For students majoring in animation, visual presentation and storytelling ability are the key points to judge whether animation works are qualified, whether they are creating animation works or working in the animation field. Next, we will start with the story, visual and technical aspects of animation, analyze the three animation works, find the production method of animation works, and learn from Guoman's works.

The topic of the rise of Guoman has been discussed quite a lot in the past two years. Recently, three popular animations, namely, Wuxing, Linglong and Biography of Immortals, have made the industry explode. These three works, which scored 8 points+for Douban when they went online, have almost reached the acme of the domestic industry level in their respective fields. "Soul Cage" represents excellent storytelling ability; The Five Elements of Fog Mountain is a visual feast of national style landscape painting style; The Biography of Immortals Cultivated by Mortals shows the mature technical ability.

Animation production method

story

Most art design majors need the ability to tell stories. For animation majors, the overall structure of good animation works needs stories to support. They need not only to be able to tell stories, but also to tell them well, orderly and thought-provoking.

Let's talk about the work "Linglong" first. "Linglong" is not the usual kind of "fight against strange and upgrade" kind of hot blooded animation. The story has a reflection on human nature, and has a certain reflective and discussion value, which means that "Linglong" will have a larger pattern and world view.

The story of "Soul Cage" is set to take place in the future society. Due to various accidents, human beings have to find a more suitable living environment, and the existence of the lighthouse has become the last refuge of human beings. Faced with the extremely harsh living environment and unknown fears, human beings need to constantly struggle to find the truth.

The animation adopts a linear narrative approach as a whole. The main story is based on the world view. The "Wilderness Hunter" team composed of Mark explores the secret of the lighthouse; The branch line is based on the love development of Mark, Ran Bing and others. A group of people find true love in the process of survival exploration.

From the point of view of the plot alone, it is very eye-catching. Doomsday, science fiction, and a huge world view are fresh and full, and they are also very gimmicky.

In addition, for animation works, what everyone pursues is never the same as the real world, but requires the animation itself to be logical and not contradictory to its other settings. This point is well done by "Soul Cage". Although it is a fictional work background, it will not make us feel at odds during watching.

The disadvantage of "Ghost Cage" is that the plot is slightly slow. Although we have made great efforts to lay the groundwork for details, we have less to do with the main plot. For example, "the past of the lighthouse, the cause of the demise of mankind, and what is the plan of those facing the abyss" and other key settings are rarely foreshadowed.

So on the premise that the plot is well set and there is no hard injury, the ability to tell a good story is urgently needed. The more complex the story, the more it needs to be arranged.

Soul Cage

For example, we mentioned the two main lines of "Soul Cage". In the current eight episodes of animation, the first seven episodes seem to explain the relationship between the characters and the world view to the audience, but it is obvious that we did not get much important information in more than 200 minutes, that is, "Wow, this setting is so interesting and powerful, and the picture is exquisite and beautiful! Although I don't understand it, I don't know how to feel.

Including the arrangement of the love line as the main line of the front and middle sections in the Holy Cage, which makes people feel that the primary and secondary contradictions are not well arranged, giving people a sense of putting the cart before the horse.

Soul Cage

Of course, from the perspective of the plot alone, Guoman is indeed growing at an impressive speed. Unlike the past, which relied on box office or broadcast volume to build reputation, we have now achieved commendable content.

Vision&Painting Style

Compared with "Soul Cage", "Five Elements of Fog Mountain" is not so eye-catching in the setting of the plot, which tells the story of the ancient times, five families with the special ability of yin and yang, water, fire and earth jointly resist the monster.

The Five Elements of Fog Mountain does not seek to dazzle with overly complicated story lines, but guarantees to tell the story smoothly and completely; Regardless of the plot, the painting style and fighting scenes are the biggest highlights of Wuxing. These are all the reasons why this work can stand out from many others.

The unique ink and wash freehand brushwork style integrates the elements of the five elements and the wonderful fight between yin and yang. The visual effect is very "burning". The reason why such an explosive visual effect can be produced is that the "Five Elements of Fog Mountain" really brings the "Chinese style" into full play and perfectly combines with the work.

fuse Collection of Chinese Style Works Element is a very common means in students' work collections in recent years, but many students can not make effective use of it. For example, they just stack elements in the picture, or add Chinese visual elements in their works, which is called Oriental style.

Wu Shan Wu Xing has a deeper pursuit of the understanding of Chinese style. First of all, the setting of characters and cultural background adopts the unique "chivalrous culture" in the national style, showing a very pure chivalrous spirit. These can be reflected in the creation of animated character images and the weapons used.

Secondly, when depicting the color of scenes other than fighting scenes, it reflects the scenes of green mountains and green waters in traditional Chinese painting; The scene design also abandoned the western perspective and adopted a more traditional scattered perspective.

"Five Elements of Fog Mountain"

At the level of character design, it can be seen that its line drawing method is much thicker than other animations. It is a line drawing technique similar to freehand brushwork, which in itself will enhance the sense of painting. In addition, the rough lines depicting the fighting scenes will also be more expressive.

"Five Elements of Fog Mountain"

Whether it is the characterization of characters or the characterization of scenes, in fact, we cannot trace back to the source without our ability to draw by hand. Although the current technology level is highly developed, computers and other products can make a very realistic hand painting feeling, but still can not replace hand painting. Hand painting is not only a verification of ability, but also a source of inspiration for us at the beginning of creation.

To sum up, Guoman's visual effects and painting style are becoming more and more refined and mature. Every frame, whether it is a character or a scene, is exquisite enough to be a screenshot as wallpaper. This phenomenon is also one of the signs of the rise of Guoman.

technical

With the continuous improvement of the level of science and technology, various high-tech software has been put into the ranks of film and television as an auxiliary technology. From the animation industry alone, we can clearly feel that more efforts have been made in the technical level.

For example, the scenes of mechanical elements+heavy industrial wind in Holy Cage are mostly depicted and designed through 3D modeling software, and finally rendered into finished products. The sense of special effects and realism is really excellent, which is also consistent with its huge world view.

"Soul Cage" visual effect picture

Nowadays, 3D software is widely used in all walks of life and is in the ascendant, which leads many students to want to keep up with the trend when creating work collections. They think that works will become advanced if they have cool special effects or Niupi's modeling. It's hard to know that blindly showing off skills, especially when the technology is not strong enough, will be self defeating.

For example, this animation, adapted from the novel "The Legend of Immortals", spent a lot of money to hire the live CG+animation capture technology created by the special effects group of the film "The Grand Trail", which really makes the characters more real, but at the same time, the facial texture of the characters is not simulated and smooth enough, which has a sense of disharmony.

"The Legend of Immortal Cultivation by Mortals"

Therefore, although 3D CG technology is very popular nowadays, students should not blindly follow the trend. When creating a collection of works, they should choose the creation carrier according to their own work content and needs. For example, the Wuxing of Wushan, although not so advanced in technical means and super fine scene rendering, still becomes a leader in 2D animation by virtue of the handling of details and the visual effect of super combustion. recommend: Can I apply for studying in animation major in Britain, America and Japan at the same time?

To sum up, Natural Light selected several animations that are currently in the limelight in China, and analyzed the production methods of animation works from the perspective of story, technology and vision, which proves that Guoman is indeed rising, but there are also problems. Therefore, if Chinese animation wants to really change and create a unique domestic advantage, it needs to pay more efforts and try more. Compared with these high-quality works, there are many animations that fail to pass the exam. If all animations cannot be treated equally and strictly, it is not enough to rely on the spirit of example alone. When students see the future trend of Chinese animation, they should also think about their own choice of style and media in the creation of works. It is not necessary to get good reputation and high income with large production and cost. It is more important to tell good stories and select appropriate audience groups.

Recommended production methods for more professional animation works:

Language requirements for studying in Italy

Animation design works collection, the importance of concentrated rhythm of professional animation works

This article belongs to the original article of Natural Light International Art Education Team. Without permission, it cannot be reproduced commercially in any form. If it is found, it must be investigated for legal responsibility.