Liu Minghua, ML. 2010 'Study of Image Design in Animation'. Asian Social Science, 6(4), pp. 39-43, [Online]. Available at: http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/detail?sid=6a7e57b5-e255-4203-9422-5100c3d315f7%40sessionmgr115&vid=7&hid=115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=a9h&AN=49175188 (Accessed: 4 April 2011)
This extract is about different cultures aspects of their own animation style. The style for each culture can be traced to the cultures traditional art scene, so using culturally traditional styles of art to create an art work that uses modern technology.
"4. Local characteristics of the image design in animation
Considering the art design styles in numerous Chinese and western animation films, animation artists of all
nations put their hands to local traditional artistic forms and absorb quintessence of indigenous culture and
particular artistic manifestation means to create animation artistic styles of their own and to continuously enrich
their animation artistic styles and forms.
4.1 Local characteristics of Chinese animation
After undergoing cultural accumulation and inheritance for thousands of years, the traditional Chinese fine arts
have formed rich and unique expressive system with local characteristics, which deserves further research and
discussion by current animation creators. Expressive forms of the traditional Chinese fine arts include all sorts of
traditional Chinese operas, relevant masks and costumes, all sorts of consummate and excellent technology, such
as ceramic craft, knitting, knitting and dyeing, embroider, puppet, types of facial makeup, sculpture, bamboo &
rattan knitting, dough figurine fabrication, lacquer painting, toy fabrication and scissor-cut, etc. Scissor-cut,
shadow puppet and new year picture are plane expressive art forms of two dimensions, which have concise but
not stiff modeling, exaggerated but not monstrous, full of changes in unification, bold and exaggerated in image,
and humorous but not constrained to realistic situation. The audience may experience the feeling and thinking of
creators in clear and explicit composition and modeling. For example, the film "Avanti's Story" borrowed the
traditional Chinese design element --- puppet--- for expression. In this film, the creator employed wire-pull or
straining beam as a pull, with various lifelike forms, vivid and interesting patterns, extremely exquisite
conception, including integration of several modeling arts, such as scissor-cut, industrial arts and painting, etc.
All these traditional artistic forms can be rationally applied into image design of animation.
Individualized expressive language and expressive painting form in Chinese animation art design are quite rich,
such as painting with exact delineation and enriched colours in single-Ping Tu, Chinese ink animation in lacquer
painting, children's drawing, doodle, caricature, petrogram and wall painting all have a style of their own. Local
culture establishes a kind of harmonious cultural ecological relationship, which is exactly the resource to be
borrowed by modern animation artistic language and the soil it is going to reply on. For instance, the films
"Golden Conch" and "Mr. Pig eats watermelon" adopt the expressive forms of Chinese shadow puppet and
scissor-cut. These animation films express traditional Chinese folk arts as being bright and colorful, with strong
nationalistic style. The works "Pride General" expresses the national feature and finds a path to bring into full
play its peculiar national style in terms of characteristics of the characters and expression of motion and language,
etc, which does not only correspond with the appreciation habits and aesthetic requirements of the public, but
also enriches the treasure house of the world culture, widely welcomed and favorably received by the public. In
terms of the forms of painting, in addition to traditional forms of oil painting, sketch, watercolour and crayon,
such materials as metal, paper, mud, stem leaves of plants, plastics, rubber, glass and skin and hair of animals are
all used for animation. The diversification of the design style of fine arts contains excellent elements of
traditional Chinese culture.
4.2 Local characteristics of American animation
In the current world, American animation films also account for a large portion of the global animation market.
The characteristics of American animation image are as follows: careful painting of the scene, which is enough
for requirement of the plot. Usually, the image design of characters is excellent in modeling, distinct in
personification, whereas under the new technology, roles of animation are more life-like, which attain perfect
visual effect. "Ice Age" is reproduction of an already perfect works. Local design style of animation in America
has an effect on creation thought and modeling style of animation design in quite a lot of nations in the world.