There's a Man in the Woods by Jacob Streilein
This animation is about a teacher is driven to insanity after a kid starts a rumor in his classroom.
This is one of my favorite short films because of the way the story is told and how the art is used to complement the story. There's a lot of cool colors used throughout the beginning of the film, but as it progresses and the man is driven to insanity, we get to see more hot colors. Normally, people just use blues and greens to show a sad emotion. Technically, the man is sad all throughout the film, but Streilein decided to bring reds and oranges near the end to highlight his anger. I thought that was a really smart choice, something that I don't think anyone could come up with.
These colors are also very saturated, probably because they're flashbacks, memories of the man when he was a teacher. The saturated colors go away when the man is shown in the present, but they come back when the warm colors come into his troubled life. I think that's because those scenes don't represent the real world anymore, but more of the fantasy stuff going on in his brain.
The picture above represents the type of colors that were used when the man was in the present. It feels more monochromatic and boring. Also, lines are used pretty normally to outline objects. I think this type of art style was perfect for the story, because I feel like it'd look too weird if it looked any more realistic. Blurring around the edges was commonly used, along with manipulations in value to focus right on the man.
I think it's important to note that the kid above this text is the only
kid in the school with black colors. The other kids all have a blue/purple-ish design. I think Streilein did this to fade the kids into the cool-colored
background, which would've essentially driven the kid with the yellow
shirt and black hair into the foreground, putting all the attention on
him.
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Jamón by Iria Lopez
This is about a baby pig who feels different in a human family, so he sets off on a journey to find out who he is.
What I liked most about this film is how most shots used are close ups. Only under really suspenseful times did the shot turn into a wide, establishing shot. That's what I'm focusing on, since that's where the art really stands out.
The art is really confusing sometimes, because it doesn't follow a set of clear rules. Outlines around objects appear every once in a while and then they don't. Colors are used in geometric shapes here and there, and they're usually very washed out. They also usually don't fill in the lines. It's like a person lazily colored everything, but that's not a bad thing. It's what makes the film look like a children's Saturday morning cartoon, which it ends up quickly derailing itself from by a particularly bloody third act.
I like how the perspective becomes really skewed at times. It only adds to the feel of a children's show. I like this film, because it doesn't have great artwork. The drawings remain simple, but the story, sound design, and music lures you into the world of the pig. And you end up buying into the story.
The picture above is when the story takes a dramatic turn for the more realistic. Before, you thought the pig was only there as a metaphor to show how someone feels different from others in life. But then, the creator decided to say no, this pig is actually living in our world, and his family is trying to protect him from getting eaten. That's a funny idea to me.
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My versions for...
-There's a man in the woods:
I wish I would've been able to add more texture to materials, because I feel like that's what it's missing. I also put too much blurry shading. It makes everything look sloppy. My bad...
I like the colors though. That much, I feel like I got right. At least a little bit. I wish I had focused more on the design of the characters and setting when I was studying the art, not on color and composition.
-Jamón:
I laughed to myself when I finished this, because it actually looks a little like it's part of the film. That childlike aspect of it is easy to copy, I guess. It's easier to just put geometric shapes and color in a canvas very loosely than having to set a very complex tone with very specific artwork, like in There's a man in the woods.
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As I said in the beginning of the post, this is the most I've written than any other week. There's not much art that was made on my part, but I really think I'm learning about people's art style. More than the time I was focusing on people's animation style.
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