Style Searching...

So recently i've been stuck in a rut as i usually am at the beginning of every project- overwhelmed by the free choice of what to do.

But not today! Well... Not this late afternoon anyway, since i've only just been able to drag my miserable self out of bed to accept the fact that i really need to get stuck in.

So anyway, i thought a good place to start looking for a style may actually be in food illustration, as looking for a style through animations isn't extremely helpful for me. I found a couple of people whom i like the work of and am going to break down the reason why i like them, and see if i can take a bit from each to create my own niche. Clever eh? :P

Mark Ruffle- I thought these images he created are pretty much the basis of what you think of when I describe the project i'm doing. A follow-along recipe. You'll immediately think of hands and watching them in action, creating something. I love that you can tell what is being done in every picture, it seems to move by itself. However, in my work, i don't want hands to be in the animation if i can help it. As it clutters up the small frame i'm already going to work with. The simplicity of the pictures really appeals to me, but the vector look has been done quite a bit- including in my last work. So i'd probably try to avoid this.

Tado- They did work for Gola, such as bag designs, so this kind of style is really fashionable at the moment- not that i'm going for fashionable. But i'm in love with the bright complimentary colours, and it all looks really cute and happy. The only thing i think is drawing me in, is the fact it reminds me quite a lot of my own work, my doodles and the fact i shove a cute face on everything in sight. Again, something i'll try to avoid. I'm still not currently sure if i'm going to put faces on any the stuff i'm using in my animation. Maybe i should push the boat out a bit? Or keep true to my identity?.. Hmm..

Kristyna Litten- This also reminds me a bit of my work, the doodley style and the slightly wonky lines, with a hidden sense of order and calculation. It's still very different from mine though, it looks more quaint yet realistic, and has a nod towards children's books illustrations. Although something is attracting me, i'm not sure an animation in this style would be hugely eye-catching, with the soothing soft colour palette and the sketchy crayon lines..

Melvyn Evans- I love simple basic shapes, especially when they're wonky and not quite right, especially when they have that endearing off-perspective quality. I think that's something i may consider bringing to my work. I'm rubbish at perspective anyway so maybe that's just the ticket! Make it looks like i'm meant to be rubbish at drawing :P... Either way, this image is so pleasing to look at, without black outlines, the objects in the picture compliment each other. It's just so lovely :)

Stuart Holmes- Although i mentioned with the previous image how i loved the elimination of black lines, this current picture displays the reason when and why i love them also. It reminds me of a diagram, like those kooky animated demonstrations you'd get on a plane before you take-off, or the first few pages of the instruction manual of your printer. I love how precise it looks, and yeah, i'll say it again. That diagram feel. This is also a style i'll be looking at. I think an animation that moves away from my usual style and into diagrammy recipe How-To would be really effective. It would become less of a cutesy "Bake With Meeee!" and more of a DIY "Let's make a butch bookshelf".

Luella Wright- I like and dislike this image. Again, it's the fact it has no black lines, yes melikey. But it reminds me of the mini flash games i used to play when i was 9 on barbie.com. It's been done. But i can't help but stare at those sandwiches. They're like the previous image style, with more freedom... So like the work of Stuart Holmes & Melvyn Evans integrated. This is what it'd look like if their pictures mated. And i quite like it! The simple shapes even offer a sense of dimension which is enhanced by the simple block shading. Brilliant.

Hannah Carty- This is beautiful. This is actually the only thing i could find that was remotely close to my original style idea of collage. The experimentation work from my SS1 module gave me inspiration to continue the collage style i didn't have time for in this project. It's so clever! Carty has used what looks like a print from a carpet?! as the base of the cinnamon swirl, and cut outs from a hole punch and organically cut out pieces from magazines, possibly with a wood texture, and little white paper sprinkles. It really gives an alternative feel to the image, completely separate from any of the others i've shown on this post. A real hand-made, loved quality. Hopefully with inspiration from looking at all this different styles, I'll find my own niche.