Notes on the drawing sessions...

In my last post I got a bit side tracked with the sound thing.

I actually wanted to talk about the drawing experience and lay down some notes about it.

The wacom pen and tablet worked a treat. I also found drawing in photoshop alot faster and cleaner than on a white board. Another huge advantage is that when you create the files digitally in the first place you are afforded the luxury of a "second passing" - you can come back to a drawing and work over it, unlike the whiteboard where once erased it is forever lost.

I have to attach a new tip to my brand new pen!! I'm amazed that only after a few days of use I have already worn down the plastic tip (as if it were lead to paper)...damn

Conceptual shifting:
As I worked through the drawings I was more deeply engaged with my project than I was when storyboarding it. As I drew I found I was really thinking 'what do I want this short cartoon to say?' I decided to change a few things. The begginings I made much more dynamic by completely redrawing every frame. This gave it quite an energetic pulsating feel. For me, it serves as a metaphor for the dynamic evolving processes that must have occured until nature found a balance that could support life on earth as we know it. At some point I wanted this pulsating effect to wind back, coming to a peaceful kinda orderly aesthetic...I found a way, by using layers and repeatedly retracing the last frame with increasing acuracy, until eventually a cut paste phase/transition was used that saw the image 'lock' into place. I think my attempt to do this was partially successful, however I may have done it in to fewer frames 40-50 where it probably needed 80ish, giving the viewer more time for anticipation. Next time aye.

The bird (meant to be a dove, but I had trouble making it distinctive - it turned out more bird-ambiguous) flutters down bringing peacce to the scene. Soon an ant hill begins to grow. The ant inside serve as a metaphor for human beings, and the shape shifting of the anthill, from organic to geometric forms served as a metaphor for the rapidly changing character of Western/European ways of living. The apple may have been making some sort of biblical reference about the consequences of temptation/greed/gluttony. Soon the ants stream out, covering the tree - symbolic of human beings immersion and control of the natural environment. Eventually when the tree is over saturated with the hungry ant mass, the dove becomes suffocated in the swarm. Soon the dove takes off - the peace has been disrupted.

Here is where the concept really changed. I was originally going to have it as a loop. The dove flys away --> gets shot --> withers back into a seed ---> and the whole thing starts again. In the end I didn't feel the loop matched the intended narrative. One friend in particular saw the loop thing as a symbol for birth, death, rebirth. It kinda retracts from my intending statement. Want I really wanted to say was that our environment is a dynamic and unique entity, that has evolved over gazzilions of years to the point where it is balanced and able to support large human populations. With a healthy and supportive environment and adequate resources there is peace among people. If we abuse our environment soon the situation willl become so bad that we will turn on eachother. The peace will be disrupted and this really will be the end. The situation is real and we probably don't have the luxury of second chances. This is why when the dove is shot it is the end. No rebirth. Just death.

All in all i think 90% of people will read something else out of the short narrative. I like the idea that the viewer can make it what they want, but I also want to create art that can be understood. If the animation is misunderstood it is surely my own shortcoming and not the viewers. I like animation. I want to keep at it, and over time, with more practice, I will be more successful and effective in the delivery of my intended message. I see the major project for AART3462 as a significant stepping stone and starting point for future 4D works.