'Ook and the Blue Wheels' by Luka Pinto

Luka's animation begins with Ook skating down the street, looking almost like the opening scenes of Mr Benn walking down Festive Road and indeed some of the music Luka uses is also reminiscent of British 1970's children's animation. His character 'Ook' could be compared to 'Morph'. Here however is where the likenesses end, this animation is aimed at a much older audience as we discover when Ook spikes Burney the policeman with 'liquid 666' and Burney slips into a Luka's time-lapse animation of graffiti inspired felt-tip pen doodles.

The bottle of 'liquid 666' was the beginning inspiration for this story, Luka discovered it in a cabinet of Victorian medicines at the Jersey Museum. In the original illustration project the story was much longer, there was a whole background to Ook and Burney's relationship. As many of the other students have, Luka has had to edit his ideas in order to achieve a finished animation in just 6 weeks and the story feels more sophisticated for it.

Luka has been incredibly organised over the course of this project and has constantly refined ideas through experimenting by making tester animations to help him understand the very best ways to animate his characters. I have had a sneak preview today of the scene of Ook skateboarding down the street, (you can see the tester animation for that scene here on Flickr) it looks fab, I'm also looking forward to seeing Burney's trip scene when Luka switches from cutout animation to time-lapse photography. You can see some more animation tests for that technique here on Flickr. You can also see recognise an influence from Blu and David Ellis in Luka's work, see more about those artist's work on Luka's blog post here.

Below are Luka's storyboard instructions.

1. Ook comes out of the front door with his 'liquid 666' and skateboard. Ook side on in front of door (1-3 seconds)
2. Ook skateboarding down the road. Ook side on, move along background of row of houses as Ook skates (2-7 seconds) Sound of skateboarding, cars, maybe background noise of people.
3. Burney the Policeman is sat on a bench, Ook spikes Burney's coffee with his 'liquid 666' without him noticing and runs off. Camera slowly moving from right to left. Sound of cars, sound of Ook laughing a little bit (1-5 seconds)
4. Burney drinks his spiked coffee, view Burney straight on. Sounds of cars slowly fade out as he drinks, sound of mechanical toy being wound up (2-5 seconds)
5. Burney's trip scene. Time-lapse animation of doodles. Music; Mr Bungle, Gollem II, at 24 seconds the song sucks up, cut at the first frame of scene 6
6. A dog barking wakes Burney up, he walks out of frame. Back to everyday sounds of cars (3-7 seconds)
7. End credits, time-lapse animation of doodles again. Sound of skateboards (3 seconds)

'Clyde the Clumsy Cow' by Diana Hey

For her illustration project Diana's Clyde the Cow started off as Cassie the Cow who visited a fancy dress shop and went back to her field with a princess hat. Diana has decided to adapt the story for her animation by making it more slapstick, with more movement and unexpected comedy enhanced by silly noises. Hopefully making it more appealing for her intended pre-school audience. Also Cassie has turned into Clyde, perhaps to appeal to both girls and boys. You can view Diana's animatic here on Flickr along with her original illustrations of Cassie the Cow.

Below are the storyboard instructions;

1. Cylde is sat in his field, boored. Super Mario soundtrack (4 seconds)
2. He jumps over the fence. Super Mario jump sound (3 seconds)
3. BOING! And falls into a bin (1 second)
4. Bin falls over. Tipping metal sound (2 seconds)
5. Boinging, bouncing sound as Clyde tips out of the bin (2 seconds)
6. SPLASH! Clyde bounces into a puddle (2 seconds)
7. BEEP!, a car whizzes on to screen (3 seconds)
8. CRASH! The car and Clyde collide (3 seconds)
9. Clyde gets up (3 seconds)
10. The shock makes him poo (2 seconds)

'Rockin' Horse' by Pip Renault

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Pip's animatic makes me laugh every time I see it. I think it has a great soundtrack, I love the way the music is muffled behind the door and then blares out at full volume as 'Gator' kicks the door down. I also love the sound of the electric bolts shooting out of his fingers. But I think what I like most is the fact that it was sparked off by a beautiful traditional wooden rocking horse that he drew in the nursery of the Merchant's House at the Jersey Museum. I shall always think of 'Gator' every time I visit the Museum now.

Pip has also really understood and exploited the potential of perspective and point of view, the 'camera' movement echoes the liveliness of the music. I'm looking forward to seeing the final animation, the cutout of the character 'Gator' looks very promising and I imagine that the sequence of them both head banging and the stage lights flashing will work really well once animated. I think Twisted Sister would enjoy it too, if anyone out there knows them then please pass it on...

1. Close up of Rockin Horse looking bored, he sighs
2. Shot slowly zooms out from his face, he looks up when he starts to hear muffled rock coming from the room next door 'I wanna rock! Rock!'
3. Gator kicks down the door screaming 'ROCK!" as his music booms into the room, he is holding a bag
4. Gator points at Rockin Horse in an Uncle Sam style and says 'You wanna Rock?'
5. Electric bolts shoot out of Gator's fingers turning Rockin Horse into a Rocker
6. Extreme close-up of Rockin Horse's eyes with piercing and eye make-up 'I wanna Rock!'
7. Gator and Rockin Horse head bang, stage lights flash

'The Adventures of Mikey Rabbit' by Jake Stoodley

Jake's story has been loosely based on his friend Mikey's weekend binges at Snow Hill, names have not been changed, he may be hoping that Mikey won't recognise himself as a tattooed rabbit.

His animatic as you see it here on Flickr isn't finished yet, it will have a narrator's voice who sounds like DJ Lance Rock in Yo Gabba Gabba who will be ineffectually telling Mikey Rabbit off as he makes drunken mayhem.

Jake originally photocopied his drawings in black and white but they lost so much of their aesthetic qualities that he was persuaded by the other students to keep the coloured collages. His stick and ink drawings are similarly appealing, showing a particularly apt naive line. Jake also hope to go on to study illustration and/or animation at degree level so if you like what you see then leave a comment to let him know.

1. Mikey is at Snow Hill toilets. Narrator; 'What are you doing? What's that? I think you should put that down'
2. Mikey is near the grass area. Narrator; 'Have you got a bad tummy? I told you not to drink that stuff'
3. He's walked to the grass area. Narrator; 'Mikey are you OK?'
4.He's got big and bad. Narrator; 'Mikey are you a bad mo fo?'
5. He has fallen asleep behind the box. Narrator; 'What have you done Mikey? Oops the police are coming'

'The Little Anglerfish' by Kerry-Ann Smith

For our previous project Kerry wrote and illustrated a complete children's book titled 'The Little Anglerfish'. You can see it and read the story on Kerry's flickrstream here. As I'm sure you will agree Kerry is a highly talented illustrator, there are so many beautiful aspects of her illustrations from the deep watery feel of her use of inks mixed with salt and bleach to the rendering of the shoal of silvery fish.

Kerry's original story was far too long and complex to make into a 60 second animation, so she adapted it for this animation project. The animation has the same moral, the ugly anglerfish is rejected and finally accepted by the shoal of silvery fish, in her second retelling Kerry has refined the ideas to a more sophisticated, less obvious story. However what Kerry has exploited most cleverly for this animation is the movement of the fish swimming. Out of all the student's work Kerry has really understood and run with the idea of giving her illustrations movement and life. You can see Kerry's full storyboard and animatic on her Flickrstream. Even the quick, rough sketches on the storyboard show the viewer exactly how these fish will move across the screen.

Below are the storyboard instructions;

1. Background fades from black and the anglerfish begins swimming upwards (6 seconds)

2. Flicks to new shot, anglerfish swims up into it and stops, looks slightly left of camera (use a still hold) fish appear in the background (2 seconds)

3. Turns to face the shoal as they swims closer (fish should reflect light as they swim)

4. Shoal swims along (use whooshing sound for each curve) (3 seconds)

5. Lure grows brighter, anglerfish swims quickly off shot (2 seconds)

6. Shoal swimming slowly, anglerfish swims up below them

7. The shoal swims quickly away (6 & 7, 3 seconds)

8.Lure dims and sinks, anglerfish swims downwards after them (2 seconds)

9. As anglerfish approaches the shoal splits and darts behind him

10. Anglerfish swims after them and shoal dodges behind them (9 & 10, 6 seconds)

11. Shoal: foreground. Anglerfish: background. Swims into foreground and the shoal disperses (2-3 seconds)

12. Anglerfish stops, lure fully dims and droops down (2 seconds)

13. (zoomed out) Shoal swims away and then stops and faces anglerfish (2-3 seconds)

14. Fish stop and turn back to face anglerfish, then swim back over to him (2 seconds)

15. Fish begin to circle anglerfish, lure begins to light up (2 seconds)

16. Shoal swims in a loop around him. Anglerfish looks up, lure is glowing bright (6 seconds)

17. Anglerfish swims with the shoal (2 seconds)

Kerry hopes to go on to study illustration and/or animation at degree level, hands up anyone out there who would like to give her a place!

Access to the Jersey Heritage Art Store

Henry Bosdet

Edmund Blampied

Edmund Blampied

As part of the student's research we visited behind the scenes at the Jersey Heritage Art Store, primarily to make drawings from Edmund Blampied's wonderful etchings of farming in the early C20 and his illustrations for Peter Pan. But we also discovered huge Bosdet cartoons for stained glass windows, beautiful Jersey travel posters from the fifties, painted Blampied caricatures and an enormous portrait of Hitler that hung at the old Forum cinema during the Nazi occupation. See more at our Flickr site here...

Joanna

Drawings from the Jersey Museum Collection

See some of the drawings in more detail at the students' new Flickr site here...

Joanna

a new term, a new class, a new brief...

"The purpose of this project is to stretch your response to “illustration” in ways that you have never before considered. You have purposefully been kept in the dark about this project so that you would collect arbitrary information from the Jersey Museum collection to work with. We are now asking you to put these drawings to one side and resist the urge to jump ahead with final ideas whilst you research the many aspects, uses and audiences of illustration and then go on to experiment with a range of illustrative media and techniques.

You will begin by spending some time at the Jersey Library looking at newspaper and magazine illustration, graphic novels, comic strips, children’s book illustration and the illustrative work of fine artists. You will also visit the Jersey Heritage Art Store to look at the original drawings of C20 Jersey artist Edmund Blampied. You will look at contemporary illustration online at flickr.com, weblogs such as DRAWN! (drawn.ca) and also use youtube.com to research contemporary digital illustration in advertising, television and film. You will use this time to forget everything you thought you knew about illustration and move your ideas into new and exciting areas of illustration, stealing ideas to experiment with.

Your research will then inspire your own experimentation with illustrative materials, techniques and processes. These experiments will be vastly wide-ranging in order for you to assess the suitability of many different approaches and also ensure that you move away from your usual “style” or approach to illustration. Be prepared to have every mark you make challenged. Whilst you experiment you will also be choosing or perhaps even writing your own words to eventually illustrate.

At the mid-point of your time back in the studio you will write a short brief outlining your final piece plans and pitch your experimental illustrations and story ideas to the group and receive constructive feedback concentrating specifically as to whether the style of your illustrations, the compositions and the media and techniques used communicate the narrative well and whether they are suitable for the audience that you have chosen. You will use this feedback to further develop your final illustrations.

After half term you will develop the illustrations/characters/or even small aspects of your narrative into either two-dimensional digital animation OR three-dimensional moving sculpture."

Joanna