Art :: Animation
Animation as an art form inspire many people. It could be fun, thought-provoking and creative. The stories we tell and characters we create has the potential to touch people across generations. When done right, animation is incredible powerful.
The Scritch-Scratch of Busy Little Hands
Art offers a creative outlet for many people. For one little boy who likes to draw, he escapes from his Catholic school into the world of girls with long legs and boobies through his art. His sketchbook comes alive in this really well-done animation.
Hot Dogs
Using white paper on a black blackground, this paper cut-out animation tells a story of a dog and his adventures, to the music and lyrics of a song. It is wonderfully done. The cast of characters includes a dog that screams, "Hot Dogs, Hot Dogs," a worm that inches along, a teapot that pours into a leaky cup, a hot dog that floats, and a bird that sits in a cup in the ocean. It's imaginative and surreal. It reminds me of Matisse's cut-outs and the naivete of children's art. That's it's charm.
What are they?
Two fish discuss what human beings are from inside their tank. From their perspective, we are their slaves, people who like to serve them. All they need to do is swim around. We make sure they are fed. Like any pets, they provide us joy and companionship and we keep them alive in return. It's difficult to say who is the slave of whom. Pets and humans coexist and all parties benefit from that relationship. This was Michelle Dent's third flash animation project. It raises an interesting question as to why we have pets and they mean to us and we to them.
I Wanna Be Famous
Jessica Delfino sings about how she wants to be famous. With no money and no job, she has nothing to lose. She outlines her path to fame as involving killing somebody important with a gun, a knife, and her mind. It's nicely animated by Nick Fox-Gieg.
Bill Plympton - 25 Ways To Quit Smoking
Bill Plympton's animation from 1989 talks 25 ways to quit smoking. He illustrates each of the ways. It is humorous approach to discussing a more serious issue. The top 6 ways are as follows:
- Hire someone to watch over you.
- Remove orifice of entry.
- Use heat-seeking missiles.
- Make it hard to light up.
- Make it hard to light up II.
- Learn how to keep dangerous smoke from entering your lungs.
The Last Knit
It starts with a old woman sitting on a chair overlooking a cliff, knitting. Knitting, a female activity, can become an obsessive activity as this animation shows. The woman knits continuously creating a long ribbon-like sweater, until she got to the end of her yarn. Then what. With her sweater hanging off the cliff, she struggles to bring it back. With the yarn gone, she started knitted her hair. and her hair is dragging her over the cliff. She struggles and struggles to hold on. Oops.
Then she lets go. Her obsession takes a turn as she picks up her scissors. Very creative and engaging. This video is written, directed and animated by Laura Neuvonen.
This American Life
Two guys discuss how the camera changed the life on the school playground and elsewhere in "This American Life" with Ira Glass. Without the invention of the camera, the world as we know it today would not be the same. The animation by Chris Ware looks great and it is quite entertaining. Watch for yourself.
Tales Of Mere Existence "Saturday"
We all have a lot of things to do on Saturdays. One artist, Lev Yilmaz, illustrates his predicament of determining the most efficient order to do them in. He decides between doing the dishes, put in the laundry, do bills, call his mom, clean the shower and find something interesting to do tonight. It's an interesting concept. Most females go through the same thought process everyday, juggling the different chores and daily responsibilities.
Shinobi Black & White
In this high contrast, black and white, action-packed flash movie, Furi Furi Company tells a story of a boy fighting against a group of girls with supernatural powers. The movie reaffirms the power of females as warriors and protectors. They engage in sword fights and battles with fiery dragons. This animation features Japanese iconography and traditions. The music sets the mood and creates much of the drama.
It's a successful, visually stunning use of flash. The cartoonish and stylish look appeals to both children and adults alike. It is entertaining and artistic. The people involved in this production are director - Tei (Furi Furi), sound effect - Omb, animation director - Miki (Furi Furi), and flash animation - Yuki (Furi Furi). They've done an amazing job.
Tangerine
Through the use of sharpie markers, black color pencil, Flipbook and Premiere, amorphous shapes come to life and turn into central figures involve in drama. It's artistic and visually stimulating. It starts with white scratches that becomes a human silhouette. Orange shapes become woman interacting with man. Abstract and conceptual, the shapes against a black background play out psychological drama that's open to interpretation. See what you think. This is a collaborative project headed by Richard Stadler, with soundtrack by Adam Somers.