Art Direction: Use of Colour to Evoke a Mood

You have decided on your characters, props and environment for your story.  All there is left to do is visually represent these elements.  It's very easy to build a room that is in nightlight.  Or to build a forest that is dominantly full of green leaves and brown bark.  That is ok, but we as artists want more.  How do you want the viewer to feel during your story?  Will the animation be so incredibly well done that it needs nothing more?  How can visuals help tell the story?

Disney Pocahontas

What is in the environment should support the story.  This goes beyond, my story is taking place in a forest therefore they are in a forest.  What I mean here is that if you have characters that are fantasy, what is in the environment that adds to these magical creatures?   Maximize your visual storytelling ability by exploiting every opportunity.   Reinforce what you want the viewer to feel and think.  They may not be aware at all that you are doing this.  That the objects that are in your locations tell a story about what will be happening.

Disney Fantasia

Colour can be a very manipulative tool.  Think about each colour.   For each colour write down as many words as you can to describe it's taste, touch, sound, look, smell and emotion.

Disney Alice In Wonderland

Blue is the overwhelming "favorite color." Blue is seen as trustworthy, dependable and committed. The color of sky and the ocean, blue is perceived as a constant in our lives.

As the collective color of the spirit, it invokes rest and can cause the body to produce chemicals that are calming; however not all blues are serene and sedate. Electric or brilliant blues become dynamic and dramatic, an engaging color that expresses exhilaration.

Some shades or the overuse of blue may come across as cold or uncaring. Blue is the least "gender specific" color, having equal appeal to both men and women.

How the color blue affects us physically and mentally
* Calming and sedate
* Cooling
* Aids intuition

Disney Pocahontas

Disney Alice In Wonderland

Disney Sleeping Beauty

Green occupies more space in the spectrum visible to the human eye and is second only to blue as a favorite color. Green is the pervasive color in the natural world that is an ideal backdrop in interior design because we are so used to seeing it everywhere.

The natural greens, from forest to lime, are seen as tranquil and refreshing, with a natural balance of cool and warm (blue and yellow) undertones. Green is considered the color of peace and ecology. However, there is an "institutional" side to green, associated with illness or Government-issued that conjure up negative emotions as do the "slimy" or toxic greens.

How the color green affects us physically and mentally

* Ill or evil
* Soothing
* Relaxing mentally as well as physically
* Helps alleviate depression, nervousness and anxiety
* Offers a sense of renewal, self-control and harmony

Disney Fantasia

Yellow shines with optimism, enlightenment, and happiness. Shades of golden yellow carry the promise of a positive future. Yellow will advance from surrounding colors and instill optimism and energy, as well as spark creative thoughts.

How the color yellow affects us mentally and physically
* Mentally stimulating
* Stimulates the nervous system
* Activates memory
* Encourages communication

Disney 101 Dalmations

Disney Pocahontas

Red has more personal associations than any other color. Recognized as a stimulant red is inherently exciting and the amount of red is directly related to the level of energy perceived. Red draws attention and a keen use of red as an accent can immediately focus attention on a particular element.

How the color red affects us mentally and physically
* Increases enthusiasm
* Stimulates energy
* Encourages action and confidence
* A sense of protection from fears and anxiety

101 Dalmations

Kuskos poison scene in Disney's Emperors New Groove

Purple embodies the balance of red simulation and blue calm. This dichotomy can cause unrest or uneasiness unless the undertone is clearly defined at which point the purple takes on the characteristics of its undertone. It's been said in film making that "if it's purple, someone is going to die."  A sense of mystic and royal qualities, purple is a color often well liked by very creative or eccentric types and is the favorite color of adolescent girls.  

How the color purple affects us mentally and physically
* Uplifting
* Calming to mind and nerves
* Offers a sense of spirituality
* Encourages creativity

Disney 101 Dalmations

Brown says stability, reliability, and approachability. It is the color of our earth and is associated with all things natural or organic.

How the color brown affects us physically and mentally
* Feeling of wholesomeness
* Stability
* Connection with the earth
* Offers a sense orderliness

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3rd Year Design: Television vs Feature Quality BG's

In production there are very economical reasons for doing things the way they are done.  I find it can be completely frustrating when an employer has expectations of their staff to do feature quality work on a television production budget.  Simply put, just comparing backgrounds in television vs. feature, the difference is obvious.

Television needs to be done in clever, quick, appealing ways.  The technique often tends to be more graphic in nature.  Generally, more line art is used in television.

Looney Toones

Paul Bunyan

Samurai Jack

Fairly Odd Parents

Feature requires a little more time and skill. These artists are responsible for the creation of complex backgrounds, landscapes and environments. They require a high skill level in painting, composition, perspective and color.

101 Dalmations

Bambi

Beauty and the Beast

The Little Mermaid

Enchanted

The Lion King

Onto Painting.... I am loving Marco Bucci right now.  He's a hugely talented painter and although I heard a few sighs of "as if I can do that" last time I showed a tutorial from him in class, I think his methods are very simple and straight forward.  I like in this video how he breaks down his process:

Blocking in abstract shapes and values at first.  

Make sure the painting works and reads in the first 5-10 minutes.  

Working with colour temperature, cool and warm colours to create contrast - this will draw your eye 

Passion and Drive

There's much grey area when it comes down to artwork and quality.   Something that is well executed in the opinion of one person might be less so to another.  We as artists need to be very self aware.  I very much believe that we are always growing and learning as artists.  We learn from the people we study with.  We learn from the people we study to become.  We learn from life and our physical environment.  Inspiration and influence is everywhere.  It's in the music we love.  It's in the movies we watch over and over again.  It's in every changing season, on vacation with us and in the architecture of the buildings we pass by.  It's the passion that we have as artists that give us the open eyes to see all this glorious inspiration in our lives.

Without passion, a hundred year old weeping willow is just a tree.  

Without passion, the Notre Dame Cathedral is just a church.

Without passion, Glen Keane is just some dude who draws cartoons.

My question to you is what do you see?

Character Design 101

Nailing down a character design for your films can be intimidating and overwhelming.  It seems like a simple enough task.  There is a vast artillery of influence ranging from Mickey Mouse to UPA, from Sleeping Beauty to Triplets of Belleville.  What hasn't been done before?  What can you create that is uniquely yours?

This is a very important step in the pre-production stage.  The look and feel of a character can influence what audience will think of them even before they move.  There are many aspects to consider for character design, but I find these are the most important concepts to employ.

Silhouette
Simple shapes will make up your character.  This is to help construct the character and gear it towards animation, but also to establish the character type. The weight and strength of a character should be obvious right away through silhouette.  Look at your character from a distance.  Even though you are not able to make out textures and details, they should be easily recognized.  Think of the type of personality you want to give your character.  If you have a villain you may want to make them large and ape like in silhouette, giving them a strong, intimidating physique (Gaston, Bluto, Ursela).  Conversely, you may want your villian to be thin and wirey, taking on more of a evil mastermind role (Cruella Devil, Scar, Jaffar)

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Plan
What makes you like your favourite characters?  How are they constructed?  Can they be easily animated and deconstructed into simple shapes?  It can be helpful to think of these things.  What makes some more successful and appealing than others?  You may surprise yourself.  Honestly, consider the painstaking hours of work that goes into animation. The design that you may have in mind, might be a great illustration but not so easy to animate.  Pose out your character and don't be afraid to change or even scrap your idea to move into a more affordable direction.   Also, consider your story.  What will your character need to perform?  Does the design allow for these actions?

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Colour
Colours can help to further reinforce your character's personality.  Evil colours tend to be dark.  Light colours or bright colours tend to be more playful, good and pure.  Walt Disney was a master at creating mood and atmosphere.  Colours were no less intentional.  Lots of blacks, dark purples and unnatural colours were used in many if not all villainous Disney characters.

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Colour can also be very distracting.  To maximize your use of colour, use it to highlight where you want the viewer to look.  If you use lots of colour all over your character there won't be any focus.  

Expressions
Dive in and experiment what range of expressions you can hit with your character.  Will your character allow for wild and exaggerated jaw drops and bug-eyed surprise?  or is your character very human like and stays within a more subtle range of emotion.  Examples of this could be found in the work of John K. or Tex Avery.  When excited their character's eyes pop out of their head, jaw drops and tongue rolls out of their mouth.  Harley Quinn is more human-like and natural.  She can be expressive, but really stays within the same range as you or I would.

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Colour Keys

We will begin to focus on our conceptual keys and digital painting.  Remember there are no wrong ways to approach your paintings.  However some tips can help harness your energy.

Begin your focus with value.  Use basic shapes to start.  An abstract underpainting should be as effective as your finished product.

Be loose and blocky.

Take a step back.  Look at the painting from afar to get the whole effect of your composition and lighting.

Build up your painting with hits of colour and contrast.   Think about your light source and where the light is hitting.  The colour will be it's truest tone in the light and receed into the shadows.


Video sourced from Marco Bucci.  Beautiful demo!

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