Semiotics within Concept Art
Constructing Visual Language
A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Animation Department
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Master of Fine Arts in Animation
at
The Savannah College of Art and Design
Maeve M. Broadbin
Savannah, GA
© November 2015
Larry Valentine, Committee Chair
Aram Cookson, Committee Member
Holly Goldstein, Committee Member
Acknowledgements
Thank you to the faculty of SCAD, my friends, and my family.
Table of Contents
1. List of Figures
1
2. Abstract
2
3. Introduction
3
4. The Basics of Visual Vocabulary
6
5. Developing a Language
10
6. The Use of Symbolism
14
7. Successful and Unsuccessful Visual Language
17
8. Benefits of a Visual Vocabulary
21
9. Conclusion
21
10. Application: Body of Work
23
11. Appendix A: Visual Component
27
12. Filmography
43
13. Bibliography
44
List of Figures
Figure 1:
The Gates (Project for Central Park, New York City)
3
Figure 2:
Concept Paiting by Méliès
4
Figure 3:
Still from A Trip to the Moon (1902)
4
Figure 4:
Character Design from The Croods (2013)
7
Figure 5:
Character Design Sheet from Aladdin (1992)
8
Figure 6:
Concept Art from Rise of the Guardians (2012)
10
Figure 7:
Shirley Temple’s Good Ship Lollypop
12
Figure 8:
Still from Cats Don’t Dance (1997)
12
Figure 9:
Still from Coraline (2009)
13
Figure 10:
Still from Coraline
13
Figure 11:
Chart from Barthes’ Mythologies
14
Figure 12:
Concept art from Princess and the Frog (2009)
17
Figure 13:
Concept art from Lady and the Tramp (1955)
17
Figure 14:
Still from Foodfight! (2012)
19
Figures 15-20: Visual Exploration of Thesis (Body of Work)
22-24
1
Abstract
Semiotics within Concept Art
Maeve M. Broadbin
November 2015
This thesis paper examines how concept artists employ visual language for world building. This
analysis will break down the elements that make up a visual language, in order to assess the
delivery of information from film to audience, focusing on the semiotic roles of visual language.
An assessment of the terms signifier and signified reflect various possibilities to create
complete worlds with rich backgrounds in the most proficient way possible.
Keywords: Concept Art, Animation, Semiotics, Visual Development, Symbolism
2
INTRODUCTION
Concept art, otherwise known as visual development, refers to the images created to
help the production pipeline of animation envision the final product, whether in an abstract or
practical sense. While written prompts can explain an idea, visual development uses shape
language and design to convey a wide array of ideas and possibilities. In order to examine
conceptual art in early animation, it is helpful to examine its predecessors.
The term “Concept Art” has been used by many different industries, each with various
applications. Advertising, industrial design and publishing industries have been large industries
that recognized the advantage of pre-production art early on, to help encourage potential
investors and ultimately sell products. Even within the spectrum of fine art, there is often a
large amount of pre-production work involved in realizing a final product. The maps,
blueprints, and concept sketches by the artists Cristo and Jeane-Claude, for example, are
Figure 1 The Gates (Project for Central Park, New York City) Drawing 2003 in two parts .
3
displayed in a visually conscious way within galleries, as seen in Figure 1. This “preparatory”
work, as it is defined on the artists’ website, is not only integral to the final product but has its
own intrinsic value.1 The concept art becomes a fundamental aspect of Cristo’s work, elevated
to fine art status.
However, it is the pre-production art of live theatre that is most directly the precursor of
pre-production in movies. A prime example would be the works of early 19th century filmmaker
Georges Méliès, who transitioned from stage to film. Known for bringing his background as a
magician to the realm of film, Méliès’ movies often included special effects and fantasy
landscapes. In order to bring imaginary characters and places to life, he provided sketches to
illustrate what was needed for set designers and background artists. As seen in Figures 2 and 3,
Méliès used these preparatory sketches to help realize the final product. A Trip to the Moon
Figure 2 A concept painting by Méliès.
Figure 3 The final still from A Trip to the Moon (1902).
1
“Preparatory Images: The Gates”, Christo and Jean-Claude, accessed September 1st, 2015,
http://christojeanneclaude.net/projects/the-gates?images=preparatory#.VjjBM7erSHs.
4
(1902), Méliès’ film about a fantastical space voyage, was initially thought out on paper before
it was filmed. These sketches and paintings created the foundation for Méliès’ mature visual
style.2
Like Méliès, Walt Disney also needed preliminary sketches for his films. He employed a
group of artists within the large Story Department, later to be broken off into an independent
unit known as the “Visual Development” Department. Early artists like Gustaf Tenggren
represented this transition, beginning in background and eventually creating “dozens of
stunningly beautiful little mood paintings that defined the overall style of the Silly Symphony.”3
Eventually, the studio came to rely heavily on these artists. Animation professor John
Canemaker describes in detail the department, and by extension, what concept art truly means
for animation:
The ‘inspirational sketch’ or ‘visual development’ artists, designers, and stylists create
conceptual artwork that explores the visual possibilities in a literary property. Through
daydreams and doodles they attempt to ‘find’ the film: the appearance of the
characters and their relationships, the action’s locale, a sequence’s mood and color,
costume and set designs, suggestions for the staging of scenes, gags, and a production’s
overall style.4
Concept art is the basic visual language created for the style of a film. This language is
constructed from a visual alphabet of shape and color. The visual syntax is then composed
2
Elizabeth Ezra, Georges Méliès: The Birth of the Auteur (New York; Manchester: Manchester
University Press, 2000).
3
Pete Docter and Didier Ghez, They Drew as They Pleased: The Hidden Art of Disney’s Golden
Age (San Fransicso, California: Chronicle, 2015), 134.
4
John Canemaker, Before the Animation Begins: The Art and Lives of Disney Inspirational Sketch
Artists (New York: Hyperion, 1996), IX.
5
through repetition, omission, and modification of these elements. Finally, images are made to
dictate mood and story. In order to create successful concept art, and thus a successful visual
precedent for a film work, this visual alphabet must be examined.
BODY OF INVESTIGATION
THE BASICS OF VISUAL VOCABULARY
In order to fully understand a visual vocabulary, the foundations of visual language must
be broken down and explained. Throughout history, humankind has used shapes and colors to
depict imagery. Once again, we can draw on the parallel of the spoken word: a series of sounds
strung together creates a word, which carries a message, while these aforementioned visual
components create forms that carry their own message. Shape and color can be equated to the
“sound” of visual language.
At the most basic level, a shape on paper can depict something that exists in the threedimensional world. When one wants to depict a human head, the most basic representation is a
circle; a triangle represents a mountain, and a square can be a box.
Beyond the basic forms shapes mimic, there is a subconscious language of shapes that
has been studied extensively in psychology and art history. Within concept art, shapes usually
are given personalities that transfer into the object or character they create. A common
6
association, for example, is that squares represent stability. Takao Noguchi, a character
designer on The Croods (2013), explains how the character Grug is based off the square:
We envisioned this big, square body and football shaped head…Grug’s square shape
represents toughness and power, both his position within the family and his
responsibility for it.5
Figure 4 Grug’s Character Progression.
These shapes can be combined and subtracted from each other to display more complex
character traits. For example, the character of Eep from The Croods needed to have various
traits:
5
Noela Hueso, The Art of DreamWorks the Croods (London: Titan Books, 2013), 27.
7
Since Eep is a blend of both her parents, we gave her a wide, triangle-shaped body on
top, which indicates that she’s tough and athletic; a round face, indicating her softer,
more feminine side…6
The artist considered the aesthetic and the psychological implications of shape and
design. These personalities that shapes indicate can change from film to film, depending on
what shapes are present and absent. For example, the triangle shape of Eep is tough and
athletic, but the triangle structure of Jafar from Aladdin (1992) is menacing in comparison to the
Figure 5 The main lineup of the cast of Aladdin are mostly made of softer shapes
rest of the characters.
Color is also an efficient vehicle for emotion. Culturally there are many subtle
differences, but there is a general accepted mood behind each hue. Blues are calm and restful,
6
Ibid., 39.
8
while reds are active and powerful. Patti Bellantoni, a teacher at the American Film Institute,
elaborates on strong emotional links between color and emotion in film. “Bright red is like visual
caffeine. It can activate your libido, or make you aggressive, or anxious, or compulsive”,
Bellantoni states, while blue is “quiet and aloof…think of The Cider House Rules or The Shipping
News.”7 Color also changes meaning depending on what surrounds it; simultaneous color
contrast is the phenomenon where two colors side by side affect how they are perceived. A red
will look more vibrant next to a green, and a bright blue might be lost in a field of neon yellow.
Similarly, the meanings of these colors are affected when put into a larger context.
Each prop, background, and character are usually broken down into the two categories
of shape and color. In Rise of the Guardians (2012), the characters were given a basic shape and
a basic color scheme that reflect their environment and personality.
Two of the many interesting aspects of the movie are that each character and their
corresponding realm have their own shape language and color scheme. Beneath all
their telling flourishes and details, the designs for each of the Guardians and their
realms are rooted in simple shapes: North is based on a square; Bunny on a triangle;
Sandy on a circle; and Tooth on a diamond. And the North Pole is predominately ice blue
and gray, which supports the idea that North’s operation is one with the surrounding
Arctic environment, allowing him to hide his workshop in plain sight…8
Within shape and color, there are a myriad of complex meanings and structure, which
the concept artist can utilize to create both basic images and larger ideas. Using these building
blocks, concept artists can apply a solid foundation of language for the audience to learn. The
7
Patti Bellantoni, If It’s Purple, Someone’s Gonna Die: The Power of Color in Visual Storytelling
(Burlington, Massachusetts: Focal Press, 2005) 2-82.
8
Ramen Zahed, The Art of DreamWorks Rise of the Guardians (San Rafael, California: Insight
Editions, 2012), 23.
9
next step in the visual vocabulary structure is the imagery created from shape and color.
Figure 6. The basic shape language of the main characters from Rise of the Guardians.
DEVELOPING A LANGUAGE
In visual development, imagery is created when shapes and colors combine to create
recognizable forms. Color and shape work together to have both visual meaning and emotional
significance. When discussing the villain’s lair in The Princess and the Frog (2009), artists had to
combine these two elements to emote a feeling of evil.
In designing these more ominous settings of the city, the artists developed a visual
vocabulary that would reinforce both the mood of the spaces and the characters that
inhabit them. Tall, vertical narrow spaces and doorways, strong contrast, and unsettling
light and shadow patters add disquiet to tables containing candles, bottles, statues, and
scrolls. In all, elements of fantasy and terror are more pronounced and stylized as an
environment for a smooth-talking operator looking for a big catch.9
9
Jeff Kurtti, The Art of The Princess and the Frog (San Francisco, California: Chronicle, 2009), 52.
10
Though color and shape must work together, the concept artist must also decide what
type of imagery they will use. The imagery can be unique or highly referential, ranging from a
distant alien palace to a stylized Statue of Liberty.
Referential imagery benefits from already having meaning to the audience; it draws on
the viewer’s previous experiences. When creating concept art for a film, artists will often cite
“inspirations” and source material from existing architecture, art, or nature. Drawing from this
source material gives a familiar base from which to start. The Princess and the Frog, for
example, is set in New Orleans in the early 20th century.
The architecture, including Art Nouveau and other design prevalent in the 1920’s,
ornamental elements, even the signage helped to drive us towards a style and in a
design direction. Most of all, we were inspired by the sense that it’s a real world, but
one that has a uniqueness to it, an almost otherworldly quality.10
There is a benefit of using familiar imagery; it makes the story more believable and real
for the audience. Later in the Princess and the Frog, an old New Orleans warehouse is
repurposed into a restaurant. Visual development artist James Aaron Finch speaks on making
this transformation realistic: “there are props that you put in there so people can understand
that it represents a warehouse, an abandoned industrial space that she’s found.”11 This allows
the audience to believe the visuals in front of them, and in turn, be invested in the story. “I
think the challenge,” Finch continues, “…is to try and find the right visual language that will be
10
11
Ibid., 19.
Ibid., 47.
11
identifiable for the audiences to see a transformation that is realistic.”12 Believing in the reality
of the scene setting supports a complete immersion for the audience.
Subverting familiar imagery has a large impact on the audience. The film Cats Don’t
Dance (1997), for example, used the seemingly pristine image of Shirley Temple as the basis for
their villain, Darla, as seen in Figures 5 and 6. The former film uses the imagery of New Orleans
to support their story, while the latter uses the image of Shirley Temple to make the villain
Figure 7. Shirley Temple.
Figure 8. Darla from Cats Don’t Dance.
character surprising and unique. These two films benefit from the meaning their referenced
imagery symbolizes.
Unique imagery provides an interesting challenge because the audience is unfamiliar
with the visual language. The film Coraline (2009), for example, uses unique character designs
with warped proportions and shapes. To provide continuity, Coraline takes advantage of color
to support its imagery.13 The film takes place in two worlds: the everyday world and one that
12
Ibid., 47.
13
Coraline. Directed by Henry Selick. (Hillsboro: Laika Entertainment, LLC, 2009).
12
fulfills the protagonist’s desires. The worlds are literally mirrors of each other, with very little to
differentiate between who is good and who is evil. However, the fantasy world is considerably
more saturated and elaborate, while the real world is dull and grey. Later on, the fantasy world
becomes a dangerous place, and the colors become unnaturally bright and vibrant. This is how
the audience learns to differentiate between the two worlds, and as the plot progresses, these
saturated colors soon feel unnatural and foreboding. Although the audience would be
unfamiliar with the character designs and themes of the film, the concept artists utilized color
to provide an overall theme that the audience would quickly understand.
Figure 9. The “normal” world of Coraline.
Figure 10. The “other” world of Coraline.
The audience can use the groundwork of a visual vocabulary as a touchstone throughout
the film. For example, to determine if a character is good or evil, the audience will not only
refer to the basic psychology of shape and color, but will also reference the previous images
they encountered within the film. Basic pattern and selection utilizes here, as the audience has
13
been exposed to and is now fluent with the visual language of the film. Imagery can now be
used as an efficient vehicle for meaning.
This transfer of information from imagery to audience can be further examined by
looking at semiotics. Semiotics, commonly known as the study of signs, is also the study of this
transfer of information, and how it exactly occurs. A well-known theorist and linguist, Roland
Barthes, studied Semiotics extensively and wrote about this transfer of information in his book
Mythologies (1957). 14 Using the example of Barthes’ Myth, one can plug in imagery and see
how it turns into a symbol.
Figure 11. Semiotics, as explained in Barthes’ Mythologies.
THE USE OF SYMBOLISM
Semiotics is defined by UCLA Professor Erkki Huhtamo as a “field of research that studies
signs as an essential part of cultural life and communication. According to semiotics, we can
only know culture (and reality) by means of signs, through the processes of signification”.
Ferdinand de Saussure and Charles Sanders Pierce founded semiotics in the 19th century. 15
Many theorists from different fields have since elaborated upon the study, as sociology,
14
15
Roland Barthes and Annette Lavers, Mythologies, (New York: Hill and Wang, 1972).
Erkki Huhtamo, Visual Communication and Semiotics, (Los Angeles: UCLA, 2003) 1.
14
linguistics, and psychology all use semiotics. Roland Barthes built upon Saussure and Pierce’s
work to specifically examine images in advertising and products, exposing the psychological
implications of imagery and how it can be used to subconsciously instill values.16
Roland Barthes divided Semiotics into two categories: Language and Myth. As
illustrated in Figure 9, Semiotics can be broken down in to a very basic formula. A simple
example would be a picture of a single four-leaf clover in a vast field. First category is the
language: The signifier is the ink and color, the signified would be the clover and field. These
two combine to the third sign: a clover in a field. Signified from this is luck. Ultimately, the
myth is what is derived from the signifier and signified. The myth derived from this second level
of signifier and signified is that clovers are rare and lucky. This principle can be applied to the
visual foundations discussed previously. For instance, the meaning of the four-leaf clover could
change if its leaves were suddenly sharp, or the color changed. Concept art exploits the ability
to take existing symbols and either support them, change them, or reject them based off the
choices the artist makes with their visual alphabet.
Beyond identifying the signified and signifier, there is the process of encoding and
decoding symbolism. Stuart Hall, a cultural theorist who furthered Barthes’ research on
semiotics, describes images as being initially “encoded” with meaning, then “decoded” when
the audience receives the message and interprets it. The encoding happens “in the production
process and in the placement within a certain cultural setting”, meaning the process and the
environment in which the image is shown both have an effect on meaning. The decoding of the
16
Barthes and Lavers, Mythologies.
15
image, or in this case, visual language, by the audience can have several different outcomes.
Hall name three separate stances an audience can take in regards to decoding an image:
Dominant-hegemonic, Negotiated, and oppositional. The Dominant-hegemonic stance is when
the audience accepts the intended and “dominant” message of the image. Negotiated stance is
when the audience created their own version of the image; they take their own opinions and
apply them to the dominant message. Finally, the oppositional stance is when the audience
completely rejects the message by either refusing to acknowledge it or accepting an
oppositional meaning. 17 Visual development artists must be careful to chose imagery that is
very clear to the audience so that the dominant message is received; the audience can be
allowed interpretation, but an oppositional stance by the audience would mean the message,
and therefore the visual language itself, has failed.
When creating concept art, concept artists are careful to portray images that will at the
very worst be accepted with a negotiated stance by the audience. In order to achieve this,
artists usually work in reverse when creating symbolism. When creating a character, the visual
development team must determine first what the character represents, or the sign, and then
work backwards from there. During development for the villain’s lair of Rise of the Guardians,
his representation was considered first:
Since Pitch is considered a subtractive force (he thrives on fear and negative forces in the
universe), the artists decided to take away the light from his palazzo, making it a realm
full of sharply contrasting hues and dramatic, graphic shadows.18
17
18
Huhtamo, Visual Communication and Semiotics, 2-3.
Ramen Zahed, The Art of DreamWorks Rise of the Guardians, 111.
16
Using the model of Barthes’ Myth, one can break down the meaning behind the lair: the
sharp hues and graphic shadows are the signifier, the palazzo the signified. This is the visual
language of the film. The palazzo in turn becomes the signifier of fear and negativity. Finally,
this creates the sign of the palazzo being the villain’s evil hideout, a dangerous place. This is
what Barthes labels as “myth”; an accepted meaning behind a sign.
When concept art is able to lay out the foundations of semiotics successfully, it supports
the feeling of continuity within the film. After the visual development team establishes an
overall myth of a film, it is used repeatedly throughout. The audience recognizes the myth,
which allows the film to progress smoothly without having to explain what certain aspects
represent.
SUCCESSFUL VISUAL LANGUAGE
Figure 12. Concept art from Princess and the Frog.
Figure 13. Concept art from Lady and the Tramp.
17
Throughout the history of animation, there have been many examples of successful
visual vocabulary. An overall visual vocabulary can be already established by the studio. When
creating The Princess and the Frog, the concept artists looked an older Disney film, The Lady and
the Tramp (1955). Artist James Aaron Finch states,
We knew we were working on a period piece and we knew that some of the architecture was of
that Garden District and French Quarter feel, so we looked at Lady and Tramp not so much for
the ‘application of paint,’ but definitely the caricature of shapes, and the compositional
elements. Large foreground elements utilizing the screen shape, and then space of depth, and
pattern, and a nice balance and rhythm of light shapes. 19
By using an already established visual language, the Princess and the Frog benefited
from a strong foundation. Throughout the film there is no point where the audience has to be
reminded where the film is taking place, or if a place if foreboding or safe.
However, concept art can also be directed by the story, and the characters are shaped
more out of their necessities and environment than a visual language established outside of
their own story. The Croods is an example of this. Because the setting is pre-historic, the visual
development team had to create a world and characters that were not as well documented as
the 1920s New Orleans. Producer Jane Hartwell comments on how the look of characters were
dependent on their necessity to be strong to survive:
19
Kurtti, The Art of The Princess and the Frog, 52.
18
We didn’t want them to be modern; but we didn’t want them to be stereotypical cavemen
either. We wanted them to go out there and be super powered. The directors wanted them to
be human and fallible but they needed to be special in their strength.20
Further along in the development, the team was challenged with creating a character,
Guy, who represented the change within the group. The character had to have a unique design
while still remaining human. Once again, the team wanted to look at the character from a
design standpoint and from a practical, narrative-driven standpoint as well.
Guy has an X-shaped body and a hexagon shaped face…his thin waist and wide ankles
emphasize the difference between Guy and the Croods. His wider shoulders indicate toughness,
while his narrow chin indicates that he’s eating cooked food, not just raw meat. 21
The character’s design comes from his role as an agent for change and because of his
evolutionary status. A change in his diet from the main cast was one of the main factors that
made him unique. Because of the strong visual vocabulary of the core cast, this character is
automatically seen as “different,” and thus a catalyst for change to the audience. The film uses
the established myth that the main characters look and act a certain way based on their design.
The new character is different because of his shape language, thus giving him the sign of
“different.”
UNSUCESSFUL VISUAL LANGUAGE
The visual language of a film will occasionally fail to portray myth efficiently to the
audience. This is due to a lack of consistency in design as well as a weak commitment to the
20
21
Hueso, The Art of DreamWorks the Croods, 27.
Ibid., 52.
19
visual language throughout the film. Foodfight! (2012) exemplifies an animation film that draws
on too many influences, becoming confusing and ultimately unsuccessful. The film is based on
popular food brands within a typical American supermarket. These products are all based in
different visual languages, so there is no sense of coherence within the film. In addition, there
are so many varied character designs that there is no visual harmony or hierarchy; each of these
characters’ designs were originally created to stand out on their own. This creates a dissonance
that is felt throughout the entire film.
Foodfight had no original visual language because of the dependence on using varied
characters based off food branding. The characters are visually conflicting in design, as seen in
Figure 14. Still from Foodfight!
20
Figure 14. The variation in shape, color, and detail with the characters create confusing
compositions. Likewise, the environment is a mixture of architecture and food packaging that
has no unifying design element.
THE BENEFITS OF A STRONG VISUAL VOCABULARY
A strong visual vocabulary is a good foundation for securing a cohesive story for the
audience. When the visuals are consistent and interrelated, the narrative can progress
smoothly. Smooth character and environment design can only support the narrative, and make
the experience more enjoyable for the audience.
There is also an economic benefit to a successful visual vocabulary. When a strong visual
vocabulary is established, a character can walk on screen and the audience will already know if
they are an agent of change, such as Guy from The Croods, or a villain such as Jafar from
Aladdin. If a film has a strong visual vocabulary, the audience will be able to interpret its
content without having to be expressively told what it means. Because of this, there is less time
wasted on exposition and dialogue. A strong visual vocabulary is essential for successful world
building and economic filmmaking.
CONCLUSION
From a flag representing patriotism to a heart representing love, we have a tendency to
construct our own modern “myths” from contemporary symbols and images, giving objectively
21
mundane entities great significance. These symbols become their own visual language,
substituting image for text. Narrative animation is a medium built in iconic visual
communication, and is an ideal method for modern myth building. Concept art is an exercise in
creating a rich visual language that portrays myth with efficiency and economy. In animation, it
is imperative to find the most straightforward avenues with which to deliver ideas to the
audience, so viewers can draw conclusions from characters and settings from only a quick
glance to avoid costly exposition.
Concept art is an intrinsic part of the narrative animation pipeline because it creates its
own visual language for the film by employing the idea of signified and signifier. A successful
visual language builds upon a strong foundation of shape and color. The artists then can choose
to use pre-existing symbols or create unique ones. At the very core, a visual language is based
off a series of symbols that create a sub-narrative element throughout the film. The audience
quickly learns to recognize the visual patterns of the piece, and the visual hierarchy becomes a
narrative device that is just as informative as dialogue and action. Each time a new visual
language is exposed to an audience, the audience learns the “mythology” of that particular film.
This technique is utilized by art everywhere, however concept art is arguably the most
reliant as well as the most successful in employing this idea. If successful, the audience is able
to synthesize this information and be immersed within the film, allowing the visual language to
communicate vast amounts of information within a short time period. Because of this, the
audience can understand more information without being directly told. A successful visual
language saves time, and therefore money for a narrative animation production.
22
APPLICATION- BODY OF WORK
The synopsis of the work is as such:
The world is still reeling from the discovery of Goliaths: large, somewhat sentient beings that roam the
land. Though they do not seem to notice humans, they eagerly battle each other, resulting in
catastrophic damage that has stretched to both coasts of the United States. Travel is hazardous, and the
land is littered with Goliath parts that have dangerous and valuable uses. Even though much has
changed, many have adapted: specific groups have formed that chase Goliaths across the country in
order to harvest the prized wreckage of the Goliath battles.
This visual thesis project employs Barthes’ Myth, and also considers the more common
definition of the word “myth” as well. The “Hero’s Journey” is a well known storytelling arc
that is present throughout history, and in a sense, the story structure as a whole is a signifier of
myth throughout human history. Extending the parallel between Barthes’ Myth and the Hero’s
Journey are the tropes that compose the journey itself. The sage, the hero, the moment of
doubt, and the goddess are all symbols that have been adapted and changed throughout
storytelling but remain mostly constant in their meaning.
23
Utilizing the traditional hero’s journey for story structure, this body of work will employ
a large and varied language of modern symbolism. Visuals are reliant on American
infrastructure and Americana; the audience already has a familiar relationship with these
categories. Like Pop Art from the 1960’s, this work strives to have the audience reexamine
familiar symbols in different context. These images use Pop Art design vehicles such as
repetition, omission, and substitution to reframe popular imagery.
Though the backstory has been thought out, the primary goal of this visual component is
to display a body of work constructed from a base visual language. The intent of the visual
component is a focus on shape, color, and imagery to create a harmonious visual language.
The work includes color and lighting keys, with mood paintings and character designs. Finally,
several moving vignettes demonstrate how this language would work in film. All pieces are
made digitally with Photoshop, the industry standard, and some aspects of the work utilizes 3D
models and existing photography. The 3D models are made in Autodesk Maya, as well as
24
Sketchup Pro. The photography is utilized in the concept art technique called “photo-bashing”,
a process that manipulates the opacity, color, and contrast of a photograph. The image is then
either cut up or warped to fit within the painting, and then is over-painted to integrate it within
the piece.
The color and lighting keys, as well as the thumbnails for the final paintings, have a
specific process of creation. Colors are selected either from palettes from photographs or from
basic color theory such as triadic or complementary color. Shapes and composition are created
using processes such as photo-bashing as well as free-form shape creation, and then refined
according to compositional and narrative demands. Another program used is Alchemy, a
25
random-image producing software that is shape-based. These are then taken to completion.
The pieces were put on display, allowing the audience to examine the works one by one
and observe the growth and process of the body of work. The display also drew heavy influence
from the preparatory works of Jean-Claude and Christo. As seen in the figures on page 24, the
display of the piece included preparatory work and color paletes similar to the preparatory work
of the Gates. This demonstrates the timeline from thumbnail to sketch and finally to 3D image.
As most of the work is stationary and illustrative, the method of display was traditional hanging
within the gallery.
The moving images demonstrate how the concept pieces influence the final look of the
film. A projector played these next to the framed pieces, so that the audience was able to study
the leap from stationary painting to moving film.
26
Visual Component
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
Filmography
Cats Don’t Dance. Directed by Mark Dindal. Hollywood: Warner Bros. Animation, 1997.
Coraline. Directed by Henry Selick. Hillsboro: Laika Entertainment, LLC, 2009
The Croods. Directed by Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco. Glendale: DreamWorks Animation,
2013.
Foodfight! Directed by Lawrence Kasanoff. Santa Monica: Threshold Entertainment, 2013.
Lady and the Tramp. Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wilfred Jackson.
Burbank: Disney, 1955.
The Princess and the Frog. Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements. Burbank: Disney, 2009.
A Trip to the Moon. Directed by Georges Méliès. Paris: Star Film Company, 1902.
Rise of the Guardians. Directed by Peter Ramsey. Glendale: DreamWorks Animation, 2012.
43
Bibliography
Beck, Jerry, Will Friedwald, and Warner Bros. Cartoons. Warner Bros. Animation Art: The
Characters, the Creators, the Limited Editions. Beaux Artsitions. ed. New York: Barnes
and Noble Books 2002.
Bellatoni, Patti. If It’s Purple, Someone’s Gonna Die: The Power of Color in Visual Storytelling.
Burlington, Massachusetts: Focal Press, 2005.
Canemaker, John., Before the Animation Begins: The Art and Lives of Disney Inspirational Sketch
Artists. New York: Hyperion, 1996.
Christo and Jean-Claude. “Preparatory Images: The Gates”, Christo and Jean-Claude, accessed
September 1st, 2015, http://christojeanneclaude.net/projects/thegates?images=preparatory#.VjjBM7erSHs.
Docter, Pete and Ghez, Dider, They Drew as They Pleased: The Hidden Art of Disney’s Golden
Age. San Fransicso, California: Chronicle, 2015.
Ezra, Elizabeth. Georges Méliès: The Birth of the Auteur. New York; Manchester;: Manchester
University Press 2000.
Huhtamo, Erkki. Visual Communication and Semiotics. Los Angeles: UCLA, 2003.
Hueso, Noela. The Art of DreamWorks the Croods. London: Titan Books, 2013.
44
Kurtti, Jeff. The Art of The Princess and the Frog. San Francisco, California: Chronicle, 2009.
Zahed, Ramen. The Art of DreamWorks Rise of the Guardians. San Rafael, California: Insight
Editions, 2012.
45