Introduction
This project was something I had in mind for a long time. It was originally inspired by a video I saw of stop-motion tattoos, where a Montreal artist tattooed seventy-six different people with an individual frame from a scene in Betty Boop, then put the pictures back together to create the full animation.
@philberge Finally! I made a total of 76 tattoos to create this scene from Betty Boop Snow White. A huge thank you to everyone that got tattooed for this project. #fyp #tattoo #tattoos #animation #stopmotion #fleischerstudios #cabcalloway #fleischer ♬ St. James Infirmary – Cab Calloway
Another inspiration was this video for the song “Big Funny” by the band Vundabar. They only had one sticker design but put one or two on poles or walls in each city they visited on tour and it got me thinking.
I loved the idea of a piece of art being spread around like that, but unfortunately I am not a licensed tattoo artist, so I decided to combine the two videos and do stickers of each frame. I have been into rubber hose animation lately so I also wanted that influence to come through in my project. Finally, I settled on a short animation of a boy walking and uprooting a carrot with an angry face. This gave me a chance for a bit of character design and to make a walk cycle for it.
I told my mom my idea and she immediately went, “What, are you trying to be Banksy now?” I said no at first because of my innate need to stay esoteric and subversive, but then I thought about it some more and I guess it’s a compliment, so Banksy is also an inspiration for this project.
I got better at using PhotoShop during this project as that is where I drew my entire animation as well as AfterEffects, where I composited all of the images. I really enjoyed this project and the process, from sketching on paper, moving it to digital drawing in PS, then printing them back out and sticking them around. This project, as well as a few personal design projects have also been very helpful for me in terms of learning the workflow when using digital applications. I typically like to sketch and ink a few drawings on paper, then scan or photograph them and move them into PS or Illustrator.
Though the actual finished product (not including the process video) was pretty short, I am overall so happy with the outcome! It turned out exactly how I wanted it to, and this is a feeling I hope to replicate moving forward. I will be majoring in industrial design this fall, so I’m glad I got to improve my skills in drawing, design, and concept.
I do wish I had gotten to spread my stickers a little wider. My sister and dad went to the east coast to visit family, and it would have been very cool if they had taken some stickers and put some up in Virginia. I also wanted to put some in San Francisco and San Jose, but unfortunately every time I had a chance to put them up somewhere besides around school and downtown Los Altos, I forgot!
In terms of what I want people to take away from this project, I think everyone should really commit to what they want. As I said before, this project was something I thought about doing for a really long time, and finally getting to realize it and see it through was an amazing experience. And, of course, stay esoteric and subversive!!!
