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Earlier this week we took a look behind the scenes of Pixar’s “The Blue Umbrella.” The animated short is pretty entertaining, but it will have a hard time ousting Disney’s “Paperman” as the short movie heavyweight. The adorable black and white love story captured the hearts of viewers everywhere, and it even won an Oscar!
Sounds nice… I’d love to win an Oscar. Who wouldn’t!? Well, if folks like you and me ever plan to win an Oscar for our artwork, the best place to start is to figure out how the pros operate.
The first thing worth mentioning is that the animators experimented with new art styles “The computer is a powerful tool for simulating physical phenomena like light, cloth and hair, but you sacrifice some control of animated design and shape by applying those effects after the animation is finished,” explained animation supervisor Patrick Osborne. The end result was a sort of computer animated and hand drawn hybrid, which gives the short film its characteristic aesthetic.
Osborne added, “We loved the look [of the art style], and stood behind it, but we were nervous. It’s one of those looks where the description doesn’t do it justice, so there was some skepticism. That’s why we chose not to show it until it was complete.”
Stick with your gut! If you know with every fiber of your being that your artwork is good, then don’t let naysayers dump on your unconventional art style. This team of animators stuck to their guns, and look where it got them!
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The second big secret that we can tease out of Osborne’s interview isn’t all that revolutionary: good work takes time. ”As with most animation,” Osborne began, “the beginning is slow as people ‘find the characters’ and learn how to draw them in an appealing way, but we found that once an artist got the hang of it, they became rather fast at the technique. I’d say our process on Paperman was comparable, if not slightly lighter, than on a typical CG film.”
The team spent two years piecing together this 6:23 minute film. If my math is right (and I’m only somewhat confident that it is — there’s a reason why I’m a blogger and not a mathematician) then the animators had to spend approximately two days working for every 1 second of film. Sheesh!
Image source: Blogspot.com
Don’t think that you can just throw together some artwork in an afternoon and sell it as the next award-winning masterpiece. These artists really poured their hearts and souls into this video and now they have an Oscar to show for it.
So, could that be the secret to top-notch artwork? Ingenuity and patience? Maybe, maybe not — in any event, applying these two principles to your own work is definitely a step in the right direction!
Right at this very second, hundreds or possibly even thousands of artists across the world are practicing their artistic skills. Don’t get left in the dust! At the Gnomon School, you’ll learn invaluable techniques that can help you take your art skills to the next level. Discover new and exciting sources of inspiration! Learn art techniques from veterans of the industry! Learn how to create a niche for yourself in this ever-growing market! Are you ready to become a better artist? Get started today!