#readingreflection6

[mixedmediaanimation]

Reading Reflection 6

Chapter 17: Type-driven design boards of Design for Motion by Austin Shaw deals with the role of typography in the construction of design boards in animation. Typography serves as a medium of communication. The author emphasizes that the use of words is important in every aspect of our lives. The key phrase is: “In motion design, kinetic type adds the dimension of time and movement”, which demonstrates the importance of according type to these two dimensions in animation. Typography is also closely related to such concepts as culture, emotions and intelligence. The basic distinction between two main type families is serif/sans serif.

In Chapter 10: Stop-motion animation, A Survey of Techniques of the Animation Bible, the author Furniss discusses some of the examples of the different techniques of stop-motion animation, more precisely 2-D and 3-D animation. There are some interesting animation methods related to 2-D stop-motion, such as the use of sand particles, or the use of pins, or clay painting, or cutout animation. He provides some examples of the most famous 2-D animation works, such as the Hedgehog in the Fog (1975) by Yuriy Norstein, or the Adventures of Prince Achmed  by Lotte Reiniger. In the second part of the chapter, the author provides examples of 3-D stop-motion animation, such as the “Brickfilms” method that uses children’s Lego toys, or the use of folded paper in creating animation.

In Chapter 8: The Outer Eye of Design for Motion, the author discusses the role of Mood Boards in animation. Essentially, mood boards serve to demonstrate the intended emotional tones of the future animation project, they “influence the aesthetic and art direction of a project”. They are very effective in the motion design industry. The author distinguishes the “inner eye” from the “outer eye” of the artist, emphasizing that there needs to be a balance between the outside and the inside (individual self) sources of inspiration. In the 2nd part of the chapter, the author provides an interview with Alan Williams who is an art director and designer at Imaginary Forces in New York.

[mixedmediaanimation]

Reading Reflection #6

In Chapter ten of the Animation Bible by Maureen Furniss, she begins by discussing the different forms of animation. Stop-motion animation is commonly associated with 2-D materials made with sand or modeling clay. Stratacut Animation is clay modeling where an elongated body out of clay is sliced, and the resulting images are filmed for a sequence. This process involves both two dimensional and three-dimensional art. It is two dimensional in that it consists of a series of flat images but three dimensional because those images are modeled in depth that creates a brick of clay that is gradually sliced away to reveal an image within it. Cutout animation can utilize any material. Cutting and folding paper is a technique with a long tradition in China including classic works from Shanghai Animation Studio.

In Chapter 8 of Susanna Shaw’s book Design in Motion, she discusses mood boards and how they can inspire and form concepts. A mood board can inspire a narrative and influence the aesthetic and art direction of a piece. Creating a mood board is a process of organizing images into combinations that create a specific mood or feeling. Shaw discusses the continuum between the “inner eye” and the “outer eye.” The inner eye, which looks inside one’s self for inspiration must be balanced with the perspective to look outside one’s self for inspiration. Mood boards also represent a critical part of the Process-to-Outcome spectrum that Shaw discusses in that creating a creative brief will help you determine how much time should be allocated to each stage of design production.