Leopold Lehmann

[ZigOtto]

I used to like your radicalism, but here, I think the monotone BG's color running all over your frames
through the drawing lines is flattening too much your images, and it's a bit frustrating to my eyes,
I would love to see more depth, more lighting in this room (rendered by soft falling shadows
under the desk, as under the women f.i.)
Shadows are part of our life, like clothes for us, humans, ...and gravity for all !

also concerning the so few shadows you accepted to draw, a tiny inconsistency :
in regard of the big window position (left side) we can see on your first 2 screens,
shouldn't it be (the pot's shadow) on the other side of your indoor potted plant ?

luckily, your drawing is strong enough to compensate my little frustration .

[Klaus Hoefs]

EDIT: Ah! I suddenly remember; this is just a little exercise in animating a text, right? Good choice, HA, HA!!!

Exactly.

[Klaus Hoefs]

Thanks Raymond for watching my stuff.
I decided after a crash with my last wip "travel" [http://www.khoefs.de/travelScreen.htm] to concentrate on
1.(re-) writing a simple story.
2. no hatching but only outlines.

As you can see I sometimes broke my own rules and did a "little bit" hatching and a "little bit" shadow here and there.

I was also thinking of coloring (like Geoff Dunbar's Lautrec) or a soft black and white shadowing but only as a second process.

PS: Sempé, I like him so much - but sometimes he's a bit square.

[Paul Fierlinger]

I too have a problem with the glow effect and I think this is because it is anathema to the simple freehand style of drawing everything in the picture. The glow becomes an added effect after everything is done, which makes me read you as a person who is insecure with his line and feels something must be added to it to enhance it, which is what exactly kills the sense of freedom of the line art. I'd like to see a line that is not ashamed of itself.

[Klaus Hoefs]

I was trying to connect to old looks, sepia-style. The story plays 1900-20.
But that maybe produced kitsch.

[slowtiger]

From my personal taste I think the line is too thin in relation to the format. But as you already know I prefer strong contrasts anyway. My favorite lines are those of Bosc, Flora, Chaval, and Sempé, all printed dark black on white paper.

Klaus: ever thought of using a scanned-in paper, instead of the uniform gray? In this case some 100 year old sheets would be nice.

The "negative glow" effect (I think I did that with a stocking over the lens sometimes in b/w photography) I had seen in Gil Alkabetz' film "Morir de amor" (http://morir-de-amor.com/) and remember I found it a bit strange.

[Klaus Hoefs]

Mhm. Markus, could you post one (preview) - to show what you mean ??

---
sorry it's time I have to go now - will be back tomorrow !

[Paul Fierlinger]

I think kitsch is right, because it's a quick, mass produced effect missing the look of deterioration through time. Have you already put any of this into motion? I think that would put to rest any insecurities you might be having with the workings of a simple, all purposeful line. You are so used to your usual elaborate look that this might feel naked to you, but it's not (or; so what?). I also agree with Raymond about the shadows -- shadows anchor everything. The shadows can be as simple as the lines; being done without much attempt into recreating a logical shape.

[slowtiger]

Klaus: I'll dig something up and scan it in - later tonight, we're now going to visit some spiders and snakes!

[ZigOtto]

...
2. no hatching but only outlines.

when talking about (light and) shadow, I wasn't thinking of hatching, but overlayed tinting,
or possibly, mixing few hatching and washing for big area. (see T.L. drawing "Circus, behind the scene")
something that could be done easily in tvpa btw,
(a stencil layer + an old-paper in multiply mode at x% of opacity, to handle shadow subtly ).

[slowtiger]

OK, here's some examples of papers. The first one is from a small book printed in 1939, I just show you the exlibris on the book end paper:

Note how the ink bleeds? This is a structured paper, a bit like Ingres.

The second is from "Bilderatlas zur Einführung in die Kunstgeschichte" from 1894, format 24 x 31 cm. This paper with all its stains was what I had in mind. It is very smooth, without any structure. Detail:


Whole page:


There are different options on how to use scanned paper in animation. It can be a simple background (but should be a different sheet for each new scene), or it can be animated as fast as 1 sheet per frame which gives a flickering effect. I have prepared a whole file of about 300 scans of recycling paper in HDTV: a very strong effect, shouldn't be used undiluted ...

I could think of using different sheets per scene, but slowly crossfading into each other. This would fit nicely to Klaus' drawings, IMO.

[Klaus Hoefs]

Raymond, this T. drawing is a good example about shadowing, I'll take it in consideration and give your suggestions a try.
Paul, there's 1'20 animated most of a complete scene (#4-#6 of the script), but I will change the audio because of the translation mistakes today.
Markus, thanks for the papers: I did some test (still without shadowing)

[ZigOtto]

also one thing that could be interesting to exploit with old papers is the "frame" notion int the ageing processus :
the oxydation/browning effect in times grows/diffuses from the edges to the center of the page.
I think this "framed" effect could wittingly remind the welknown "vignetting" effect of our grand-father photogaphic chambers (huge plate + long length focal + low aperture).

[slowtiger]

I just did a quick & dirty little test again trying to maintain that "monochrome" feeling:
http://www.slowtiger.de/examples/altpapier.mov (120 k)

[Klaus Hoefs]

Thanks for posting this, Markus.

You know, my lines are living much more on feelings and nerves, so if going with a scanned paper background it perhaps should match with this (details, sensitive color).
But with waiving a scanned background nobody has to think about it, another option could be to add details to the background by simply drawing it.

--
BTW, I found a shot from Dunbar's Toulouse (did anyone see it ? It must have been a sucess in the 70s/early eighties):