Artistic Flexibility
Animators are animators, but more often than not they are also Painters, Illustrators, Designers, Children's book authors, Comic artists... My brain melts at the thought that so many people in the animation industry can straddle so many diverse mediums. I'd like to hear from all you artistic polymaths out there. What medium did you start your career with, and how did you branch out? Does your skill in one medium inform your skills in another?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Elliot Cowan on -
I have always drawn and painted but I also do a lot of writing.
I also do a lot of pen and ink work that hardly ever gets seen because it's big and expensive to mount and frame.
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Permalink Reply by Joanna Davidovich on -
What were you intially interested in? Was animation always a priority or did it grow out of your love of drawing and painting?
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Permalink Reply by Elliot Cowan on
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As a kid I was fascinated by both animation and puppets.
I studied animation for a post grad year back home and that was a difficult time that really turned me off certain aspects of animation.
When I finally ended up working in animation my career took a strange turn that really didn't prepare for large scale commercial animation production.
Consequently, I'm quite good at what I do but I'm not that good at anything else.
As far as drawing and painting and animation is concerned, to me it has to be about expression.
I'd rather see expressive drawings animated simply than full Disney style animation.
I am still fascinated with puppets but it's been many years since I built one (about 25 years I think).
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Permalink Reply by Joanna Davidovich on
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Cool! Thanks for sharing, Elliot.
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Permalink Reply by Elliot Cowan on
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Pleasure.
You didn't answer the question you posed yourself.
I am curious to hear your own thoughts.
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Permalink Reply by Joanna Davidovich on
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I wanted to be a voice actor originally. I took up with animation because I figured if I had my own cartoon it would be easier to get a role. Also, I had always loved making crummy drawings as a kid.
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Permalink Reply by Elliot Cowan on
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I have done voice acting for a very long time (although not since I left Australia).
I used to teach it too.
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Permalink Reply by Joanna Davidovich on
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No kidding? I didn't know one could take voice acting classes. Was that in a college?
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Permalink Reply by Nick Dubois on -
I started in illustration, but quickly fell in love with animation and never looked back. Then it became 3D, sadly, cause I have no skill in keeping proportions correct. It's just a skill I could never grasp quite well. (i.e. character's head becoming smaller and smaller as the animation goes on)
Yes, illustrations helped my animation in the direction format: composition of a scene, depth of the scene, etc... it helps alot.
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Permalink Reply by Elliot Cowan on
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Nick - I don't mean to sound argumentative, but it's a great deal easier to keep proportions in 3D than it is in 2...
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Permalink Reply by Joanna Davidovich on
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Did you ever do comics, Nick? Your inking is fantastic.
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Permalink Reply by Amy Mebberson on -
When I was a kid, I wanted to draw comic strips. Then when Beauty and the Beast came out, Belle just blew me away and I got the animation bug. I dabbled in stop-motion claymation with our home Super 8 camera and spent one disastrous year at design school after I graduated high school.
THEN came a big five-year shift - I went to music school and studied to be an opera singer. I got my honours degree in music, entered a LOT of singing competitions, got broadcasts on national radio, sang on a LOT of cds with the Sydney Philharmonia Choir (among our cooler gigs - opening of the Sydney Olympic Games and on-stage with Barbra Streisand during her 'Timeless' tour) and studied in London for six months. By then, the Internet had come along and I'd met a whole bunch of anime-loving friends, one of whom I'd eventually marry.
I was burnt out from singing, came home to Sydney and applied to Disneytoons Sydney. The rest is history.
As for artistic versatility - I can't do 2D AND CG, but I still draw comic strips and have dabbled in pixel art.
I can't stand cheap, sloppy, badly-planned animation, I loves me some good solid draftsmanship - however, I'm also a sucker for the mid-century UPA look, too :) I love dabbling in the retro style because it lets you somewhat disregard perspective when it comes to backgrounds a la Maurice Noble. I suck at perspective and layout and HATE drawing backgrounds, so the style speaks to me ;)
I think drawing comic strips(and their limited space) has helped hone a very sharp sense of comic timing and pacing. I love making people laugh
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