Sand

Some of the animation I like most is the kind of art that’s simple but still takes a lot of passion and thought to create. In other words, most of the time I’m less impressed by something like Avatar, a piece of art that’s taken years to make as detailed and realistic as possible. Generally when something is made to be less realistic looking, more thought has to be taken in coming up with a style and feel that’s unique, since it lacks realism.

I recently came across an artist from some Ukraine tv show who got pretty famous, or something. Regardless, I was pretty impressed with her style. She does animations just by using her fingers and a backlit board covered in sand. What’s unique about it is that it’s a fluid, constantly changing picture. What starts off as a school on a hill quickly changes into something else with brief transition time. When she goes to mold it into something else, she doesn’t just wipe the board and begin from scratch. Instead, what used to be a tree might become a blob with a few squiggles and all of a sudden you realize it’s an old man sitting on a bench.

Although I love animations made off computers and any other traditional platform, it’s always nice to view something that’s a break from the mold. It’s a refreshing change.

Another element that makes these sand drawings unique is the way the artist uses different layers of sand in combination with the backlit board. By rustling sand around and creating a higher concentration of it in one area, she creates shading and depth. Obviously, the higher concentration of sand blocking the backlight, the darker the area becomes. It proves very useful in creating shades and contrasts.

Contrast is another thing that really jumps out when watching this. The sharp transition of almost total white to total dark in the foreground or figures draws the eye while in the background its a much more gradual change from light to dark. It’s impressive how seamlessly it’s done as well. I don’t know whether or not her animations are rehearsed pre-hand or not, but the smooth and decisive finger strokes creating new scenes are really what make the animation work.

this week I commented here : http://ohjeeztheclimax.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/blog-post-2-a-scanner-darkly/#comment-4

and here: http://lyverfive.wordpress.com/2010/03/23/blog-8-for-3232010-john-lyver-scrappy/#comment-25

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