Wednesday’s Weekly Reader: Animation Blogs

I guess I technically post these After Wednesday is over, but anyways. I thought I’d finish of my little series of posts on animation by linking to several animation blogs I’d like to share. If anyone knows of any others, feel free to leave them in the comments.

Color Theory in Animated Films
Perhaps one of my favorite blogs right now is Colorful Animation Expressions. In his blog, Iten breaks down animated films discussing composition and color for each shot complete with stills. His current series is an analysis of color used in Disney’s 101 Dalmations. Honestly, I can’t say I’ve ever been a huge fan of that particular film, but after reading the past several posts, I’ve really developed a new appreciation for it. (I’ll have to rewatch it soonish.) Aside from the historical aspects, Iten’s analysis also serves as food for thought in color approaches for both print and new media design. Oh, and his comparison of the digitally remastered version with the older releases was enlightening: I had no idea the remastering could be so subjective. 

Background Art
I recently rediscovered Animations Backgrounds: a blog devoted solely to the background art used in animated features and shorts. It’s pure eye-candy, and great to see the art restored. It’s also interesting how you can tell the style/mood of a shot just from the way the backgrounds were painted. (obviously that would be the case, but it gives some great insight/inspiration into staging and setting a tone using color, etc.)

Cartoon Modern
The modern style of animation came into vogue during the 1950′s. Although I’m not a huge fan of some aspects of this particular period of animation, it’s interesting to see the variety of the style. It’s also interesting to note how some of these influences are at work in contemporary animation. (Foster’s Home, Ratatouille, etc.) Although seemingly abandoned, the Cartoon Modern blog is a great resource for the period and companion piece to the book of the same name. It also just happens to be an off-shoot of Cartoon Brew.

I should also note that all of these sites have great links to more great animation blogs for further reading. Oh, and if you want to check out some great independent work, look no further than Thomas Beard. Now graduated, his Jacob and the Robot series has had me in stitches since he won the top prize at MSU’s animation festival several years ago:

 

Tags | color theory, Disney, film history, Thomas Beard