AGI Studio One . Folio 1 plan

Over the course of studio one, I would like to make short animated snippets, focusing on experimentation with forms of storytelling in a 2D environment. I want to gather photographic images and use them as layers in my animation series, as well as researching conceptual figure sculptures as a point of reference for creating different figures. In the process of experimenting, I would like it if a character-driven narrative emerges from the works or if the work can capture a unique emotional reality that reflects concepts such as dread, sorrow, or hope. Throughout Studio One I would like to practice proficiency through exploration and experimentation and engage with the limited tools that I have available in quarantine.

I was inspired by the works of Matthew Stone who is a visual artist. He explores the figure through a combination of painting and digital manipulation, presenting segmented busts and bodies played out in abstracted three-dimensional spaces. After painting a series of individual brushstrokes, Stone photographs the gestures and sculpts them around digital figures using several software programs. The wrapped figures hover, twist, and contort above embedded shadows which give the illusion of depth. The final scenes are then printed onto raw linen. He organises and examines complex statements in regard to the relationship between photography and painting, disrupting the holy status of painting as the ‘cosmic flesh’ of art history whilst simultaneously pushing the visceral experience of paint forward.

Colourful brushstrokes digitally sculpted into figural compositions by Matthew stone

https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2018/09/digital-paintings-by-matthew-stone/

I’m also interested in paintings of Joanna Hulin which represents humanity in an honest and individual way. Her expressive use of paint contrasted with precise attention to form gives the works a connection with reality whilst maintaining an important focus on the aesthetics of painting. Taking influence from the stigma surrounding loss and mortality, the work is an interpretation of some of humanity’s biggest insecurities. Using paint as a medium by which to explore these themes, in a nod to the tradition of portraiture commissions, a painting of hands touches us with its familiarity, it seems to have been painted with tender appreciation. The paint makes the figures permanent in time and space exceeding our own lifetimes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcKs1FRgn5i/

I want my work to sit within the field of digital painting and animation. Moving forward in the next couple of weeks, I would like to move away from visual artists and research animators in the field that inspire my style and techniques. Through my folio work, I’m hoping to experiment with new ideas and methods, refining my creative thinking process as well as research skills. Over the next five weeks, I will explore some basics such as transition, colour, and movement as well as character design. In doing so I will develop my own aesthetic style and method which will be the starting point for my 2D animation practice.

The major part of the folio will be produced using Procreate and if possible, Clip Studio Paint, the reason being that they are the only two programs that I have access to at the moment. Initially, I was planning to use TVpaint for Studio One before the Pandemic began.  Considering the limited access to tools and software in the time of pandemic instead of using a variety of programs for making the work, I will experiment with different drawing techniques and develop an understanding of different themes and practices. I’m not expecting the finished work to be coherent and related in every possible way, but I will challenge myself to experiment in a way that is not too distracting and for it to have my own style of art making.