Experimentation with Background Elements

The underlit paint on glass experiment didn't work as well as I had hoped. After some good luck on the first test, I was really excited to continue painting. However, this past weekend I tried to do background elements for the first shot of the dance scene. After 2 or 3 hours working on just one background for this shot, I found myself struggling to control the values in the background. Even after the tempera paint dried, I was still brushing furiously to change the different values. Basically, I can't seem to get away from the high range of values that happen when underlighting paint on glass. My characters were getting lost in the high contrast backgrounds. Also, frustratingly, my peers said they couldn't tell what they were looking at (which is always my favorite piece of critique). After imagining what it would be like to struggle all of the backgrounds for all of the one hundred shots for my ambitious film, I thought it was time to change course for the paint on glass route. Again, the contrast in the background fights too much with my highly detailed characters. In all honesty, I think the characters looked better against simpler backgrounds, like the stained cloth I used early on. By keeping the backgrounds simple I can focus more on playing with light, etc. As I was thinking of experimenting with sand again, I was looking at my mother's cell microscopy pictures that I have on my wall in my cube. I remembered that Christine Panushka had urged me to use them as a background. I also had an idea about using the beautiful cell patterns in combination with soft outlines of sand. I think this would go well with my character designs. Contextually, the cell patterns look like organically placed stones and textures in the environment of this old terrace. Also the idea of projecting the cell patterns onto the cloth compliments my research in the Wayang Kulit. My goal is to immerse the audience in this world of projections, light, and shadow. I am ecited about experimenting with this, and already a simple test proves it easier to achieve and more complimentary to the design of my film. The next step will be to test the sand outlines with the cell textures. One difficult thing that I had with my early tests in sand was that I had the same troubles controlling the values and gradations within the sand. Just like the paint on glass I found that everything became too dark. So instead of using the sand to create the different values, I just suggest the outlines with sand lines. From the huge stack of cell photos I have from my mother's 30 year career, I will find different values of textures to use. I remember one of the art projects I did cutting up pictures of cells. This actually is a fond memory for me because I really got into the creative flow using these cut-up photos. I made a ornate box of cd's for an old love interest when I was 21. Using the cell pictures, I made a strange-looking fly. I remember having so much fun making this thing that I see the opportunity to experience this medium again. Also, I've been recently studying the work of Andy Goldsworthy. I really like how this artist carefully uses materials from the natural world and arranges them in value, creating these beautiful and miraculous images. Something I really like is the calm, meditative simplicity in his forms. The beauty is in the details once you realize how carefully he worked to make these. Seeing a collection of his work was really inspiring for me because I connected with his love of nature. It surprised me how much his work related to animation because he takes a picture right after the work is done and then several more as the work naturally decays. Sometimes the decayed work was even more beautiful than the initial shot.