The Uncanny Valley Most people have heard of "The Uncanny Valley" by now. I've heard people refer to it in two contexts in the animation industry: characters that are almost lifelike but are just enough off to be creepy, and stylized/cartoon characters who have an off-putting amount of realistic detail. I want to talk a little about the second one because I've run into it more often recently when artists have asked me for critiques. I don't think there is a hard and fast rule for this type of uncanny valley. However, until the kids who prefer a Robert Zemeckis zombie-fest become the norm, artists who want to add realism into the animation industry are going to have to be sensitive to the issue. In my experience, the most important form details for navigating the the uncanny valley seem to be the eyes and the nose. Does this mean you can never define the forms around the nose? Even if you keep the forms simple, the texture on those forms can make a character disturbing.
Cartoon Modern :: Maurice Noble Archive.org is an excellent source for public domain films of all kinds. Among them are a handful of well designed 1950s shorts produced by John Sutherland Productions. Sutherland was one of the busiest producers of animated industrials during the 1950s and his studio’s work is discussed in greater depth in my book. I’ve never found a good filmography of exactly how many films Sutherland produced, but from what I’ve been able to gather, he produced well over one hundred corporate/educational animated shorts between the mid-1940s and the mid-1960s, which was his studio’s ‘golden age’ period. The working conditions at Sutherland were ideal for artists: he paid top dollar so he always attracted A-list designers and animators, and he was very hands-off when it came to the visuals, so artists were free to do as they pleased. These four films at Archive.org offer a good sense of the type of films Sutherland produced, though they are only the tip of the iceberg.
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:Illustration:Gallery:Concept: by JAW Cooper: 05.11 Catching up on things: Here is a commissioned portrait of Stephen Hawking with an albino owl. What a guy! This was one of my first acetate experiments... I fell in love. "Vulnerability and Prudence" Another acetate experiment, for the "Counterparts" show at the Hibbleton Gallery. Lastly, a portrait I painted months ago. My very good friend and insanely talented artist, sculptor, and designer Danielle Buerli is doing her graduate work (in Switzerland) on sketchbooks and I was inspired by our discussion to start a new 11"x14" like I used to keep in the old days. I'll put up the first couple pages tomorrow!