Final Major Project Day 3 Crits (Research week)

In my spare time, I had time to visit the exhibition 'Body Language' at the Saatchi Gallery. The Saatchi Gallery is one of my favourite Galleries however I was disappointed of my visit as I had hoped that a lot of what was exposed would link in with my work, however, I found that this was not the case.

Body language is essential as to how we understand other people. In animation body language is fundamental as an action, as is how we speak. Body language is how we communicate with others. Some kinds of body movements can also be a part of a certain culture, for example, a handshake or a bow. Every culture has it’s own body language and international understanding. Part of integration can also mean learning a whole new body language which you need to adapt to. Even though I didn't think this exhibition didn't link in with my work it was still a pleasure to see the different art that they had. I loved Makiko Kudo's work. I also found the use of 3D space in this exhibition quite interesting.

Fig 1 : Buring Red (2012) Makiko Kudo

Fig 2:  After a Typhoon (2011) Makiko Kudo 

I also went to visit the British Museum where I had a look at Egyptian Art as in especially the Protective figures which I found quite intriguing as they were represented as human animals which made me think of monsters and gave me design inspiration for different aliens/monsters. I also visited the Roman section where I had a look at the sculptures and Roman Armour. Some of the Roman armour was made out of crocodile skin which I thought would be an interesting texture to use as a possible alien skin. Crocodiles also mean danger and so it would help build up a dangerous character.

From my Crit I was told to look at the theme of integration from another angle as in possibly through the idea of exile and forced integration, ie look at a darker side of integration.

Final Major Project Week 1 Day 2 (Research Week)

I began the day with a visit to the library and try to find 'Dream Worlds' by Hans Bacher,  which I had been highly recommended to read. I also took out two other books which are on character design to help me build strong characters; 'Creative Character Design' by Bryan Tillman and 'Alive Character Design For Game, Animation and Film' by Haitao Su and Vincent Zhao.

 'Dream Worlds' by Hans Bacher  is a stunning book, which is full of concept Art for Disney Animation Productions; it is a marvel to look at. I have learnt a tremendous amount from this masterpiece. Bacher demonstrates different composition rules, with advice to markedly improve your animation. I am enthralled by the variety of art styles and find this book inspiring. Bacher’s work has highlighted to me the importance of composition.

His work really inspires me to be more careful with my compositions and try come up with original compositions for my animation. Looking at different point of views makes the story more interesting and a marvel to look at. You can also see the amount of work put into the animation and the time the producers took to choose and create the perfect composition for each scene.

Fig 1 : Free Birds poster (2013)

As an animation introduction to the theme of integration, I decided to watch a film called ''Free Birds'' which is about Turkeys. A Turkey goes back in time to stop thanksgiving. This theme links to integration through the fact that this turkey integrates into the human world and is treated like a king, however when he is accidentally sent to the past through a time machine he needs to integrate into the Turkey tribe in order to save them and stop the invention of thanksgiving. I loved this film I thought that the storyline was really original and the animation was really detailed. I especially enjoyed the scene where the Turkeys visit outer space. We can see from this film that they have a invented a whole new culture, which is something that I would like to work on for my Final animation piece.

I also looked at Tim Burton's concept art and I read his book ''Tim Burton'' by Tim Burton out of curiosity, as his character intrigues me. I am immensely inspired by his work. He creates completely original characters and monsters which I find fascinating. I wanted to find out where he gets his inspiration from. Throughout this book Tim Burton is interviewed about each of his films and his past as a concept artist for Walt Disney, which he hated. This book made me realise that he is an extremely psychological thinker and has a strong opinion about every artistic decision he makes. His work is inspiring and reminds me a little bit of German Expressionism which I also adore. I was also intrigued by how he explained what he was like as a child and how fame changed him.

Fig 2: Concept Art Metamorphosis- Tim Burton

Final Major Project Week 1 Day 1 (Research Week)

For the first day of the commencement of my FMP I focused around on the main theme for my project, which is integration. I wanted to choose a theme which was very personal to me in order to discover more about myself through in-depth research. For me, the theme of integration is part of my life and has become part of who I am today. From a very young age I have moved back and forth many times between England and France and so I have had to inhabit two different cultures whilst growing up.

The first step of research I made towards this project was to look at different forums and blogs for people’s point of view on bilingualism and how to integrate into a new country. I discovered that socially you need an open mind, and by adapting to another culture you need to lose some of your other culture in order to make room for this new one (http://www.nassauweekly.com/jai-deux-amours/ ).  I found this information interesting and use this for the final piece, for which I will create an animation. This research will be extremely important for my main character as I begin to shape both his characteristics and the story itself.

I then planned some interviews for people whom have had to integrate into a new country in the past to gather further points of view as an addition to my own personal experience with integration. I composed a list of various questions to ask each person, and I shall interview each person during the coming week.

I am really happy with how this interview turned out. Surprisingly, I can relate a great deal with Imogen's background and her experiences. This reinforced my initial thoughts that in order to integrate you have to keep an open mind about everything around you and the people that you meet in order to connect with them. This is a character trait which my main character in my animation will have to have.

I also began to gather up a lot of concept art from various artists in order to start shaping an idea in my head of the various types, styles and methods of animation that I could use. I already had an animation idea in my head that I really wanted to create which involved aliens and space. Most of the concept art which I have printed out will then help to shape an idea for my character designs.