Year 3: Minor/Major Project: Stylistic Ideas

As a result of both by Initial Influences and the talk I had with Alan, I have decided on two distinctive style ideas that i would like to have for my project. As my Project is about Childhood Fears around people that can be classed as a "Bogeyman" I want to go down either the root of early animation or a more illustrative style.

Fig 1: An Example of a Rubber Hose Style Character- Minnie Mouse

Rubber Hose Animation started of in the 1920s and was a staple of American animation for good couple of decades. Famous examples of this style of animation includes early Disney work like Steamboat Willie (1928), and The Skeleton Dance (1929) as well as the works by the Fleischer Studios (maker of "Swing you Sinners" 1930 and Betty Boop) as well as Paramount Pictures. The first notable character associated with this new style of animation at the time was Felix the Cat, a character that would spawn a whole series of imitations including Mickey Mouse, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Bimbo the Dog. A key characteristic of this type of animation is the flexibility and surrealist nature of it. As this was a first time experience for animations, almost every action a character did was exaggerated in a way that could be perceived as accidental.

Fig 2: Example of the Rubber Hose style of Animation

This is one of the styles of Animation that I like the style and it can give very odd and surreal results for my characters. I could focus on the key aspects of the designs for the characters and how to exaggerate their movements in a way that could be scary. There is also that aspect that old cartoons from that era in general has a certain creepy vibe to it just by how chaotic and surreal the animation can be at times and I'd like to achieve something similar.

Fig 3: Illustration by Edward Gorey

The other Style I'd like to go for is a more illustrative style by artists like Edward Gorey, who was an American Writer and Illustrated his works with pen and ink, depicting scenes from Victorian and Edwardian times in a unsettling way. His art style could fit into the category of gothic but there is a certain type of surrealist nature to his illustrations as well that has become a major influence in many artists nowadays, a big example being Director Tim Burton as well as the art direction in the film the Babadook (2014).

Fig 4: Example of the Gothic Illustrative style present in 2014's The Babadook

This is another style that I would like to explore as it as some horror roots to it which, in my opinion, fit the world of Mr. Plimsole very well. The style was commonly used in Victorian and Edwardian children books so there is a connection to the effect it has on child as well. I would have to go into more detail texture wise to achieve the ink on paper technique associated heavily in the style.