The Magical World of Animation: From Sketches to Life

TLDRAngela Kirkwood, an illustrator and animator, shares her journey into the world of animation and how she brings her drawings to life. She highlights the importance of embracing imperfections and having fun in the process.

Key insights

Animation allows for the creation of expressive and imaginative worlds.

🖌️Being a skilled draftsman is important for animators to accurately portray movement.

💡Embracing limitations and imperfections in animation can lead to unique and interesting results.

🌟Movement in animation can convey emotions and personalities of characters or objects.

🎨Anthropomorphizing objects adds personality and character to the animation.

Q&A

How did Angela Kirkwood first get into animation?

Angela initially started with freelance design work, but her love for drawing sparked an interest in animation. She began experimenting with animation techniques and embraced trial and error to teach herself the art.

What is Angela's approach to animation?

Angela prefers a more fluid and spontaneous approach called straight ahead animation, where she starts with the first frame and progresses without a strict plan. She finds that this process brings out unexpected and unique results.

How does Angela add personality to her animations?

Angela imbues her characters and objects with personality through movement. She explores different ways to make them expressive and brings them to life by anthropomorphizing them, giving them facial expressions and unique traits.

What was Angela's experience like creating window displays for Selfridges?

Angela found the opportunity to create window displays for Selfridges very exciting, as it allowed her to work on a larger scale and bring her illustrations to life in a physical environment. She carefully considered depth, placement, and interaction with the products to create visually captivating displays.

What is Angela's philosophy in animation?

Angela believes that animation should be a fun and enjoyable process. Embracing imperfections and limitations can lead to more interesting and dynamic animations. She encourages animators to let their imagination guide them and to have fun throughout the creative journey.

Timestamped Summary

00:07Angela Kirkwood, an illustrator and animator, introduces herself and her passion for creating expressive and joyful illustrations and animations.

02:55Angela shares her journey into animation, from working as a graphic designer to rediscovering her love for drawing and exploring animation as a personal hobby.

05:58Angela discusses her experience with trial and error in learning animation and the importance of embracing imperfections and limitations to create unique and interesting work.

09:32Angela talks about the exciting opportunity she had to create window displays for Selfridges, where she applied her illustration skills to design visually captivating and fantastical shop fronts.

11:58Angela concludes by emphasizing the importance of having fun and enjoying the process of animation, and the freedom it offers to bring characters and objects to life in imaginative ways.