Comic Book Animation tests

HEY APATHY! Comic Book Art

The CITY OF GEARS! From a distance the city reveals itself as an ominous gear propelled by an endless sea of faceless denizens. Who are these people? What is the metropolis? And where do I fit in? The “City of Gears” 3d animation (test shown above) is the first digital installment my animated artworks. Working with graphic wizard Laurie Ronne, we have started to bring the ink drawings to life. I have been working simultaneously on a hand drawn stop-motion version of the Gear and the two finished artworks will be displayed as a diptych. One of the most interesting aspects of the two interconnected projects is the real time comparison between the differing processes.

The hand drawn animation is a time consuming and labor intensive activity involving thousands of hand made drawings and a sort of improvised approach and aesthetic. I do all of the work for these animations myself, giving me complete control over the output, though that also means total responsibility for all menial tasks.

The 3D process, from my perspective, is almost the total opposite to the hand drawn production. In this case the majority of my process involves conceptualizing and describing the movements/ideas to the artist, like a film director, with absolutely no hands on work. Laurie then takes my instructions into computer land, makes tests and consults me. It is also an extremely precise approach and aesthetic in which little room is left for improvisation. The frame rates and movements must be mathematically configured to the finest detail in order for Laurie to recreate what I see in my mind. In the meantime I go back to the drawing table and two things happen at once.

Not only are the two drastically different approaches to animation being developed congruently but they are also moving towards a cohesive juncture. By using the same image for both the hand drawn and 3D graphics compositions the two pieces introduce a public conversation between the past and the present while also expressing a shift in my own artistic progress and ultimate acceptance of technology. The amazing outcome of these experiments so far has led me to insurmountable and indescribable ideas, plans, even schemes for future artistic assaults…