Study Skills - A Brief Introduction to Glen Keane

Glen Keane

Figure 1: Sample character designs for Aladdin ('Aladdin', 1992)

Figure 2: Concept art of the Beast (Beauty and the Beast, 1991)

Figure 3: Concept art for Pocahontas (1995)

Figure 4: Concept artwork of Pocahontas

Glen Keane is born in 1954, the son of prolific artist-illustrator Bil Keane, who is most noted for his work on the ‘Family Circus’ comic strips. Graduated from CalArts in 1977, he started off working in the Disney studios, debuting as an animator in 1977 with his work on “The Rescuers”. He then began working on some more feature animation and shorts before leaving Disney to work freelance. Here, he worked with Disney for its 1986 feature animation “The Great Mouse Detective” as a supervising animator and artist for the protagonist, Basil, and the antagonist, Rattigan. He then returned to Disney to work on “Oliver and Company” as a character designer and supervising animator, overseeing the design and animation of the characters Fagin, Sykes and Georgette (Lenburg, 2006). He is then promoted to lead animator, and became known as one of Disney’s so called ‘Nine New Men’ for his work and designs of some of Disney’s most memorable characters in the onset of modern Disney animation; this includes Ariel and Ursula from “The Little Mermaid” (1989), the Beast in “Beauty and the Beast” (1991), and while working as a director in Disney’s animation studio in London, he is also the creator of the eponymous characters of “Aladdin” (1992), “Pocahontas” (1995) and “Tarzan” (1999), of which he also worked as supervising animator.

In 2002 he is responsible for the creation of Long John Silver for Disney’s “Treasure Planet”, which did not turn as well as his previous work. He has recently worked on “Tangled” (2010) as the executive producer, animating supervisor and directing animator for Rapunzel.  

He is also known to be the author and illustrator for a number of Biblical books for children published under Chariot Victor Publishing, featuring Adam Raccoon and King Aren the Lion (Lenburg, 2006).

The artwork above is a concept artwork for Disney’s Pocahontas (1995) in which Keane is a supervising animator and character designer for the title character. It comes off as striking, even though it is a simple turnaround sketch of the character, which happens to closely resemble her final design.

Keane’s artwork is eye-catching and easily recognized, mostly because of the fluidity of his lines. From the above artwork, the usage of shapes can be clearly seen from the slightly angular form of Pocahontas’ body; her face has a slight hexagonal shape. He uses only single lines to sketch out her design, allowing it to stand out when the final design is created - there are 3 single lines running through the shape of her hair, and these lines follow with the movement of the hair to give it life.  The lines used here are simple, single lines – the usage is minimal, yet it gives shape and form to the overall design of the character.

Her figure stands out from the rest of her body; Keane gives her torso an hourglass shape so that there is a feminine appearance to her body even though her design is slightly angular (which is usually used for creating male characters). There is also a unifying use of angular and curved shapes and lines to give her overall form, giving the character a more feminine appearance. As a result, her design looks dynamic and alive, even before the animation process takes place. In an animator’s perspective, Keane has a solid drawing of his character by uniting different lines and shapes to give her overall appearance; this then leads to the design having appeal to those viewing the design.

Glen Keane’s artwork has given life to many memorable characters in modern Disney animation; being the man behind the Beast, Tarzan and Aladdin, as well as Ariel and Rapunzel, his work as an animator, director and character designer truly stands out and is an inspiration for many budding animators, as well as a delight for audiences of all ages. Keane is definitely hugely inspiring and empowering to the animation industry, then and today.

Bibliography

Lenburg, J (2006) Who’s who in animated cartoons: An international guide to film and television’s award-winning and legendary animators. New York: Roundhouse Publishing Inc.

Study Skills - Introduction to Animation

Animation is defined as an artificial creation of the illusion of movement in inanimate lines and forms (Wells, 1998). The word “animate” itself traces its origins to the Latin verb ‘animare’, which means ‘to give life to’. The above definition, while providing a general overview of what animation might be, only applies to drawn animation – thus neglecting other forms of animation. Thus, Norman McClaren states that animation pertains more to the art of movements that are drawn, not the art of drawings that move. To him, it is what happens in between the frames itself is more crucial than what happens on the frames themselves (Wells, 1998).

To McClaren, what is most vital in animation the process of creating the animation itself - the creation of movement on paper, manipulation of clay, etc. – rather than the final images that would be used to create the resulting animation.  To Richard Williams, however, animation is all about ‘doing simple things – one at a time’.  Animation is a bit like acting – it is a vital part of the whole, and if one cannot portray movement in their drawings (or manipulation of other material used), it would be almost impossible to portray the acting (Williams, 2001).

Animation can be traced back as far as in the ancient times where images are depicted in a sequence. In the 16^th century, the advent of flipbooks emerged in Europe, serving as a medium to express feelings and thoughts about taboo subjects without inhibition (Wells, 1998).

In 1824, Peter Mark Roget introduced the theory of ‘persistence of vision’, a principle that notes that the eyes temporarily keep the image of anything they’ve just seen (Williams, 2001). When images are projected in a sequence in quick succession, it gives an illusion of an unbroken series of moving images, thus creating the illusion of movement. This quickly led to a number of inventions that apply this theory: for instance the thaumatrope, a device in which a cardboard disc, with two different drawings on either side, is attached to two pieces of string; when the strings are pulled together, the disc twirls, merging the two images together to create an illusion of movement.

Figure 1: Thaumatrope. Williams, 2001, pg. 13.

Another notable device that plays on Roget’s idea of the persistence of vision is the zoetrope, or the Wheel of Life, which appeared in the US in 1867. This device was sold as a toy, and it worked by inserting strips of paper containing a sequence of images in a cylinder with slits in it. When the cylinder is spun, and one looks into any of the slits, the images appear to move.

Figure 2: Zoetrope, Stage Nine Exhibit Design, 2011.

Most notable of these inventions is the flipper book, which came around in 1868 – a simple device that exists even until today. It is simply a collection of drawings bound along one edge, like a book. By holding the book on the edge and using a thumb to flip the pages, the images appear to move in quick succession. This technique is still widely used in animation today.

Figure 3: Flipbook, Competency 7- Animation

In 1914, Winsor McCay, an artist noted for his efforts in turning animation into an art form, having created animation sequences for his “Little Nemo in Slumberland” and an animation short named “How a Mosquito Operates”,  wowed the audience with his ‘interactive’ animation titled “Gertie the Dinosaur” – McCay himself performed before the audience, holding an apple in front of Gertie and inviting her to eat. The act of Gertie lowering her neck to eat the apple astounded the audience so much that it became a sensation.

Figure 4: Gertie the Dinosaur. Williams, 2001, pg. 16.

It can be said that the rise of animation came about in the 1920s, beginning with Felix the Cat, who was as popular as Charlie Chaplin. This then led to Walt Disney’s “Steamboat Willie” in 1928 – the first cartoon that featured synchronized sound. The response to such animation was tremendous.

Figure 5: Steamboat Willie, Design History Timeline, 2013

From then on, Disney was “the big name” in the animation industry – beginning from Steamboat Willie, Disney went on to create the “Silly Symphonies” and then moved on to create the world’s first animated feature: “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. The extraordinary financial success and positive critical reception of the film soon put Disney as the pioneer of “The Golden Age of Animation” – with Disney creating more successful animated films as well as various shorts featuring notable Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.

Figure 6: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Animated Film Reviews, 2012.

The types of animation vary greatly over the years – from simple flipbooks to computer-generated 3D animation that is the rage today. The most notable of these is cel animation – widely produced and industrialised by companies in the US and Japan, and till this day still remains popular despite the rise of other forms of animation.

Figure 7: Examples of cel animation. From left: The Little Mermaid. Disneyscreencaps.com, 2013; The Transformers Movie. The Spinning Image; Dragon Ball. Fanpop.com, 2012.

Figure 9: Examples of stop-motion animation. From left: The Nightmare Before Christmas. Comic Vine, 2013.; Wallace and Gromit. The Movie Database, 2002.

The process of animation-making begins with a brief: it can contain the storyline, characters and what needs to be done. Then, a storyboard is created, detailing how the animation would go. This then leads to the leica reel, or animatic color storyboard, that shows the production team what works and what doesn’t. When the leica reel is done, planning drawings (small thumbnails depicting a clear understanding of shots) are made, before key positions are decided. After key positions are determined, animators start determining where the ‘extremes’ are before starting roughly on any passing positions. These are tested constantly so that animators can see and determine how the animation goes, and make any adjustments and corrections as they saw fit. Here, the 12 principles of animation are applied extensively, to ensure the resulting animation becomes alive enough to captivate the target audience intended.

Figure 10: an example of a storyboard. E4 Youth, 2013

Animation has captivated people, young and old, throughout the ages. It is an expression of art and form as well as a medium of entertainment enjoyed by everyone.

Bibliography

Wells, P (1998) Understanding Animation. London: Routledge

Williams, R (2001) The Animator’s Survival Kit. London: Faber & Faber

Images

Figure 1: Williams, R., 2001.  Thaumatrope.  Illustration. London. Faber & Faber. Pg. 13.

Figure 2: Stage Nine Exhibit Design, (2011). Zoetrope [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.stageninedesign.com/http://www.stageninedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Zoetrope-211x300.jpg [Accessed 10 May 13].

Figure 3: Competency 7 - Animation, (2000) Flipbook [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.itma.vt.edu/modules/spring03/multimed/images/flipbook.gif [Accessed 10 May 13].

Figure 5: Design History Timeline, (2013). Mickey Mouse debuts in the first animated cartoon [ONLINE]. Available at: http://designhistorytimeline.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Steamboat-willie.jpg [Accessed 10 May 13].

Figure 6: Animated Film Reviews, (2013). Now look, boys.... [ONLINE]. Available at: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAVTK3gXVX3aiReSwG3XVlPdxkpgLpXdykdfgSdLa6iyA-jS7HBwL0M-TBl3_5dI5Uwe9odX-zGp2Qbl9loolWVtVulKo5EmShutMNb7jA4EURXUoyMJGLKFJZ10ZWBE6tsH7W5WcCVTr/s1600/Snow+White+dwarves.jpg [Accessed 10 May 13].

Animation Review - Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Figure 1: Promotion poster for Grave of the Fireflies.  AsianCineFest,  2011

Grave of the Fireflies is a 1988 film written and directed by Isao Takahata and animated by Studio Ghibli, based on a 1967 semi-autobiography written by Akiyuki Nosaka. The story revolves around World War II Japan and focuses on a boy named Seita and his younger sister, Setsuko.

The entire story focuses very much on the emotional aspect of life during war - through the usage of close-up shots to depict emotions such as anxiety and fear that the characters are experiencing, and long shots for much happier, lighthearted moments. The usage of colors in this is also cleverly done to depict emotions: for instance, the first few scenes in the film uses bright, saturated colors together with close up shots to evoke a sense of danger and fear, while other scenes employ the use of softer colors to create a sense of peacefulness.

Figure 2: The heavy use of vibrant, more saturated colors to create a sense of danger.  Anime Your Way, 2011

Figure 3: Use of softer colors to depict happiness and peace. FlickeringMyth.com, 2013

The entire film moves at a slow pace, taking its time to show the daily life of Seita and Setsuko. This allows for both the buildup of anticipation for what is to come next, as well as give viewers the chance to identify with the two characters that are the main focus of the animation. It is this precise slow pace that allows viewers to sympathize more with the two characters, particularly at the end. 

Figure 4: The colors add to the slow pace of the film. Listal.com, 2013

It is easy to sympathize with the two children, particularly Seita, who finds himself to be Setsuko's sole guardian after the loss of their parents. There are not many characters that are employed in this film, allowing for the viewers to focus mostly on Seita and Setsuko, the main characters of the film.

Grave of the Fireflies is a very powerful movie, even if the subject matter seems simple and mundane. The simplicity of the subject together with the complex detail and near-realistic character design helps convey and amplify the core message: perseverance of love in hard times.

Figure 5: The story focuses on mainly Seita and Setsuko. Fact.co.uk, 2013

Picture credits: 

Glick, S., 2011. ACF 1263: Sentai filmworks acquires rights for Grave of the Fireflies. Available at: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFhyphenhyphenNfBvMeaelb6lkRhZ70iaGg8vIAXuRk3uyr9sww-23PtxzDUPMH3g4_vfTnRbLLe1-0Ic9p2VaD0-B8RiumAxYwno3klt0az_bLm8RgOySiCSKMcNEJaYhfAOufFhGDaje44RgoP78/s1600/grave-of-the-fireflies.jpg [Accessed 18 June 2013]

Anime Your Way, 2011. Grave of the fireflies - review. Available at: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyVF4whC1ID71vzQx0hu4dfwmUwznWsuImw9kAvXWu7RJ1k7V4d2GIdhXW8Iwu0goJSQdSKyz0PARyAqvoicIBlmrD82w1mFypKbITM_YcnncZhyOEEtF8CsaLk5hAQhldoivd-O9ftZnF/s1600/fireflies.jpg [Accessed 18 June 2013]

FlickeringMyth.com, 2013. Movie review - Grave of the fireflies. Available at: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AffVMKdFQcQ/UZ0iQGKj4BI/AAAAAAAA0EA/hzN8FU6nHxk/s400/21011-620x-grave_of_the_fireflies_61917-1280x720.jpg [Accessed 18 June 2013]

Listal.com, 2013. Available at: http://www.listal.com/viewimage/1363363h [Accessed 18 June 2013]

Fact.co.uk, 2013. Grave of the fireflies (subtitled version). Available at: http://www.fact.co.uk/media/12442946/Grave-Of-The-Fireflies-post.jpeg [Accessed 18 June 2013]

Study Skills - Environmental Issues

Environmental problems are defined as a process of resource consumption that has negative effects on the sustainability and quality of the environment (businessdictionary.com, 2013). Human life support is entirely dependent on the well-being of the environment – being a part of the biosphere. When one aspect of the biosphere is thrown off balance, it will affect the rest of the system as well. (ODonell, L., 2006)

There are several types of environmental issues that affect the environment, and this includes: air pollution, water pollution, global warming, deforestation, land pollution, radioactive pollution, noise pollution, visual pollution, soil erosion and thinning of the ozone layer, among others. These are mostly caused by human activity and is damaging to the environment.

Air pollution is a contamination of the atmosphere, disrupting the composition of chemicals in the air. They can come in the form of dust or excess harmful gases such as carbon dioxide or other gases that cannot be removed completely through natural cycles such as the nitrogen cycle or the carbon cycle. Air pollution is caused by exhaust from vehicles or manufacturing plants, open burning, or building construction. Effects include the increase of smog and haze, higher acidity in rain, and increase in the rate of pulmonary diseases such as asthma.

Water pollution is the contamination of water, from chemical, particulate or bacterial matter that decreases the quality and purity of water. Causes include sediment from soil erosion, improper waste disposal, and decaying of organic material in water supplies. This will decrease the quantity of drinkable water, as well as impacting marine life.

Radioactive pollution is rare, but very dangerous, even deadly, when it occurs. Because of the intensity of the damage that can be caused, there are strict government regulations to control radioactive pollution. Sources include leakage or accidents in nuclear power plants, improper nuclear waste disposal, and uranium mining operations. Radioactive pollution may cause birth defects, cancer, and is overall harmful to both human and wildlife.

Global warming, or climate change, is a significant change in the global climate for an extended amount of time (Kim, Y et al., 2010). It is caused by an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, mostly induced by human activities. This in turns affect sea levels due to the melting of polar ice caps, unpredictable weather, and increase in global temperature (Vickiilene, 2006). Perhaps one of global warming’s most dire effect is the melting of polar ice caps, as this will have a number of negative effects. Firstly, it endangers arctic wildlife such as polar bears, as they depend on the polar caps as their habitat. Secondly, since the ice caps are made of fresh water, its melting can throw off the saline balance in oceans causing changes in the ocean currents. Thirdly, the polar ice caps serve as reflectors of light, therefore if polar ice caps melt, the Earth will grow darker and absorb more heat (ODonell, L., 2006).

Land pollution refers to the contamination of soil, preventing natural growth and disrupts the balance of the land. Activities such as land filling and deforestation deliberately harm the environment, while others are accidental, such as non-sustainable farming, dumping of waste and erosion from acid rain. This can lead to desertification, soil erosion, reduced crop yields and water pollution due to the erosion of soil (Mayntz, M., 2006).

It is essential that people should take care of the environment as it is an essential part of life.

Bibliography

ODonell, L. (2006). Why Is Our Environment Important?. Available: http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Why_is_Our_Environment_Important. Last accessed 11 June 2013.

Mayntz, M. (2006). Types of Pollution. Available: http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Types_of_Pollution. Last accessed 11 June 2013.

Vickiilene. (2006). Definition for Global Warming. Available: http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Definition_for_Global_Warming. Last accessed 11 June 2013.

Kim, Y.S., Granger. E et al. (2010). Global Warming Definition. Available: http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2010/finalwebsite/background/globalwarming/definition.html. Last accessed 11 June 2013.

WebFinance. Inc, . (2013).  Available: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/environmental-problem.html. Last accessed 11 June 2013.