Final project

"Banana"

Can't believe this is my last project for Kate's class. I'm not fogging up I swear, it's just my eyes are sweating.

My inspiration for this piece was English artist Julia Pott, and her incredible hand drawn 2-d animations. Her animations are adorable and portray very intimate ideas or small conversations. I think my animation is similar because I focused on one single relationship and not a big broad idea. Also, I tried to stick to a very handmade aesthetic, which I like and Julia uses consistently. I think our work differs because I didn't animate the whole body of the bird, just her face, which was a challenge in itself for me. Also our, drawing styles are very different so my animation's style is a bit more unique to me.

The consistency in all of her frame-by-frame animations is also way better than mine. If you click from the first frame to the last frame there a pretty clear difference in what is on character for her. It works though because I think as the piece developed I payed more attention to the way Brynn talks and how she would say things. Ya know, if she was bird. 

So, this piece I created in photoshop CS6 and then polished in Adobe Premiere. The bird's body and the bananas, I actually painted with water colors and ink and then scanned in using the flatbed scanner. A while ago I recorded a small conversation with my little sister, in which she tried to tell me a series of knock knock jokes, and I picked my favorite one out of those. I animated her facial features and the little bugs using the frame by frame animation feature. It was a huge challenge to try and sync up her mouth with the audio. There were a few times that I thought I had it, but it was actually too slow or too fast and I had to scrap the whole 10 or 20 seconds and start over. Frustrating.

Time was of the utmost importance when creating my piece because if the sound or animation was off by a lot it would be very noticeable and irritating. I know that there are a few times the beak does't completely sync up or the key frames were a bit rushed. But I just let that go and it's small enough that it adds a little handmade character. Also, it is alms exactly one minute ling which is kind of odd for me to make something that fits in a perfect time frame. 

I really just wanted to capture this one small moment with my very funny little sister. She literally always screws up this joke every time, so I wanted to show this quirky thing she does. Everything is informed by her bright "chirpy" personality and a bird seemed fitting for her voice. I'm not sure why, but I like art that is candid and personal, so I hoped to make something like that. I originally wanted a story of some significance to animate over, but I think a silly joke is more fitting to me and my sisters relationship. I set it outdoors because it felt natural to see a bird just sitting on a tree branch, however, since you can't see me on the other end of the conversation it feels more like an interview. A little bird interview.

-Avery Violet

Banana - my animated short film

Work in progress

Here's the notes and base drawings for my final project animation. yay!

Ephemeral art side effects

Forgot to post these. This is the aftermath from spending hours playing in the mud.

And yes that is a dinosaur.

-Avery Violet

Mystical shakespeare; Juno

-Juno-

The Tempest

-Avery Violet 

The Tempest: Ariel

I think I’m done with this. 

This is my interpretation of the character Ariel from the Shakespeare play The Tempest. 

I was inspired by the super old silent film version, where ariel is played by a little girl. I like that idea because it keeps at least one character untouched and innocent if she is a child. I also really enjoy when little girls are put in powerful roles, because it’s unexpected and sometimes scary. 

The theme for her costume is a mossy swamp vibe. Ariel was imprisoned in side of a clove pine so I thought woodsy/forest related items were appropriate to dress her in. 

also sparkles because she is a spirit after all. 

-Avery Violet

Assignment 6: Ephemeral art

Triangles

I constructed my project deep in the forest by the tennis courts on campus. The particular spot I chose is inside two parallel rows of trees, so when looking down the row it is very pretty. When the sun finally did come out, the trees gave a lot of shade but some beams came through. Everything was pretty still were I was. Although, the trees were so tall and thin they looked like pipe cleaners blowing in front of a fan. It was a calm space, with not a lot of changes. The thing that attracted me to the space, besides the beautiful hallway of tress, is the amount of movable sticks and fallen branches that were available. I went into it have a few ideas, but seeing all of those large logs it made me want to move them. There's something weirdly enticing and satisfying about moving big things.

I used a variety of sticks and logs to create my piece. First, I assembled them into a "skeleton" of my structure so I knew how big I wanted it to be. I set it so that it connected three neighboring trees. Then it was just a matter of collecting butt-loads of sticks to fill in the middle. I made sure that each one was straight and there were no knobby-bits on the ends, and this did involve smashing some against a tree like a barbarian (New favorite thing to do). The mud was sometimes helpful, but also at times a vice. It was a good cement for the bigger branches, but unfortunately swallowed up the smaller  ones. Also, there is still dirt under my nails but honestly that was expected. I had a few encounters with bugs along the way (including a very lethargic bee), and stabbed myself with the sticks a few times on accident. Since it had just rained, a lot of the wood fell apart in my hands instantly as I picked it up, which at times was a let down and quite gross.

As I was working I felt like I had slipped into a trance in a way. I just kept working and looking for sticks so much that time passed quickly and I didn't even notice how hungry or sore I was until Jess mentioned that she was. I worked instinctively, fitting sticks in the places I felt that they would belong best. It was a really refreshing experience.

The finished piece is probably the largest sculpture I've ever made. It fits on the forest floor like a carpet. It blends in almost seamlessly with the floor around it but under further inspection it is a geometric puzzle. Triangles hold a significant role in my art lately. I like their ability to be sharp and crystalline, but also how simple and whole they are. Two points connected is just a line, but three points make a shape. They're visually pleasing to me, and it was fun to take what I incorporate in my digital art into a natural setting.

At this point in my life, it's not a big deal to me to know my art will perish. I've done big drawings with chalk outside and watched it slowly fade away. The way this piece is set up, being floor bound, I doubt it will disperse too far. However, if it does, I can accept that. I put in around four hours of hard work into making it, but I know that it isn't a waste as long as I enjoyed the experience. My labors are not in vain because it was incredible to make, and there's a small possibility someone will find it and suspect aliens or witchcraft, and that's always fun.

-Avery Violet