“It is inevitable that we will all experience bereavement at some point in our lives after the death of a partner, relative, friend or pet. Grief manifests itself in a range of different ways, and although we know it is an inevitability – how we understand death and accept it when it occurs can be unpredictable. “Bilbo” is a 2D stop motion animation, which illustrates the relationship between an owner and his cat – subtly approaching the idea of the cat’s passing – showing the void left, yet presenting the idea that life continues. My main intention for my animation is for it to act as a supportive film for young children dealing with the loss of a pet. I’d like for it to encourage the remembrance of a life, whilst also offering up conversation and discussion between parents and children – aiding explanation and support”
So above is my final outcome for the Convergence/ Divergence unit – something a few weeks ago I didn’t even think was possible. As an illustrator, this entire project has put me out of my comfort zone. “Animation” is a terrifying word, and still sends shivers down my spine now. But after rendering my final animation, I couldn’t help but sit back grinning and watching it multiple times.
Something I’ve been really interested in since Level 4, is illustrating for children – but I’ve also had a real interest in working on projects that tackle difficult or taboo subjects for children. In order to move forward with my progression as an illustrator – and towards the end of my time on Level 5, this was an interest I wanted to continue to carry forward. About a week before we were briefed for the project I sadly had to say goodbye to my pet cat – who I’d had since I was 5 years old. It was this event in my personal life that informed my practice, I hadn’t yet approached death within my work as I think it’s a subject that has to be dealt with the upmost care and sensitivity – especially with children. But this project not only allowed me to grieve, but allowed me to channel that grief and inform the context of my animation. For instance the scenes that involve the cat as all experiences I’ve had as an owner – it’s a very personal film – yet easily associable by any other pet owner.
Although we were being asked to produce an animation – I didn’t want to leave behind my individuality, style and what interests me as an illustrator. Something I always knew I wanted to retain within my animation was my illustrative style. I also wanted to be comfortable in the way I was producing work – I don’t often work digitally, so it was a case of choosing a direction of animation that would not only allow me to retain my current working method – but also project it into a digital format. Stop frame motion was the perfect technique. I think a big challenge with animating my drawings was having to visualise them as separate components – it was a very thought out process, getting my head around which bits needed to be drawn separately in order to be easily manipulated during the animation process.
If I were to do the animation again there’s probably a number of things I would change (some of them are very minute issues which only play on my mind – so I won’t point them all out to your eyes!) But I would definitely have liked to have a bit more continuity with the lighting of the images – something probably affected by the exposure of the camera during the photographing of the animation. However, the lighting creates these wonderful shadows which people have picked up upon. Visually I find it really interesting, you can see it’s paper cut outs – and this isn’t something I want to try hide or make it appear like it hasn’t been done with 2D cut outs. But it’s a stop frame animation, and I think along with my illustrations and the imperfections in regards to shadows and lighting give it a certain amount of attractiveness. It’s a really charming video and I’m really proud of what I’ve produced. I’ve had a huge amount of positive feedback from various people, they’ve all found it very emotional and all had a personal connection – with regards to their own experiences.
It’s been a challenging – but weirdly enjoyable experience & it’s something I’d definitely like to do again.
But for now I need an excessive amount of tea & a good nights sleep where I’m not dreaming about animating a pink cat.
This one’s for you Bilbo, big love x
OllieJohn Illustration 