Colour themes...

I have researched on some Chinese art to see what types of colour themes they use so I could try to adapt to some of the themes or mix them together.


I really like the colour theme used for this picture, the red really contrasts with the background enhancing the colour and noticability of the roses. The background colour is light and pale which blend with each other well because the colour range is quite narrow. The colours used are not sharp or excessively bright so its easy on the eyes.


There is only one colour used but the blend of the black is very effective in showing tones and textures of the mountain. The picture made using water based and is exactly how I interpreted the song.


This picture is also water based, the colour range is very blue based with hints of contrasting orange or washed out red. I really like the idea of using a small amount of contrasting colours to make those items stand out.

There are some strong and contrasting colours in specific parts of the paintings to emphasise a specific area but a lot of it is within an area of a certain colour range, these colours are also colours of natural things which narrows down the amount of colours I could use for my animation.

The lyrics...

悟空太热了
WU KONG TAI RE LE
Monkey it's too hot

我受不了了
WO SHOU BU LIAO LE
I can't stand it

热死
RE SI
It's killing me

火焰山有八百里
HUO YEN SHAN YOU BA BAI LI
These mountains are covered with flames for over eight hundred miles

火势烈
HUO SHI LIE
The fire is severe

阿弥陀佛
O MI TO FU

我们怎样能度过此劫
WO MEN ZEN YANG NENG DU GUO ZI JIE
How can we possibly cross here

让行者去借宝扇
RANG XING ZHE QU JIE BAO SHAN
The magic palm-leaf fan from Princess Iron Fan is your only hope

把火扑灭
BA HUO PU MIE
To extinguish the fire

Lyric site

Mediums and materials...

These two videos are a great inspiration to get me thinking about the different mediums and materials I could use or the possibilities of using.



This one is done by drawing on a white board, rubbing out and re-drawing.



This one is created using clay, shaping and re-shaping objects which is a complete re-make to the first video using different elements.

This is an example of how one thing can be achieved using different techniques which is important because it shows the ideas don't always have such linear way of approaching.

Stop motion...

MUTO by BLU



This video is interesting as it shows limitless possibilities of how animation can be done, using any means in its environment and using surreal ideas not being afraid of them.

I can apply this to my project, instead of thinking of something specific and working on it extensively, go about many different ideas and concepts that could help or make ideas flow more.

Various ideas...

Looking at various adverts and pictures and how they use different ideas and ways to show things. This is interesting as it lets me look at what various ways to present their ideas and how they can play with anything digital and traditional.


Playing with cultural references which can also can have a humorous effect on the picture.


I like how this advert uses mixed materials and media to create the image of a speeding bike. For my project I could apply the same idea of mixing media and materials instead of solely using digital.


I like the technique of tilt shifting photography, playing on perspectives and also focusing on a specific part of a picture.


Playing on everyday shapes and sizes to make them represent something else is interesting as it means not everything is literally what it shows.


This example is what I visioned for part as my animation, where smoke forms an image of something and in this case an image of a unborn baby.

Smoke..

After looking into the water and ink effect, I found that smoke was very similar in style in terms of flow and cloudiness. I really like the concept of the music video being abstract as I think it fits well with the song. Its unpredictable and mysterious so there is a lot of directions for this to go.

Here are a few examples of smoke made into shapes and images I found on the web.


This is a fusion of different colours, blended together to look like almost like an explosion.


This is multiple smoke effects blended to make one image of a grim reaper.


Smoke make to look like a person.


A really nice abstract shape in which three different colours blend with each other.

Water and ink...

This is my initial idea of what I had in mind after listening to the music.


The concept of flow and trickling, ink dripping into water diluting into characters and scenery then disbursing into the water. It would also have a stop frame effect to create a time lapse like the pictures are almost being painted into the water by the ink.

Here are a few more videos that have different amounts of ink being poured into the water to create different effects and feelings. The heavier the ink clouds the heavier the music, the lighter the ink cloud are the mellower the music is.







I found this video especially nice as it plays with the time of ink flow, how it can achieve pace by doing this.

Current monkey...

Olympics 2008


This is the current style of monkey used in the Olympics 2008.


Its very bold in colour with little texture, very illustrative style which can be used for animation as well as still.


Also looks very hand draw in some close ups, the textured edges and crossing over lines make the animation seem doodley.


A definite cartoon feel in the style of art. Contrasting in terms of background and characters style. Character seems like traditionally hand drawn but the background is computer graphic gradient shine.