Summer Project
The brief for our summer break asks for the development of a character - starting with direct observations of an animal or inanimate object, eventually leading to a short gif animation.
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I'm writing this at the end of July, finally getting back into using my sketchbooks after a long needed break. Much as I love working on projects like this, I can burn out easily as I try to juggle various ideas for my own original stories/comic strips, often leaving little room for slowing down and putting my pencils away.
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Initial thoughts
I just started doodling my thoughts in a page of my diary, shown here. It helped to get into the headspace of thinking about my immediate surroundings as potential subject matter for creating characters.
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Wimbledon was on and I was also continuing my regular comic strip series (Fridge & Fly) which led me to showing a tennis racquet as nervous wreck. This was my first real consideration for the summer project too, as I liked playing with the strings as possible facial features.
Pixar: Bringing objects to life
When it comes to imagining inanimate objects with personality, my main reference point is always Pixar. In particular, John Lasseter's early short films have been a key inspiration for understanding the potential of animation ever since I was a boy.
'Luxo, Jr.' depicts two desk lamps, one big and one small. Through their actions alone we understand them to be a parent and child. The little lamp acts with fresh curiosity, play and abandon, while the larger lamp oversees the action, guiding or consoling the little lamp with a knowing demeanour. 'Red's Dream' examines the lonely life of an unsold unicycle in a bike shop. We see his fantasy of performing alongside a clown with a peppy enthusiasm, and then by contrast his sorrowful acceptance of being stuck in the corner to go unnoticed. Again, the animation sells the emotion of these short scenes, and we as an audience feel every bit of what the unicycle or lamp feels.
Luxo, Jr. (1986)
Red's Dream (1987)
Pixar would continue to produce stories about inanimate objects (i.e. Toy Story, Cars and other shorts), though rarely quite with the same restraint as something like Luxo, Jr. There is something magic about seeing an object some to life through body language alone - not relying on adding faces or limbs to further anthropomorphise the character. If I do develop a character from an object, I want to first recognise the true properties of that object and only then add extra features if needed.
Toy Story (1995) - Etch-a-Sketch
A more cartoony approach
Of course there shouldn't be just one way to go about this. In animation there's a whole spectrum from hyper-realistic to full-cartoony. There's a charm to adding googly eyes to anything, and playing with the effect of sticking arms or legs on something unexpected.
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I intend to fill my sketchbook with as many alternative designs as I can. It's best not to know at this stage what may become my favourite idea to turn into an animated character.
The Brave Little Toaster (1987)
Fantasia - The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1940)
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
A Grand Day Out (1989)
Morph (1977-present)
Sketchbook wanderings
Living in Ipswich and without any pets, I'm limited to options of animals to sketch from. Nevertheless, I have access to Christchurch Park and its ponds, where I knew I would find ducks and geese. I took my sketchbook out and just started sketching whatever I saw, finding a surprising abundance of wildlife in the park. Here are my sketchbook pages, featuring quick observations from life of several small animals: raven, squirrels, geese, pigeons, mice, ducks, seagulls, robin. I tried to analyse the distinct movements of the different species, should I choose to animate their body language later.
Also I kept an eye out for any inanimate features of the park or the town centre which I could imagine developing into an animated character.
It has been great to get back to sketchbooking from life. I always underestimate how much I like to draw for the sake of drawing. Although I am sketching here for a purpose of sparking ideas off for the project, much of these observations won't be used, and there's a joy in that.
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I found myself reminded of the brilliant versatility of an ordinary pencil. I have moved onto more complex, impressive tools but the amount of varied line and tone I can get from a simple pencil is pretty unique. This is just a reminder to myself to keep sketching like this, even when there is no end goal and to reaffirm a sense of fun practice.
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Inevitably, my mind wanders to the imaginative side of the project, so I start to sketch out the anthropomorphised versions of the directly observed objects. Below are a couple of interpretations of Ipswich landmarks (Wolsey's Gate and St. Mary-le-Tower) as if their 'faces' came alive.
Conkers and Trees
While out at the park I picked up some conkers to study from life at home. The bulbous shapes lend themselves to character heads, and I liked how they seemed to relate to each other merely by being attached to the same stick. One was bigger than the other so it's easy to imagine them with a kind of big brother/little brother dynamic. If I were to go ahead and animate them, I think I would have them clunking heads like dumb, carefree knuckleheads.
Also I couldn't help notice how the trees are full of natural character. Whether it's the patterns in the knots that give the illusion of facial features, or the branches appearing as limbs, there is so much to react to wherever I look. I can see different tree ideas working in stop-motion; for instance the aged texture of the face of an old tree could be emphasised with craggy clay details.
More imaginings...
The Pub
One of my favourite spots from my walking around town was this old building, The Lord Nelson Inn. The wonky old wooden beams give the pub front a lot of humanity as it is. Also the overhang of the top floor and positioning of the windows made for great facial features.
I could imagine the creaking sigh of a pub closed for the day or possibly shut permanently. Alternately, it's easy to picture the pub coming alive happily in the evening - much as we can feel it in real life. Maybe I will return to this idea later, as I think there's storytelling potential here.
Lamppost
I find myself drawn back to the lamppost as rich subject matter for this project. The head and neck/spine seem a natural fit for making a character, and I like that I am able to play with light as well. Perhaps my love of Luxo, Jr. is what draws me to a lamp-head figure, or there's just something charming in the simplicity of the design. Here are some of my various sketches exploring possible options, playing with the inherent properties and then adding limbs and a face.
One way to characterise the lamppost is as shown here - trying to think of an idea, then sparking into full inspiration. It reimagines the lightbulb cliche, and I thought playing with the posture of the post worked well.
This was almost my final idea, and I would like to see it fully realised at some point, with the light effects and figure simultaneously animated. The brief however asked for something a little more imaginative, transforming the initial object in some way (i.e. clothing) and introducing a backstory. My natural inclination would be to play it relatively straight, making the most of the real properties of an object/animal, but it's exciting to keep pushing for alternative ideas.
Pigeons
From this point on, I have decided to focus on pigeons as I want to study realistic animal movement and also explore the recognisably funny, cartoony actions specific to birds. Observing them directly, my mind begins to wander to certain human characteristics that could be a natural fit with how pigeons carry themselves.
As well as studying from nature, I move into imaginary territory with these quick biro/gouache studies.
Enter the Dragon...
Of the previous sketches, the dragon-pigeon seemed to fit the brief well. It has enough silliness to keep me interested and I look forward to seeing it come to life.
I have tried a couple of different designs, like the pastel sketch above, and the final turnaround is an amalgam of several ideas. I didn't want to depart too far from the true characteristics of a pigeon, so I can learn something from nature in the animation.
Backstory...
‘Sputter’ is a mutated pigeon who became the stuff of legend. With reptilian scales, pterodactyl-like wings and spitting flames, Sputter sparked the myriad stories of the fearsome dragon.
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Much like The Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot, he has rarely been seen and continues living through centuries of human history. Many a myth has been spun after encounters with this little firebreather. Though witless and akin to any other pigeon in how he behaves, countless men have exaggerated their brave confrontations with ‘the beast’. Saint George himself met Sputter in a clumsy duel which was later retold as the legendary battle with a giant ‘dragon’.
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Sputter blends in well enough with regular pigeons, so goes mostly unnoticed to this day. He doesn’t cause too much trouble, just the occasional (accidental) bit of arson.
Here are more snippets from the sketchbook, figuring out various ideas. Though very raw in this brainstorming stage, I wonder if there's an idea or two here that could be developed into a short film.
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​I like the possibilities of a world that would include a little pigeon-dragon. There's a fun absurdity to the story as told in the backstory I settled on, and I would enjoy animating the scene of a man running scared from a pigeon.
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Alternately, the fantasy creature could be a commonplace sight in a fantasy land. Dragon-like pigeons might work as a means of making everything ordinary magical, and everything magical brilliantly ordinary.
Animating
First I just needed quick practice, as I had become quite rusty after a couple of months not animating. The looped doodle above was just a test using free animation software.
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I really struggled getting into the full process again. This has been a necessary reminder of how difficult animation is - I saved a copy of an early sketchy stage to show the structures I needed to make sense of the forms. Any positive results I got in the first year of studies were always by pushing through extremely frustrating moments. At least half of what I try ends up not working, and I need to remember to expect many stages of uncertainty before it starts to gel together.
This is a good indication of how essential the sketchbook is to make fast notes, reacting to what I'm struggling with and looking for how to communicate body language.
Final loop
The final 'gif' animation I hope is a good distillation of the idea, using the recognisably jerky movements of a pigeon to spit out a little flame. Though I could have lingered on the fire-breathing a little longer, I like the comic weirdness of how fast and unconscious it seems to be. I underestimated how difficult it would be to construct the separate body parts, as a bird appears relatively simple. The timing of the head, body, wings, tail, legs and feet all needed to be considered to make the overall effect work.
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Since learning about the 12 principles of animation, I had been looking forward to trying different techniques to bring characters to life. The tail is an example of overlapping action, and I enjoy playing with expression through the off-set timing of different parts of the body. I kept anticipation in mind with the head cushioning back before thrusting forward. Perhaps most importantly to make this flat design work convincingly I relied on a sense of solid drawing. I used Adobe Animate, which is good for flat colour but as far as I know may not be ideal for texture and shading.
Admittedly, the final version is something of a departure from my turnaround drawings. I left a lot of detail behind. Really, I could have kept going adding layers of scales/patterns, not to mention lighting and environment. Without a deadline approaching, I probably would have.
However, the result is something that has a clarity in its simplicity. It has ended up looking perhaps more contemporary than my usual work as I tend to prefer a retro look or something a bit rough around the edges. Also, I always use a black outline, which I found during the animation felt rather harsh, and the dark green softened the forms. Since the digital tools are there for different colours, it's worth testing the effects.
