During the school year, animation students have the opportunity to do a specialized backgrounds module with the artist and illustrator, Arly Jones. The purpose of this training is for them to learn about work as background illustration for an animation production.
ARLY JONES INTERVIEW
What did this specialized background training at L’Idem consist of?
In this workshop we have delved into the design of backgrounds with awareness of all its components, many of which already appear throughout the history of painting or other shows such as theater or opera.
Which skills do students reinforce with this module?
It is important to acquire a deeper vision of all the precedents, current artists, cases, but above all to put these resources into practice in a personal way: composition, color, the search for elements for our backgrounds…
What did the proposed final exercise consist of?
It has been proposed to carry out the same scenario, in panoramic format and in two different treatments, one during the day and the other at night. The choice for this exercise has been free for the students based on a premise: create an environment in which you would like to live.
Why is the role of background artist so important in Animation?
We often observe in the world of cinema innumerable shots of environments that not only help the audience understand the context where the action is going to take place, but also place them in an emotional key, which transports and enters the story, and is something identical to what happens with the sound aspect or that of music.
How do you assess the artistic evolution that our students have received?
This has been one of the promotions that has surprised me the most, many students had never tried the element of the stage and, nevertheless, in a short period of time they have been able to reach a very high level of quality. There have been moments of blockage and reaction but, above all, it has been enjoyed understanding one of the broadest and most complex aspects that make up audiovisual productions in animation, videogames, theatre, opera, live-action cinema, etc. and even in the art of the diorama or nativity scene.