Book Critique: Setting The Scene by Fraser Maclean
This book was a great introduction to the world of animation. Rather than an educational overload, 'setting the scene' is a collection of interviews from those already in the industry. Along with written advise and tips from experts, there were also hundreds of examples of imagery, taking the reader through the process of animation.
At the beginning of the book, I learnt about the gruelling processes of pioneering animators; no computers, just pencil and paper. As a reader, you develop an appreciation for the first artists who sat down and drew out individual frames with traditional mediums.
As I progressed, I was introduced to the professional art examples throughout the book. It was a huge relief to see how messy and rough their initial ideas were, as it shows readers that this stage of any design process is supposed to be loose. I was really impressed with the concept art for "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs", which depicts a dreary street filled with shops. The dreary atmosphere that emits from the imagery is impressive. The supporting process examples that follow other visual examples show how initial exaggerated ideas are slowly watered down into the final outcome. I found this really interesting, as it shows how amplified concept artists must be with their visual language, so that directors can pick out what they need. Further examples within the book show the re-working of pre-drawn scenes by using different colours over initial sketches. I would like to use this method myself in order to save time and make by thumbnail processes more interesting for this current Invisible Cities project. Other than that, there wasn't much else I could apply to my current workload. However, this book was a good taster of the animation pipeline to come.
Comments