OUIL505: applied illustration RESEARCH INTO: colour, tone, setting, character & narrative
THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA This movie feels like a moving watercolour painting, a moving fairy-tale itself. The reason why I’ve chosen this film as a significant source of research is the attention to colour, detail and all around sense of narrative the art direction communicates. Colour in this film is extremely soft, almost washed, but it still has an extremely vast colour palette that correlate with the tone of certain scenes and the overall mood. The characters flow through the course of the film, like a literal moving painting and that sense of smooth narrative really helps the source of the storyline overall. In regards to the aesthetics and emotions of the film, since it is set in a Heian period Japan the overall melancholy and focus on nature is a given due to the philosophy and beliefs at that time.
IMPORTANCE OF COLOUR
THE SECRET OF KELLS The use of colour and surface pattern influenced by Celtic folklore and the extensive illustration of the actual Book of Kells and the mastery of western calligraphy. The blend of Celtic patterns and the actual landscape is what initially attracted me to have this film as a main point of research for this project. Scale, shapes and depth are also another element of this art direction that has been a particular interest of mine. Something that I noticed while watching the film is the drastic contrast between some scenes, in regards to the tone via the colour scheme of specific scenes. It really goes to show the importance of colour visually and emotionally.
USE OF SPACE & CHARACTER Whilst rewatching the ‘Secret of Kells’ one of the most prominent elements I saw time and time again in the film was the significant use of both character, colour and space. A lot of shots can features either three or less characters and perfectly frame. The use of muted colour and the significance of space and shape shows the amount of thought put into each frame. Although they are still screen caps of these shots, you can still sense a narrative in these caps and that shows an amazing use of silent narrative.
SONG OF THE SEA Created by the same studio of ‘The Secret of Kells’ this film has quickly become one of my personal favourite animated films. The reason as to why I have picked these particular products is due to their clear inspiration from folklore or mythology, it is reflected in their storytelling, art direction and concept art. ‘Song of the Sea’ has a gorgeous world fit for the Irish setting the story takes place in. The characters in particular are one of the most outstanding bits of the film, aside from the use of landscape that perfectly contemplate this peculiar yet whimsical world.
DEVELOPMENT OF CHARACTER
OKAMI Okami is a hidden gem of a game developed by Clover Studios and directed by Hideki Kamiya, it is a rich experience filled with stunning visuals. The game itself draws heavily from Japanese folklore and mythology, in particular the use of Shinto. Okami’s art direction is clearly inspired by wood-block ukiyo-e paintings, as well as traditional architecture and craftsmanship of ancient Japan. The entire game feels like a woodblock painting come to life from the breadth of environments the different locations offer. Okami also feels very much like a legend itself as the story progresses and as the environments get more different during each story arc. The characters fit perfectly well in this world, they are vibrant and memorable. Most of the characters themselves are based off their folklore counterparts and most of their own narratives follow their origins. What also struck out to me was the amount of concept art that was produced during development, especially concerning the actual locations in-game and the vibrant colour palette behind it. The game itself actually features artwork during the main cutscenes of major events that are ukiyo-e styled paintings that cement the idea that the game itself feels like a legend, or something of tale.