Animating Art

Hi everyone!

You know what I love?  I love it when different art mediums are combined to create new pieces of art, bursting with talent and creativity.  You know what I love ever more?  I love getting to witness said pieces of art being created.  Finally, you know what I love the most?  I love that my job allows me to be a part of this process, both as a spectator and a model.

Yesterday’s modeling session was fascinating, mostly because it was structured a bit differently than most sessions I’ve been in.  When I arrived at this booking, the first thing I noticed was that they students were watching the movie “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.”  I was both surprised and a little confused by this.  My first thought was that the students were watching it to relax before they started drawing.  After all, I had arrived a bit earlier than expected, and it is a beautiful movie to lose yourself in.  But once the movie was over, I quickly realized that it was going to play a key role in the class to come.

It turned out that the instructor was using “Nausicaä” to help explain a technique that a lot of artist and animators use called “The Rule of Three.”  He explained it much more eloquently than I ever could, but the jist is that this rule is used to help create dynamic tension in a piece of art, depending on where different subjects are placed.  He showed this by marking three dividing points on screen, then went on to play an action sequence from the movie.  During the scene, he would pause the film and point out how the different characters were positioned according to the divides, and what dramatic effect that produced.  I had never considered this before today, but everything the instructor mentioned made a lot of sense.  I’ve always known that attention to detail is important when creating art, but I had never fully considered this when it came to animation.  I guess it’s no wonder that the Studio Ghibli movies are so visually and emotionally powerful.

The lesson didn’t stop there, though.  Once I got on the modeling stand, the students were encouraged to think about this as they worked.  As I posed, the instructor projected different images of landscapes behind me, which we incorporated into the students' drawings.  I had never done a class before where the students were directed to draw both a background as well as the model.  The results were, to be blunt, AMAZING!  Not only did the projected images get drawn, but a lot of the students took their work into a more creative direction than expected.  For example, in the final pose of the class, I was leaning on my side with my head propped up against a stool in front of a beach landscape.  Several of the students transformed the stool into something different, like a sand dune or a treasure chest.  I wouldn't have even of thought to do that, but I'm glad they did!

Not only did the drawings turn out beautifully, but this session had an added element that I really liked. Throughout the class, the instructor played orchestral tracks from Studio Ghibli movies.  In addition to the main themes from "Nausicaä," I also got to listen to pieces from "Howl's Moving Castle" and "Spirited Away."  I even got to listen to "Jupiter" from Holst's "The Planets" while posing in front of a background of Mars.  The music helped my posing immensely.  Listening to it helped me relax my body and made the time go by much faster.  Plus, I'd be lying if I said I didn't love hearing some beautiful music while I worked, especially the ones in this class.

It was such a great sensation to feel all different art forms combine in this session.  Film, drawing, music.  I walked out of the classroom with such a positive, inspired feeling.  It's moments like these when I think to myself "Wow, I really love my job," and makes me look forward to many more modeling sessions to come.

That's it for this post, folks.  Thanks for reading as always, please keep your comments and question coming!

See you soon!