2D animation as a medium is a difficult, but oh-so-rewarding one to explore. In my art, I like to create expressive and dynamic characters, all the while keeping them grounded in their own reality, and I believe 2D animation allows that greatly. To me it is important to have very emotive characters if you want the audience to empathize with them, otherwise, your work will be unsuccessful. Even when I am just working on a digital illustration I aim to convey the intended emotion with the same method. I like to take inspiration from my favorite artists, especially with a number of them having a healthy mix of curved lines adjacent to sharp edges.

 

All of my digital painting is done in Sai because in comparison to similar art programs I’ve tried out I enjoy the simple and customizable tools it has. Meanwhile, my animated works are created in Animate not only because I’ve used it for the entirety of my time in the medium, but also is less complex than other animation programs to be. The setting of my project was influenced greatly by Tim Burton’s film The Corpse Bride with both its setting and character archetypes. Gothic undertones are seen in both because I wanted to incorporate the style that I found to be both out of the ordinary, and still appealing to the eye. The romance intertwined in the narrative is also mildly influenced by it as the main protagonist incidentally meets a young woman that is more than what can originally be observed.

 

Being able to display an intended emotion in a piece of work with its shape language and aesthetic is an important idea to consider during the creative process. In comparison to live action, animation can be appreciated universally when exaggerating the facial expressions and body language; which I strive to do so my work can reach as many people as possible. In the near future, I plan to focus more on the animation side of things to not only refine my skills but to also tell more emotionally driven stories.