exaggerated expressions. The movement of the characters was quite fluid and partly jagged however it worked well with the surroundings and the overall animation. (I felt the happy atmosphere and the jagged movement of the animation went hand in hand and gave it an aged edge to it)  It gave me inspiration through the lack of dialog and the dependence of the body language via expressions and movement.

"Stay In My Memory" music animation by Katy Davis

Katy Davis creates her animation through merging a normal 2-D animation with amazing backgrounds of a pop up book. The animation itself ran smoothly and jagged in places, however the jaggedness of the movement of the book and the backgrounds made the video tactile and visually pleasing, as the rich colour scheme contrasted well with the main character animation.

With in the short animation, I particularly liked the outdoor background which contained a sepia and desaturated colour scheme with a few hints of vivid colour from the autumn tinted leaves of the trees. I felt this short scene worked well as it contained a vignette within the background and created a small form of a spot light which highlighted the character through the difference of animation used.

The animation was originally made for a music band 'Bim' and flows well with the lyrics through the character's journey of trying to find her loved one and cling onto the memory of him.
Katy Davis has also created animations for companies such as Samsung and E4, her work can be found on her website http://www.gobblynne.com/

Alice Madness Returns: cut scene animation

"Alice in Wonderland Madness Returns", a world depicted in a chaotic and violently twisted adapted tale of Lewis Carroll's Alice and Wonderland made into a game format for the PS3 and Xbox.
I loved this game through both the plot and the character design within the different worlds of Wonderland, however the cutscenes indicating the change from reality into wonderland are awe inspiring in a sense of composition and design.

The cut scenes in this game are animated with a paper cut out appeal with a beautiful dip pen, traditional illustrative style that fits the aged storyline as well as the victorian era in which it is set in.

The appeal of the animated shorts is not only the illustrative style but also the textures which are used with in the clothes and background that makes the media feel tactile. I also like this animation through how the characters movements are slightly jagged and not a smooth flow like a normal 2-D animated character, but follows the paper cut out appeal, as if the pivot points of the limbs are joined with drawing pins.

Even though the game is slightly gorey in parts, I would recommend it for the concept art of both the backgrounds and the characters with in the Wonderland world as it obtains a victorian style with an insane fantasy twist.

Flip book research

I researched more into the flip book animations as I was curious as to see what other artists and animators had created using this process. I found two examples of flip book animations, one which used photography and the other hand drawn with the use of a light box to aid drawing the same character again and again. 

Photography Flip book

- Summary of video -

Music video for the band winter gloves - let me drive, merges well with the lyrics and music of the band. was created by taking photography of the band and then printed out into a flip book format.

I thought that this flip book was quite clever through how the use of photography was of the band members alongside of the music that they had created for this music video. (The photographs have been coloured in as well which gives a illustrative style to the design).




Traditional drawn flip book

- Summary of video -

A flipbook animation by a youtuber etoilec1, in which depicts two anime characters from the programs Naruto and One Piece, fighting. This animation tears through 4 or 5 flipbooks, including colour with in the animation, which is dedication and painstakingly time consuming, not to mention the detail of the illustrations.

I felt that this animation worked well through how the character design ran smoothly and the illustrations fitted with the transition of the movement.

Sugimoto Kousuke

I recently discovered these animated music videos produced by youtuber Sugimoto Kousuke. Below are two examples of his animations which in my opinion are beautiful in both illustrative style and thought behind composition of the animation.

The first video tells of different scenarios which all lead into another via television and continue to loop until everything is literally destroyed. 

The story starts off with two people working in a video station, with different programs on each screen. The animation then shows us each program running into each other via tv or mobile screen until one of the working people at the video station falls asleep and crashes into the control desk which malfunctions along with the pace of the animation. The programs begin merging into one another, the main character being a burglar running away from the police.

I love the aspect of the different animation styles merging into another through the characters looping as the animation begins to increase in speed. I loved the transition of the sketchy detailed graphite animation to a cleaner and minimalistic animation of a news room.

With the fast paced animation, I found that music helped to emphasise certain parts of the video, such as the chef hitting the tv to get it working again, and the funny aspects of the video such as the wig from one of the characters which travels through the animation.

In my opinion I believe that the animation shows us how everything ends up connecting or crossing over at some point in reality or even questioning what is reality. It can also be interpreted, that each program is someones reality and someones tv show.

 

In this second video, the story is about one character throughout one day of his life, but the animation shows us what would happen if he changed the slightest thing, for example in the video, he misses the bus whereas if he had caught the bus, he would have been abducted by aliens.
I find this video quite funny and love how the illustrative style to the animation adopts a textured format and also uses some of the characters from the previous video.
In my opinion the idea behind the video, through showing different outcomes of the same day, works well as it makes the viewer interested and wanting to know what will happen next. I felt that the animation worked well through how the main plot was made clear through the change of colour per different outlook of the characters day.