Graffit/Street Art

The earliest signs of 'graffiti' were found in some caves at Lascaux in France, almost 17,300 years old during the Paleolithic period, yet was not discovered until the 1940. The word 'graffiti' comes from the Italian word graffiato - literally meaning 'scratch' so to find these cave paintings which have be scratched on with animal bones using natural pigments, you could indeed call it the first signs of graffiti. Infact graffiti has been around for a long time, from ancient Rome right up to World War 2 and now into our modern day society.

Urban graffiti first came about during the 1970's in New York. Where as before graffiti used to be drawings or 'scratches' on a wall it had now developed into using spray cans. It evolved alongside the Hip Hop culture, making the language of the streets visible to everyone in society. There were many groups of people who lived and worked in New York who felt invisible, as if they had no say in anything, however with graffiti they could express themselves. They could announce their presence by saying 'we will not be ignored'. A vast majority of graffiti writers came from the run down and neglected sections of New York, they would spray on their homes and buildings to draw attention to the fact that they have been ignored. They would also spray onto transport to give a 'moving message' where people would be able to see what they had written, it would be able to reach all parts of the city.

Jean Michel Basquiat was an American artist who started off as a graffiti artist. He came up with this character 'SAMO' in which he would adopt as his working name in graffiti in order not to be discovered as it was illegal at the time. He started to use a copyright symbol after SAMO which was quite ironic as when something like graffiti is in a public place how can there be any copyright? After a few years however in 1979,  Basquiat decided to kill off his character by spray painting 'SAMO is dead' around places. Because of this influence on his life, Basquait then started to produce Neo-expressionist paintings such as his version of the 'Mona Lisa' where he incorporated a fake bank note within the painting to take a dig at art; how some well established painters would get paid millions for a single piece of work that really can people relate to?

Keith Haring started sketching chalk drawings onto black paper in 1981 and evolved this into painted plastic, metal and found objects. He was commissioned to produce many public works such as a mural in Melbourne and other works in Rio, Paris and Berlin. He created 'subway art' where it was purely just a black and white graphical design, however he would juxtapose his design with the adverts that would occupy the walls down in the subways. Haring opened up his own retail store called 'Pop Shop' where it sold t-shirts, toys, posters - all bearing his signature images. It was a major celebrity hang out, but it was also Haring's way of expressionism. This shop allowed his art to be accessible, it broke down the barriers of high and low art.

Over the years graffiti has become more accepting into our society, and today it is now classed as a true art form. Banksy made graffiti viewed in a way it wasn't before, in a different environment within art galleries. Another artist who produces graffiti is Rich Simmons, I have been following his work for some time now and to begin with he set up AITC* - Art is the Cure.

"When I set out to save myself, I didn’t think I would end up trying to save the world. I didn’t realise my own art based antidote would become a cure for thousands..."
His vision, to bring art as a form on therapy, using inspiration in its purest form to change lives. To help people from all ages and backgrounds to inspire and help express themselves through art whether they have any experience or not. He uses street art as a way to extended out to younger audiences, to try and help them realise that they are not alone. Art is the Cure has now developed into a more well known community and Rich Simmons himself has been progressing through his career, becoming a more established artist producing works for galleries and his own show.

Graffiti has started to be taken on by people who have originally been trained in art. It has shifted from street art to a well respected art form that people are incorporating into their pieces. Swoon, who began by studying painting is now a street artist, yet her work is different to the regular graffiti that once began. She is more interested in socially engaging projects and locates her graffiti in certain areas to make a bigger impact on society.

Recently there have been many advertisements shown on TV which have used graffiti as a way of promotion.





There is controversy here though however, that companies are ripping off the ideas of street artists as all of these have been computer generated. They don't explore the true art form of graffiti. In a way you could say it defeats the point. However I feel that even though people might see this as inaccurate, I find that the companies are doing this to try to appeal to a wider audience. They are trying to make their adverts more interesting, the longer you hold someones interest the more likely they are to remember and pay attention to the information shown.



The above video shows true graffiti taken to another level. 'An ambiguous animation painted on public walls.' Graffiti is no long static, if you choose to, it can become reality, you can give it life. By doing this it brings a whole new meaning and a different way in which you view graffiti. As someone who is really interested in animation graffiti never really had an appeal to me, however after seeing this I am quite intrigued by it. It makes you more aware of the types of art in society that is being used to make animations. It opens its field to a whole new audience.

Final Character Part 2

Here is my final character sheet I have been meaning to put up. On this sheet I decided to show some of my characters expressions, along with some different poses. During this module I had found it very hard to try and draw the same face several times, so I felt that if I tried to draw my character with different expressions it may help me to overcome this problem. When I look at the expressions I've drawn I think they have turned out better than I had expected, showing anger, happiness, sadness, stubbornness/stern look. I do realise however that these expressions do not completely have the same look at my final character e.g the face differs - the size and shape. This is something I really need to work on, achieving consistency in my drawings, yet I feel it shows that I am able to portray different emotions and that it also adds more to my character in the form of personality.

There are two other main things I wanted to show using this character sheet:
1. The cloak that my character wears
2. The function of her shoes

Her mother was a seamstress who would create necessary clothing and accessories for the rebel society in order to help them during their missions. The cloak was her mother's most famous piece, an ordinary piece of clothing on the outside, however within it you would be able to store everything you needed without being detected. The use of pockets on the inside of the cloak also made it easy and quick to obtain an item when needed, it also saved carrying around a bag full of items which would actually draw more attention to the person.

Even though both her parents were part of the rebel society as informants, they had side lying jobs to try and not be discovered. Her father was a shoemaker and would create basic shoes with a purpose. The shoes my character wears were specifically designed for her, blades can be hidden under the sole of the shoe and can be drawn out in dire situations. If she has no weapons on hand, she will always have a few blades hidden away secretly.

Perspective

Here I have produced a 1-point perspective of my characters environment. I originally drew it out on paper then scanned it in to add colour. I began using photoshop but I found that I couldn't achieve the right look that I wanted. In the end I downloaded Sketchbook Express to try out a different piece of software. I found it far more simple to use, though with the express version it was limited to the amount of tools and layers. When looking back at this, I find that my concept piece looks better. I found it hard to decide on colours and now I notice that the perspective is slightly off; the main thing being the table isn't along the same perspective line as the floor/walls.

I quite like the way I created the bookcase, I had the books blurry as this way they wouldn't stand out too much and draw attention away from the whole piece. I definitely need to improve the way I colour as it is not up the the standard I would like it to be. With my character I was able to colour it quite well, though I did use Illustrator first. I may have to go back to this technique with using Illustrator first to outline and add some colour and gradient; and use Photoshop to edit the final touches.

Elevation/Floorplan

Along with the concept drawing of our environment, I am also required to produce elevation drawings, floorplans and a perspective drawing using a 1 or 2 point perspective.

These here are the elevation drawings for my room. When drawing elevations and floorplans, everything has to be done to scale. My scale I worked out to be 1cm : 20cm, and below is a list of all the components to my room with their real size and their to scale size.

Even though all my measurements are precise and accurate, I made my life really difficult by just using plain paper and a ruler. If I had used graph paper I would have probably been able to produce these drawings in half the time it actually took me. So for my final environment sheet I think I will try and place each elevation and floor plan onto some graph paper in Photoshop. The main thing I do need to do is put on the actual measurements against the drawings, so I will do this very soon on the final one.

These final two drawings are my floorplans. The one of the left being the bottom level and the right one being the top level (The top level is only a ledge so that is why part of the ground floor is shown in the drawing). Again I need to put on measurements against the drawing and I think I also need to write on what each object is; as from this view it can be hard to distinguish the objects from one another.

Environment

For the final part of this module, we have to create an environment in which our character spends most of their time in. Whether it be a room they retire to or a space which they spend most of their time in. For my character I decided she would have a small space - possibly within a run down old house, down a street in Paris where she could go to and not be discovered. This place would hold all her necessary items and bits and pieces to help her in the rebel society's mission.

In this room, she will have a bookcase filled with a range of books where she can reference a number of subjects from combat to inventions and literature. There are only windows at the top part of the room as to make sure nobody can look through to see what is going on. By having a ledge around the top, my character is able to go up there and see what is going on out on the street and to see whether or not she is being watched. On the wall in which her desk is against she will have many pieces of paper which will hold details of all the important people who are part of the higher authority; and any other information people have given her or she has found out herself.

I took some images from the internet, pictures I took from museum visits and scanned in images from books to produce a moodboard. This collection of images is an idea of what colours and textures I am aiming to use when it comes to producing a rendered version of my room. I want the room to have an old/run down feel however the pieces of furniture that she does have in there to be in a pristine condition. I want the objects in the room to reflect upon what my character is like. Very well groomed, takes care of her appearance yet if it comes to it she will do what she has to to stay undetected. She has set up place in a rundown house in order to stay inconspicuous to people yet she takes pride in the things that she owns.

Social Networking

'Networking is useful when real, yet distracting when fake' 
 - Seth Godin

In our modern world, social networking has become the norm, not only for people to connect with friends and family but also for every institution to be involved within it. It's normal for companies to have Facebook - it helps to link people. Social networks link people and people make things happen.

The amount and range of social networking sites is never ending, now a days there's not just sites for keeping in touch with people, but there's sites dedicated for businesses for example.

Red Bubble
This is a place where people, art, design and writing all come together. It's a marketplace and a meeting place. It's a place where you can sell your work, yet not have to deal with all the manufacturing, shipping or customer service. This site does it all for you and you would get a small percentage for selling a piece of work.

Linked In
This is a platform for a business directory which offer skills, services and expertise in many different areas. You are able to put up your own work alongside a CV to promote yourself and people you know can recommend others to you if you require a specific skill from someone. This site goes by testimonials and recommendations - word of mouth/experience is far more valuable and reliable than just an ad in a paper or a phone directory.

Myspace
They started as the forerunner to Facebook, however they didn't achieve what they were set out to do. However they did find a niche for their site, and that was for musicians. Most musicians today will have a Myspace page where they will post up their tracks for people to sample, along with tour dates, a bio and photos.

I could spend all night talking about all the different types of social networking sites, but there are so many now, how do you keep up? I myself have Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, MSN, Skype and Youtube - some of which I never really use. The main ones I seem to use these days are Facebook (to keep in contact with friends and family), Twitter (recieve news and information) and Blogger (mainly to work alongside my degree).




The video above was shown in our lecture and I found that it really opened my eyes to how much social media has taken over not only our lives, but the whole entire world.
'We no longer search for news, the news finds us...' - I find this very true, in the last week I set up and RSS feed for the purpose of having relevant news come to me. A much easier and quicker way to obtain and read useful pieces of information.

We as a population have got to the point where social networking is such a huge part of some peoples life. I wonder sometimes, what if social media ceased to exist as we know it? Would we loose all forms of contact with people we know? Or would we not have the means to express ourselves anymore in the forms of blogs, social networking or sharing sites?

In relation to film, games and animation there are ways in which social media has expanded its audience by using the internet. Youtube for example can be a way of showing any sort of film or animation you have produced, people are able to give you feedback and you can get a wider range of opinion from across the world using just one site. Social games and MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) connects people from around the world using the media of games. Take World of Warcraft for example, In addition to just playing the game, the players have produced fan art and contributed in discussion forums where people are able to share their views with one another. It has become so popular that "As of January 22, 2008, World of Warcraft has more than 10 million subscribers worldwide, with more than 2 million subscribers in Europe, more than 2.5 million in North America, and about 5.5 million in Asia." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_of_Warcraft#cite_note-78

To me I find the whole social networking landscape pretty normal - I have grown up in an age where technology has always been progressing really fast which in turn as that 'grows up' so have I. Yes it is useful, whereas before you would have to send letters to people around the world, now with a click of a button you are able to talk to them face to face in real time. I am finding that blogging is becoming a big part of my life, everything I find on the internet, or read about in books/magazines that is interesting to me I end up producing a post about. In a way I have found that it is helping me to express my opinions about things, that I am now more inclined to share things I find with other people. With Twitter, there is so much useful information I am finding through people and organisations. 'Concept Art World' is a massive site which is a directory and blog for concept artists. There are so many artists here that I found it hard to filter through, however with Twitter, they post links to specific artists which makes things so much easier.

'Social Media isn't a fad, it's a fundamental shift in the way we communicate...'

Flipbook Animation

Having drawn out my animation sequence in my flipbook, I then scanned each page in and saved them individually. Using After Effects I imported one image and interpreted the footage to create my short animation.

This one is done using 12 fps (frames per second) however I feel that the movements seem a bit too fast. I slowed it down to 10 fps in the video below. It seems to work slightly better, however I feel that if I extended out the actions more (over more pages) then I might have been able to get it to work at 12 fps.

There are some issues I came across when drawing up this animation, the main one being was that to begin with I only had my character pulling down her hood. This was only about 13 pages so I needed to fill up the rest. It took me several attempts before I settled on the final thing where she moves her head and smiles. When I look back on it now I see that her head gets smaller and her features slightly change. This is something I will definitely need to work on, making sure that in every scene the character has the same look about them. I think the problem occurred when I came to moving her head,  I thought I would have been able to draw it from a slightly different angle; however looking at this,  I wasn't able to achieve this. I have since tried to draw it again but I have had no luck. I'm not sure what it is, maybe the proportions of the face or just the way I'm drawing her features. In the future I think I will redraw the same face many times from different angles to get in as much practice as possible.

The Pixar Touch

I have recently just finished reading the book: 'The Pixar Touch'. It's basically a chronicle of the history and evolution of Pixar Animation Studios and the key people who helped shape the company as we know it today. I bought this book as I have a huge love for Pixar and their films; I had previously been watching videos and any documentaries I could find about the company to find out more about how they came about. However when I came across this book I thought it would be quite interesting to read how someone else would portray them. Through reading this, it not only has opened my eyes to how much Pixar have grown over the years but also the conflicts and problems they occurred along the way. It has also given me a more in depth knowledge to how they started out with a basic technology and progressed it into something that we now take for granted.

The book itself is broken up into chapters, each concentrating on a certain part in the 'Pixar story', whether that be the ultimate beginnings, a specific person, company or film - each chapter is concise and very informative. The first chapter concentrates on a man called Ed Catmull, from a young age he looked up to Walt Disney as inspiration and drew many flip books which he hoped would be in preparation for a future career in cartoons. But as he grew up he realised that his drawing skills would not get him there, however computer animation might. The fact was that computers at that point in time could barely put out still images so this would have been a problem. In 1972 Catmull produced a short animation clip for a graduate course project (See the blog post below), it was amazing for its time and this clip would then be incorporated into the 1976 film 'Futureworld'.

From watching the video itself, you got to see how much work went into making the actual animation, however by reading you get more of an in depth look into the production it. The whole book itself, once it starts going in depth about the films Pixar begin to make, offer you an insight into how much work goes into making each film. Take 'Finding Nemo' for example, Andrew Stanton (director, screenwriter and producer) drafted a version of the story and presented the pitch to John Lasseter during the production of 'A Bug's Life', which was around 1996 - this was 8 years prior to 'Finding Nemo' to actually be released. Most Pixar films tend to take 4-5 years from start to finish, most of that time being spent on the story. Not only do they spend a long time editing the storyline of the film, but to give the artists, animators and engineers reference, they had a twenty-five gallon fish tank bought in filled with a range of saltwater fish. Some members of the team flew out to Hawaii to study the environment underwater, professionals in the field came in and gave talks to the production team; and even two members from the art department climbed into a dead gray whale to prepare for the scene where Marlin and Dory become trapped inside a whale.

The amount of effort and commitment the whole of Pixar put in is incredible. Each film that they bring out pushes the boundaries of computer animation further. Everything they have accomplished is an inspiration and having grown up watching their films I have become more and more engrossed into the animation side of things. The dream one day, would hopefully be to work for them as an animator, but at this moment in time they are my motivation to achieve the best I can. This now, world renowned, successful company started off as nothing, so if they managed to pursue and fight for what they wanted to do, why can't I?

Postmodernism

Postmodernism was a response to Modernism. Where Modernism was all about experimentation, innovation - new is better, individualism, seriousness, purity - in the way that it stops taking influences from other disciplines; postmodernism however was the opposite. The conditions in which it was characterised by were exhaustion, mixing sources, pessimism. It was also found to be a reaction to modernism's expressions to technology, new materials, communication and modern life.

The 1960's were the beginnings of postmodernism, however it wasn't until the 1970's until a man called Charles Jencks established it as a term. By the 1980's postmodernism was now a recognisable style and come the 1980's and 90's it was a dominant theoretical discourse. Today however it seems as if postmodernism is becoming tired and it is slowly simmering out of fashion.

According to Charles Jencks - The Language of Postmodernism Architecture (1977), on 15th July 1972 at 3:32pm, Modernism dies. This was the point where the demolition of Pruitt - Igoe development, St Louis took place. They had built something that they thought would 'save the world' but in reality it had failed to meet its purpose. Another example where modernism did not meet its standards was Park Hill Flats in Sheffield. It was built in the 1960's, a modernist work, however over the years it became run down and people did not want to live there anymore. The people living there would have rather the place be knocked down in order for them to be re-housed elsewhere; however the building itself had a grade 2 listing on it because it was classed as a prized modernist piece of work so it had to stay in its place. Modernism ignored human needs for principal, so where modernism failed, postmodernism stepped in. There was a proposed regeneration by Urban Splash to redesign the surrounding area to make it more of an attractable place to live.

During the postmodernism style, the 'high art/low art' divide began to crumble. Roy Litchenstein created a piece named 'This Must be the Place' (1965), however this was actually a copy from a comic book, by doing this Litchenstein took something that people wouldn't normally notice and make it of interest in the public eye; from then on comics became acceptable. Postmodernism was also seen as a parody, the opposite to seriousness, an example to this would be Andy Warhol's response to Jackson Pollock's work. 'Oxidation Painting' (1978) was created from copper metallic paint and urine on canvas, where you could say he was literally taking the 'piss' out of Pollock's work. 

Through all of this, it began to emerge that it was becoming a recyclable culture. Fredric Jameson pointed out that postmodernism held 'a new depthlessness' - a culture of 'retro' styles. For example previously when Van Gogh produced 'Peansant Shoes' it showed meaning, it told you certain things that people may not have noticed before, people are able to look at things in a different light now. Compare this to Warhol's 'Diamond Dust Shoes'  however and you see that it bares no meaning at all, you don't learn anything new from it, it holds depthlessness.

Even though postmodernism had flaws it did however make things become more accessible, you were able to sample elements from different styles and eras. It bought along freedom, new possibilities, multiculturalism, sexual diversity and women's rights.

In relation to my discipline, postmodernism contributed to many major films titles. 'Blade Runner' for example portrayed the postmodernism attitude to the city and the technology. The world was permanently dark, technology had failed to liberate the human race (this refers to the fact that modernism was all about 'new is best', that the world was developing and new technology would make it a better place.) Also as postmodernism bought about multiculturalism, there was a French comic illustrator called Moebius who was bought in by the American film company to design one of the last scenes for Blade Runner. He also designed the costumes for 'Tron'. There was now a cross over between cultures.

Postmodernist film tended to go against the normality of narrative and characterisation.  It would 'break down the 4th wall' where the character would interact with the audience. This not only appears in theatre and film, but also video games. The 4th wall in this instance could be the words telling you what to do - it brings you back to reality, you are conscious of what is going on and not in disbelief. In 'Metal Gear Solid' the characters make references to the gaming apparatus, specifically the controller which too makes you re-aware that you are playing the game. Another example of this would be the TV series 'Malcolm in the Middle' where Malcolm would pause a scene and directly talk to the viewer. Many films with a Postmodernist attribute to them will tend to quote other films within it. 'Blade Runner' for example quotes old detective movies, 'Once Upon a Time in the West' also does the same, it quotes directly from another film called 'High Noon'. Most things you come across today all have taken inspiration or attributes from other things. Nothing will be truly original, which you could say relates to the postmodernist way of producing films by having elements from other films incorporated into it. 

Final Character

So here she is - Cécile in a t-pose and turnaround 

To create this I firstly drew my character out by hand on paper and then scanned this in to trace over the image in Illustrator - using the techniques I learnt in the induction. I then filled in the areas of colour using 'live paint' and added a few gradients. I found it a hard to get the gradients exactly how I wanted them so I exported the image into Photoshop and edited it further on there. I used a few tools to achieve more highlights and texture on the dress. The main problem I had was drawing the shoes, especially on the front view. I found it really hard to make it look right and in proportion to the rest of the character so that is why I find the feet to look a bit stumpy. I think next time I will have to gather more references for this part of the body in order for me to achieve the right look and draw it more in proportion. As I have mentioned previously she has a shorter dress that what would have been the norm in the 17th century, so I have designed her with a cloak to cover herself with - this will also act as a place where she can store items and objects secretly within the pockets on the inside of the cloak. (I will put the final concept sheet up soon!). What I am fond of about this work is how I achieved the colours and tones, I find that they work really well and adds a slight texture to the dress itself.

Dan Root - Storyboard

This is part of a storyboard created by an artist called Dan Root. When you look at this you get a real sense of what is going on, what he is trying to portray using the characters. Looking at the first frame, by the weight distribution and the expressions on their faces you can see that the boulder is really heavy to move; it's so heavy that when it does move the smaller dinosaur falls forward and lays on the floor out of exhaustion. Even without the descriptive words, you would understand what is going on. A storyboard is a vital part in any film, game or animation it not only describes and plans the continuity, but it also enables the production teams to calculate how much it's going to cost and what equipment is required.

Storyboard

For this part of the brief we had to create a storyboard which we would then ultimately turn into a flipbook and then a short animation sequence. Below is the idea I had which I drew up and then placed the images into the storyboard template.

The idea is that my character starts off with her hood up and then gradually pulls it down and at the end cocks her head and smiles. Originally I was going to have her running and jumping, however I thought it would be far to complicated to achieve the movements in 20 pages. I instead played it safe by doing something I knew I could draw. I will definitely try to progress my drawing skills further throughout this course as I feel that they are a little under developed at the moment.

Alex Drummond

I like the whole style of this piece, the way that the room is almost circular, which brings together all the elements of the room and draws your eye around it. The room has been sectioned off which could suggest different types of books and items being in each part. By incorporating the character into this piece, you get to see the scale of the room compared to him. It is by any means significantly larger, with this scale you begin to wonder whether or not it is designed for this character or is it inhabited by a much taller person/creature. There are a collection of books that are contained on the shelves, however there looks to be cobwebs covering them. These small details add to the description and story of the piece, it suggests no-one has been here in a long time, however all the lights seem to be in working condition. I find that it's the little details which add up amongst the lighting and colour to create the overall atmosphere of the piece.

Photography Induction

Over 2 inductions, I learnt the basics of using a D-SLR camera: aperture, shutter speeds, ISO, white balance and focal points. I also was able to learn and use some of the lighting equipment that was available. Even though I had done digital photography on my previous course, I still learnt things which I didn't know like setting up lighting equipment and changing the white balance on the camera which would affect the light that would enter the camera when taking a photograph. Below are some of the images that I produced.

 Depth of Field - Shallow depth of field

Low aperture

 

Lighting - adjusting lights to create shadows

 Macro Lens - 

allows you to focus on minute details more so than just using the standard macro setting

 Lighting

Depth of Field - Shallow depth of field

Low aperture

Lighting - strong shadows created

I found that the most effective ones were the ones using light. With light it can create dramatic shadows and tones which can emphasize an image, however it can also add highlight subtly to create a softer more delicate image. I do like the use of shallow depth of field because of the sense of the depth of field (as the name states), not only this but you can get to concentrate on the part that is in focus more - you are not distracted by anything prominent in the background.

Jason Scheier

This is a concept art from 'Kung Fu Panda'. The immediate thought I get from this is confinement. Locked away behind a door with only a window, bed and some junk surrounding the character. I like the idea of having a small room - not necessarily for someone to be locked away within it, but to have everything close by, no need to walk into another room to get a book for example. This is another example of a perspective drawing, you can really see how long the room is compared to its width. This image is quite plain - the walls, floor, no real decoration yet even though this is the case, it all works together because of the use, being a room of confinement.

As my character will spend most of her time residing in her 'hideout' this is the place where she keeps all the information she gathers along her journey. She also has an extensive collection of books and a few key items hidden away. This place is more of a work place so there would be no need for decoration or extravagance, only the essentials. I was thinking about having a bed in her hideout, however to be more inconspicuous and not linger in one place too often, I thought it would be best if she had a separate place where she would live properly.

Pedro Nuñez

This piece is quite different to the work of Robh Ruppel as there is a lot more going on in this image, not only with the amount of items within the room but also with the fact that the characters are present. You can see that this room is quite organic in the way that wood has been used to construct the main structure, there is also part of a tree that is forcing its way through the place and intertwining itself, becoming one with the building. Because of this very little light is being let through so the main source is coming from the fire, it draws your eye to this point as it is the brightest part, yet it also adds a warmth to the image even though the mood seems quite dark and mysterious. A lot of detailing has been created which adds to the characters background. It looks like he may be a witch doctor of some sort with the amount of stuff he has collected and the types of things too. The look and feel of a room can give you a good idea of what the character may be like. I really like the style of the room as you notice things in it that you wouldn't necessarily see the first time you look at it. It also tells a story of its own of how it might have became the way it is.

My character likes to be quite organised so even though there is a lot of things to look at which will keep you interested, I don't think this idea is right for my character. I think her room will have to be more uniformed and look as smart as it can be for someone living in the 17th century who isn't rich.

Robh Ruppel

Two different concepts from the same artist, I like how when you compare them against each other, they contrast really well together. You have the collection of items in a small space against a simple and tidy large room. Even though the room may seem cluttered with many items, you get an idea of what the person who lives there might be like. They could be a person interested in collecting antiques, collecting things for a purpose or even just a hoarder. Though there is a lot of things that occupy this drawing, you are still able to see the detail on individual items. There is a direct light source which indicates there is an open door and from this it highlights certain areas, making them brighter and easier to see.

The second image is more refined with the drawing style and tones of the image. This one gives you perspective which shows you the depth of the room and the scale of the items that are contained within it. This gives me a good idea of how to portray my room when I come to draw it as I need to produce a perspective drawing amongst elevations and plans all drawn to scale. As my character lives in the 1600's the room itself will be quite simple in the way of decoration, so to compliment with this I think I will keep the objects in the room to a minimum. I like how levels have been incorporated into this as it makes the room more interesting than just having it all flat. They don't add a whole new floor to the room, instead it adds separate areas which help to break up the room yet keeping it all open plan.

40 Year Old 3D Computer Graphics (Pixar, 1972)

40 Year Old 3D Computer Graphics (Pixar, 1972) from Robby Ingebretsen on Vimeo.

The video above was the world's first 3D rendered movie, an animated version of Ed Catmull's hand. It was created in 1972 by Ed Catmull (founder of Pixar) and his colleagues. At the time it was created, it was ground breaking technology. Yet today we take it for granted as now it would be really easily to re-create this and in a much faster time too. But you have to understand how much time and effort would have gone into creating this. Catmull was pushing the boundaries of computer technology at the time, not knowing whether it would be accepted into society like 2D animation had been. As you watch this video you see how each individual polygon had to be drawn onto the mold of the hand, everything was so precise. You would have had to study the hand in detail to know which parts would move and which parts would stay in place.

3D animation has come so far now, yet still to this day people are finding solutions to new problems. It's said that with each new Pixar movie, the technical directors master a new technique. With 'A Bugs Life' the main problem that occurred here was the crowd scenes. John Lasseter wanted hundreds of ants in one scene, at the time the people working on the film said it was impossible to do this, however being persistent, Lasseter didn't give up and the end result was them finding a solution to that problem. No matter how far technology will advance, you will always have to look back and see where it all began. Until then you won't know how much effort and progression has taken place for it to be at the stage it is in, in our modern day.

Fable 2 Concept Art

Having previously played Fable 2 I decided to look at the concept art behind it as when I played the game I was really intrigued with the style and composition of the game-play.

Unlike 'Deus Ex' this game is seems to be in the same era as the style of clothes. The clothes however have been altered in certain ways to make them more than just a copy from historical costumes and in order to fit in with the style of the game. There are a range of characters which appear throughout the game and the clothes that they wear tend to define what social class they are part of. The slightest alteration of the clothing can say something completely difference about the character. For example the cut away skirts could show the characters to be of a lower class, as people who are higher up in society would tend to cover up and show their standards. Colours also play a big part, as the bottom image is quite dull and lacks expression it could suggest that the family are not happy with the way that they are or the way that they are living. The image above the characters have been given red and purple clothing - this tends to be more of a 'regal' colour which could suggest that they would like to think of themselves in that high position in society.

My character has a shorter dress than what would have been normal during the 1600's, I did this as I wanted her to appeal to more modern day culture, so to get around her sticking out too much in her society I gave her a cloak in which she could wear when needed. Even though her dress is shorter, her appearance isn't as rough looking as the characters below. She has more of an upper class standard about her and likes to keep herself looking nice. Her clothing is made up of purples and reds, not because she is of a high class but more of the fact that by dressing like she is from that class, the soldiers are less likely to think of her as a threat and question what she does.

Sketchtravel - Animated Short Film

Sketchtravel - Animated Short Film

The animated short film above promotes a book that was given to 71 illustrators, animators and comic book artists. It was passed from one artist to another, traveling across 12 countries over 4 and a half years. Some well known artists who contributed to the book were: Hayao Miyazaki, Glen Keane and Quentin Blake. Each artist had one page to fill and each page inspired the next. The whole book is a collective style of many different pieces of work. This book will be auctioned off and the proceeds from the auction and royalties from the book's publication will be donated to the international literacy non-profit, Room to Read.

When I first saw this short, I had not read into the story behind it, yet without reading it I found myself becoming really engaged within the storyline. I wondered what was so special about this book, that it was being passed from one to another. The style of the animation is quite simple yet is really effective, there is nothing that overwhelms the eye and therefore you can concentrate on the main characters and the storyline. (After knowing the background story, I see that the brushstrokes not only adds texture to the animation but it also relates to art in general, how everything in the book has been hand produced.)

The music in this I find is really powerful, it's really in time with the movements of the scene and when the book is passed onto another character, there is a dramatic change in tempo yet it flows into the next change without you noticing too much. Music is always a big part of any film, game or animation, without it no mood or atmosphere would be fully developed. With sound, it puts you in a mind set whether that be happy, sad, scared or even just drawn into the piece more. There are no fluid movements in this animation, it almost resembles an animatic where storyboards are put together to get an idea of what the final outcome may look like. Without the music you would find it to seem out of place and not look right, however the music itself seems to fit perfectly and joins the whole piece together.

I really like this piece, mainly because most of the things you see now-a-days is more CG, VFX and 3D animation, whereas this is not. It's 2D, where everything began. 2D seems to be falling more and more out of fashion as technology advances, but I find that this is a breath of fresh air. It allows you to appreciate the storyline and the artwork rather than be astounded by the extreme visual effects. It strips back to the most important things. All in all, it really makes me smile.

Modernity and Modernism

The first lecture we had for Context of Practice was on 'Modernity and Modernism'. Below are the notes I took during that lecture; with these they have helped me to understand many different areas which were affected by Modernism.

The term Modern is said to be up to date, improved, better than before, that new is best; modernism was progression. In the early 20th century, Paris was classed as the most modern and radical city in the world. The process of Modernity began around the 1750's and didn't end until the 1960's. Industrialisation was the key shift in which things started to change, rural farming changed to industrial work which meant more rules and set times to work. Along with this came urbanisation which bought in more people to the city, life began to speed up - trains were invented, people were more able to get around so this in turn made the world 'shrink' as everything became more accessible.

The city became the hub of social life. A place of experience where artists and historians would come to study. Artists began to turn their attention to the city for their subject instead of using myths or high society people. The city became a valid reason to paint it, it began to show the individual responses to modern experiences. However with this new form of subject came artists who would portray the 'new' life in a bad light. Degas for example painted 'Absinthe Drinker' (1876) which showed the horrors of modern life, how people would drink away their sorrows. Yet within his painting, he showed new techniques which many artists were picking up. The layout is a direct influence from photography, artists were increasingly finding it difficult, as painting could be obsolete as photography could depict the world better so artists abandoned realism for expressionism.

During the 1850's Paris underwent a regeneration, it was transformed into a 'new' Paris. The old architecture of narrow streets and run down housing was redesigned by a city architect named Haussman. He created large boulevards which were easier to police- a form of social control. All the dangerous elements of the W.C were moved outside of the city centre so this then became an expensive middle and upper class zone. By doing this it created more of a divide within the society. Fashion was also another factor that would show the differences with the society classes, showing off you 'finery' started with fashion in modernity. They were a key part to show identity.

Modernism in design became quite apparent as new ideas came into place. There were ideas that there should be truth to material, let the material used speak for itself and be in its natural form; form should follow function - the aesthetics and style of a product should come secondary to how it works. e.g. Bauhaus cutlery. Beauty comes from functionality. Adolf Loos said 'Ornate is Crime', you shouldn't try to make something trendy. Trends go in and out of style so fast, if you make them neutral they will never go out of fashion.

 As I want to specialise in animation, there are some areas within Modernism that you can see cross over and influence that specialism. The main thing that stands out to me is where fashion was a way to show off your social class, 'The Princess and The Frog' for example is a film about a young woman who lives in New Orleans in 1926. She has two jobs as she wants to save up money to buy a restaurant of her own, her childhood friend however is very rich due to her father's wealth and this is shown through the clothes they wear. Another example would be a game called Fable 2. Even though it is set in a fantasy world the clothing is still a big part in telling people apart. It gives them an identity. You can instantly see who is of a higher social class, who are the ones who have the money to show off the way they dress.

Another area that would relate to animation is how technology responds to design. As the years have gone on, technology in the animation industry has progressed. It's progressed to the point where 3D animation is becoming more popular than 2D animation. As throughout Modernism: 'new is best'. During the 1920's through to the 1960's the 'Golden Age of Animation', this was where 2D animation began to become more recognised. Walt Disney made it what it is known for today. However after this time, 2D animation began to take a dip as technology was moving along, there were people out there who were trying to push the boundaries of new computer technology. New technology could now respond to their designs and ideas, and this still continues to happen in our modern day. Films and visual effects are always striving to achieve the best that they can do, Avatar for example had been delayed since the 1990's in order to allow the technology to advance to a sufficient standard where the director felt it was good enough to produce. For me this area in which Modernism has influenced will never change, technology will always become better and therefore people will design and create films and animations which will show off the technology to the best of its standards.