Animation Inspiration

Posted on by Jay

I grew up watching a lot of animation, and to this day, I still watch animation (though I don’t really watch many shows anymore…only if something really catches my eyes, and if I decide in the moment to start it and commit to it). I’ve been able to collect a couple of pieces of media that I enjoy lots and have captivated me and inspired me to be artistic, and creative, and to enhance my imagination even further.

As it stands, my favorite Japanese series is My Hero Academia, which has an anime adaptation of the manga, and that is definitely a piece of media that has inspired me to start creating again for myself (I don’t have much motivation or time anymore to create things outside of college anymore, but every time I consume something from this series, I feel myself getting inspired). The author, Kōhei Horikoshi, is a fantastic artist (and overworked, if I may be honest), and he creates such captivating panels and knows how to tell such an amazing story. I hold this series close to my heart, and it’s one that I won’t ever get tired of talking about.

As far as animation that have inspired me to pursue art a bit more…I would have to go with Arcane. The animation is absolutely gorgeous—the way it mixes 2D and 3D animation to create something spectacular blows me away. The writing is outstanding as well. But something that has captivated me so much about the show is how they design their characters. I aspire to be able to create characters like Arcane, and to be able to customize them in any way that I want to. Of course, my skill is not to their standard, and I am going to need a lot of time before I can create a standing character pose that doesn’t make them feel stiff; but character design, and character concept design is something that I want to try and do, even if it’s just a hobby that I do during my free time.

A warning to those who want to watch Arcane: this show contains lots of flashing lights, blood and violence, and other various things that happens throughout the show. I recommend going through the Does the Dog Die website, which gives a list of content warnings for users to list whether or not that specific thing is mentioned or happens in the show, and to give context for each episode. It will contain spoilers for some posts, but if someone has some triggers that they want to avoid, then I recommend this website for anyone who wants to look through it.

Moving Pictures

Posted on by Jay
lego mosaic recreation of van gogh's "starry night"

The world of storytelling is vast with many different genres of stories, as well as the different mediums that they come in. Film, specifically animation, can create impact in the same way that watching a movie with live actors could; or in the same way as reading words on paper, or on a screen, could. Not only is it effective in gaining the attention of the audience, but because of its eye-catching visuals, it gives people the chance to make things educational and inspirational.

Some short films, like “To This Day”, a poem written and performed by Shane Koyczan, showcases the artwork and animation skills of multiple artists that have collaborated with Koyczan to put together a gut-hitting, emotional performance. The impact of using the mind of many other artists to tell a story has created an inspiring film that could, hopefully, motivate us to be a little bit more kind to others, and to help those that are struggling.

“To This Day” by Shane Koyczan

Another example of a video that is impactful in its own way, and educative, is the video that comes from the TED Ed channel, “The unexpected math behind Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” – Natalya St. Clair”, uses animation (done by Avi Ofer) to emphasize the thesis of the video: how Van Gogh’s famous oil painting Starry Night, which was created during his time at a mental asylum (of which he self-admitted himself to) uses the unexplainable natural occurrence of turbulence. The usage of animation to emphasize the swirls within Van Gogh’s artwork is interesting, and might make some people want to research more about Van Gogh himself, or even about turbulence in nature…or of even turbulence in space, or even space itself (aka, go down a “rabbit hole” of learning about different things as you learn more and more information, and find references to others things that are somehow connected to each other).

“The unexpected math behind Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” – Natalya St. Clair from TED Ed

Featured image: “Starry Night Lego Mosaic” by s.w.Lepak is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.