To encourage animators to check out new instruments and methods following the discharge of Harmony 21, Toon Growth Animation assembled a demo pack titled “The Components of Animation,” which options work from six artists taking part within the firm’s Ambassador Program. Every artist employed for the undertaking contributed scenes, made utilizing a wide range of cutout and paperless methods — and have been impressed by recipes they’ve a private connection to.
Meals and household are sometimes inextricably baked collectively as ideas, at the least for Mollie Ong. Throughout lockdown, the L.A.-based animator and daughter of Singaporean immigrants obtained a style for her heritage by studying to make liang pi, an historic noodle dish whose identify interprets to “chilly pores and skin.” She then introduced this reference to heritage and historical past to life utilizing Concord 21.
Although Ong is a Toon Boom Ambassador and up to date CalArts graduate, she solely started utilizing Concord just lately. One would by no means know, given how seasoned her ten-second quick felt. Ong’s Instagram illustrates the inventive style she has for hand-drawn sketches and watercolor work, each of which she was in a position to combine effortlessly into her piece utilizing Concord 21’s layering, drawing, and coloring instruments.
The outcomes, very similar to liang pi, are greatest served chilly. Cooked up over six weeks, Ong’s quick feels skilled and polished, playfully utilizing the magic elements of frame-by-frame paperless hand-drawn animation and an expansive colour palette to create a really savory piece that tells the story of this timeless dish. Beneath, Ong tells us about her inventive journey, how she ready her quick in simply six weeks, and which Concord 21 instruments helped alongside the way in which.
Cartoon Brew: How did you get into animation?
Mollie Ong: I’ve been drawing since I used to be a toddler, although no one in my household was actually into artwork. When my mother and father would ask me what I wished to be, I answered an artist — after which they have been like, “However what do you actually wish to be?” I didn’t see artwork as a profession choice till highschool.
James Jean’s paintings made me wish to go into artwork professionally. I used to be actually impressed by his illustrations. I began exploring inventive jobs that would help me and animation was one in all them, so I seemed into it as a senior. I did two years of animation at group faculty earlier than transferring to CalArts. And I’ve been working in animation since graduating.
What are you engaged on in the mean time?
I’ve been doing numerous work with Watcher Entertainment. It’s a YouTube channel by Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej from BuzzFeed. I’ve been serving to out primarily with the Are You Scared sequence and so they’re beginning to carry me onto different minisodes.
And also you’ve been engaged on the Concord 21 demo! How lengthy have you ever been utilizing Toon Growth Concord for?
I used to be extra acquainted with Storyboard Pro going by faculty at CalArts; I didn’t actually get an opportunity to strive Toon Growth Concord till I develop into an envoy earlier this yr. It’s been very easy to be taught, and I used to be in a position to choose it up for this piece. I’ve been taking part in round with it and making an attempt to create a brand new demo reel with it.
It’s wonderful that you just produced such a fantastic and technical piece, having simply picked up Concord!
Yeah, I used to be freaking out, however then after I obtained hands-on with it every little thing made sense. The hotkeys and all of the shortcuts made it so much quicker.
What made you wish to be taught Toon Growth Concord?
I wished to be taught Concord primarily as a result of it’s vector-based. I noticed numerous work popping out that seemed clear and that was one thing I at all times missed with different applications. The cleanup was additionally actually easy.
What was the inspiration for the piece you created in Concord 21?
Because the pandemic started, I took the prospect to be taught extra about cooking conventional Chinese language meals. Rising up, my mother and father gave us extra of an American family so we would slot in extra. I’ve been researching Chinese language cooking and the historical past behind it, so I assumed this was the perfect probability to play with these concepts.
I selected a dish known as chilly noodles, or liang pi — an historic dish created by one of many first dynasties. For this piece, I attempted to include imagery from older instances after which carry it into the trendy period. We begin with the women kneading the dough in a extra rustic location after which we finish with it being bought on the street from a meals stall in China, which is form of the way you see it as we speak.
Did you discover ways to make liang pi your self throughout lockdown?
Yeah, by numerous trial and error. [Laughs]
When you have got the time throughout lockdown, why not?
Yeah, and it was exhausting to seek out what elements of the method to incorporate within the story as a result of I solely had ten seconds. The primary scene was boiling the spices, after which we go into kneading the dough and steaming — after which consuming, after all.
An important half! So how lengthy did it take you to supply that entire ten-second quick?
It took a superb month and two weeks, working 8-to-12-hour days.
Your work has a fantastic watercolor and sketch high quality to it. May you inform us about the way you used Concord 21 to create that look?
It was really so much less complicated than I assumed it could be. It was only a matter of bringing in a scan texture and including it onto the colur swatch choice earlier than layering the totally different colours on the identical objects. Concord additionally allowed me to control the feel in order that it moved together with the characters. Then I’d simply have to choose by a number of the frames that weren’t in the proper place and reposition them.
It seems such as you additionally performed with the opacity instruments, colour palettes, and the paint instruments. How did these issue into creating this watercolor impact?
Concord 21 allowed me to paint sure elements of the picture, texture that, after which create an overlapping form over that present texture with a unique colour at a unique opacity. It created this watercolor impact the place you have got these overlapping strokes. It’s numerous creating particular person shapes that symbolize brushstrokes after which combining them to create a complete picture.
One other of the opposite standout elements of your quick was that scene transition with the bowl of noodles. How did you do this?
It was only a matter of layering the timeline in order that the bowl of noodles overlapped on the earlier scene, after which at one level lined the width of the scene. That’s the place I used to be in a position to reduce out the earlier scene and begin the following one. Only a easy graphic swipe, actually.
Principally, simply one other use of Concord 21’s layering software?
Yeah, however within the general timeline. With that scene, as a result of I needed to animate the bowl of noodles in addition to it swiped throughout, Concord got here in useful: you can copy and paste and reuse the earlier body with out shedding the road high quality, as a result of it’s vector-based. I used to be in a position to do this scene transition in two days, whereas earlier than it could have taken me per week.
If you used the bowl to transition into the following scene and the noodles and cilantro are transferring round too, was that additionally utilizing layering?
First, I needed to do the precise noodle animation and that was frame-by-frame monitoring. For the opposite elements, I needed to observe them on prime of the noodles and the way they transfer. Once more, body by body, transferring every — choosing and transferring or erasing and redrawing, relying on the way it moved with the noodles.
You’re hand-drawing all of them the way in which alongside?
Yeah. [Laughs]
That’s wonderful! As an artist comparatively new to this system, are you having fun with Concord’s hand-drawing options?
Yeah, positively. I choose to hand-draw as a result of it simply offers a unique feeling, reasonably than simply puppet actions. It allowed me to do the noodles with that fluid motion.
Had been there every other Concord 21 options that basically stood out?
The coloring instruments. The truth that you can use the pen software to make an invisible line to be able to shade rapidly. Transferring the linework to the beneath layers allowed me to do actually sketchy animation and clear up on one other layer, after which switch that very same info to the colour layers.
It was actually wonderful what you probably did in six weeks, particularly because you have been studying Concord as you went.
Yeah, this system made it so much simpler to do it quick.
What different tasks do you have got developing?
To date, it’s simply freelancing for smaller corporations. I’m additionally making an attempt to pursue oil portray on the facet. In some way, I wish to create a demo reel that merges my love for portray and animation by animating this portray look. I’m simply ready for the correct amount of time to attempt to develop that.
And do you assume you’ll do this in Concord?
Positively. I simply want extra time to mess around with the instruments!
Need a style of the latest options in Concord 21? Uncover the brand new options here and obtain a 21-day trial. Curious concerning the different “Components of Animation”? You will discover extra articles concerning the taking part artists here.
