Advanced 2D - Research

This week i have been researching different styles of animation for my final one. It is going to be based on the poem called Mighty Oak.

Mighty Oak

Stand tall oh mighty oak, for all the world to see,
your strength and undying beauty forever amazes me.
Though storm clouds hover above you,
your branches span the sky,
in search of the radiant sunlight you
count on to survive.
When the winds are high and restless and
you lose a limb or two,
it only makes you stronger, we
could learn so much from you.
Though generations have come and gone
and brought about such change,
quietly you've watched them all yet still
remained the same.
I only pray God give to me the strength he's
given you,
to face each day with hope, whether
skies are black or blue,
Life on earth is truly a gift
every moment we must treasure,
it's the simple things we take for granted
that become our ultimate pleasures.

It was written by Kathy J Parenteau and this is what she says the poem is about. "I wrote this poem many years ago when I was grieving my grandfather's death. He was a published poet and the light of my life. I saw him as that oak tree. He was always so strong and his faith never wavered. He taught me so much about life and love and family, but most of all about Christian faith. He will be forever missed but someday I will meet him in heaven and until then this will always be my tribute to Caleb Fowler, the greatest man I ever knew."

I liked this poem because i could imagine and see the animation going on in my head. I could also relate to what the poem is about, I lost my great grandfather many years ago and i connected with the poem and i feel once the animation is done many other people will be able to connect with it also. 

I next went on to look at different styles of animations to find something that would work well with this poem. 

Thought of you - Ryan Woodward

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfHjlA4iV4s 

I liked this animation because i like the sketchiness of it, how it is not perfect and is deliberately like this, which adds to the emotion of the animation. I also like the use of only three colours and how it is simple but very effective towards the audience. The background makes the piece stand out as it allows both the black and white to be seen clearly on it, which is something that could be useful in my animation. The way the woman is light compared to the man makes her stand out and almost makes her look magical. It also tends to symbolise the soul and death. I want to use a similar light/ magical style in my animation when the grandfather is with the grandchild to make it look heavenly. 

The Art of Drowning - Diego Maclean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIIcXRbwyvY&index=5&list=PL87F29739173A9FC7

I still like this animation because of the sketchiness as well. I feel like this style is what i am looking for with my animation and it portrays the emotion well. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcUPie32IMo

Although this is just a quick little animation showing something you can do on after effects, i like the style of it. They way the colour is sometimes in the line and sometimes out is nice and i think it will suit my animation in the way that i do not want it to be perfect. 

I need to research more about the people that created these animation so i can learn more about their styles.

I also looked at this website http://www.illustrationweb.com/styles/loose it has a lot of artists who style is sketchy in black and white and also with colour. This website will be helpful to look at for ideas on style.

Next i looked at trees and since my animation would be focused around a tree i wanted to look at different styles of oak trees people had drawn. I made this collage

These two trees caught my eye. I love the sketchiness of the first one and along with the animation above i think they link in well together. The bottom one i like the colour and the way it is painted, it looks real and painted at the same time.