*ED EDD N EDDY RESEARCH PT2*

~ STYLE OF IMAGE ~

Antonucci wanted a unique look to the cartoon and wanted to stand out from the other cartoons aired on Cartoon Network at the time. The other cartoons a had simple straight line art style. Antonucci used a technique where even though the animation is static, the line art will constantly move, called the boiling line technique. In order to achieve this look, the artist/inker would trace the same drawing three times to give the illusion that the still image is moving when show on tv, because it’s shot every three frames.  Every character has different coloured tongues in the cartoon which was not a random design choice; it was actually because one day Antonucci was working in his office, when his son and his friends came in and all had different coloured tongues from the sweets they were eating and he thought it was cool and implemented it into the character’s design. To really develop each character’s personalities, Antonucci made sure to have every character have their own walk and run style to better differentiate   them. Even Ed, Edd n Eddy’s blinks are different according to Antonucci.

~ BEHIND THE SCENES ~

Artist 10- Phillipe Druillet

Phillipe Druillet is a comic artist  and innovated French comic design and creation. His first books were inspired by H.P. Lovecraft and A.E. van Vogt; Druillet later went on to redesign the book covers of Lovecrafts books. He was nicknamed the "space architect" due to his backdrops being inspired by Art Nouveau,  Indian temples, and Gothic cathedrals. He has also worked with architecture, rock opera, painting, sculpture, and digital art as well as his career with illustration and cartoons.

His stories revolve around science-fiction stories. The underlying line art is incredibly intricate, including every brick on a building or piece of clothing on background characters, creating the illusion of wide angle shots within his artwork. The lines, though creating an elaborate scene, appear sketchy due to repetition in close proximity which also appears as shadows within the drawing. This effect is analogous with other comic artists but incredibly effective within Druillet's intricate artwork. His work relies on heavy shadow and single strong light sources within scenes, perhaps very dull lighting elsewhere within the image.

His use of colour is also incredibly effective. Though often block colour (or tones of colour blending within the same space), contrasting colours are used within the same image to highlight the characters in the foreground, maintaining the intricacies of his backgrounds whilst highlighting the characters within the scenes. His work began to include colour when Druillet began using airbrushes.

I started with the elements I thought would be easier. This meant feet, tail, hair, face, and collar. At this stage, the most egregious errors are the ears and legs. With the ears, I have cheated them around the head. They jump from the back, then the sides, then the back again so they don't get in the way of the character details. This means they don't make a full rotation and glitch around the head. I corrected this later by making them complete a full rotation and covering up some of the details on the back.

The legs make an upside down v shape when the character faces forward but bow out, creating an o shape when the character faces backward. I also corrected this later.

The Battle of San Romano is a painting by Paolo Uccello in the 15th Century. It is a painting with a lot of movement and depth considering the time it was made. The amount of movement and characters meant it would be perfect for an animated investigation, which Shwizgebel directed.

The work remains consistent with his previous 2004 piece with the illusion of a prolonged panning shot. The lances inclusion, spinning as the image pans furthers the impact if the panning. The technique feel disorientating and replicates war and it's chaotic nature.

He works his way fron the outer edge to the centre clockwise. There is no speaking, just music for the animation to sync to on key notes. It would be an interesting task to take a painting and animate it in the way that Shwizgebel has done here.

I like the opening of this short film and how it immediately indicates the subject matter by portraying a shadow moving around a cube. It's a simplistic and effective beginning shot. The camera then pans around the cube as the shadow continues to move, as does the background which consists of contrasting orange and blue before fading to black and white for the first scene. This has a disorientating effect and sets up the camera rapidly moving and changing replicating a long panning shot throughout the piece. The cube imagery also lasts portraying various objects and appearing to represent the repetitive and mundane nature of urban living.

As the piece tells the story of a man who loses his shadow, it makes sense not only that the locations features have harsh lighting to show the shadow but that the camera hangs on the shadow for long periods while he still has it.

When the man walks into a party appearing to be hosted by the devil, the cube imagery is still there but less prominent, sharing the camera's focus with circles now apparent in shadows and architecture. The colour sceme also changes in that colour is now present rather than remaining black and white.

I find it interesting the ideal provided to him by the devil is a cube castle. I believe the symbolism may be the desire to cling to the human experience, which he can no longer do after giving up his shadow.

After the deal, the artstyle shifts to a more realistic one which I associate with paintings. The overall piece seems to have Escher and Dali influences but the first style reminded me of Lowry's matchstick men whilst the second feels more like a simplified version of Renaissance paintings, perhaps portraying the idealised life he is now leading. The fact that the animation utilises painting on glass is an element I really like.

The style then returns to the first as he begins to explore the world, the cube imagery also returning, eventually finding his place behind a white sheet (a square) manoeuvring shadow puppets with ease due to his lack of shadow.