What It Was…
- Motion
- October 1, 2015
Client: PBS North Carolina
Agency: In-House
Roles: Animator
Objective:
Bring Rich Powell’s illustrations to life to supplement interview footage and b-roll for a feature story in Our State.
Produced by Morgan Potts
Process:
This project was a delight. The story centers around illustrator Rich Powell and follows a narration from North Carolina native Andy Griffith. The director and videographer are two of my favorite people to work with, and the illustrations were so expressive and full of character that my job was actually pretty easy.
The narrative follows Andy as he stumbles into a crowd of football fans. He gets carried away in the crowd, finding himself inside the stadium as the game begins. Thus starts his comedic take on the absurdities of the sport.
I received each piece in layers: a sketch, an inked outline, and the final artwork. I listened to the audio to affirm the motion and purpose of each piece, then I started pulling it all apart.
I separated body parts and objects into different layers, reconnecting lines where they were interrupted in the original drawing. Each stage of the drawing needed it’s own special treatment, depending on how the final animation needed to look.
Each layer in a composition means another expansion in depth. When separated, a slight movement in one brings a whole new dimension to life. And unlike most compositions, in this project each element had three separate stages.
I got a lot of mileage out of the stroke effect for the sketches, as well as the puppet tool for adding motion. Masks enabled me to wash the final shades on the canvas, finalizing the effect of a self-realizing illustration.
It’s always fun to take someone else’s work and give expand on it, especially when it has so much character and life already. Adding that extra layer of motion really brings it all to life, highlighting focal points and expanding on the depth of field that’s implied by the artwork.
This episode of Our State won a Regional Emmy for Magazine Programs. It’s still one of my favorite projects.