Pete
Docter and Geometry of Characters
I
Study the active vocabulary and focus on Ukrainian equivalents of English
words.
vehicle засіб
narration
розповідь
inhabit мешкати
circumstance обставина
tackle вирішувати
unfold розгортатися
conclusion висновок
relate мати ставлення
in regards
to відносно
animation
анімація
alter змінювати
intention намір
core ключовий
setting місце дії
raid здійснювати наліт
scholar вчений
carve out
пробивати
existence
існування
hostile ворожий
anthropomorphic
антропоморфний (людиноподібний)
barn сарай
essential
суттєвий
aim at націлюватись на
ensure забезпечувати
exaggerated
перебільшений
ambassador посланник
striking вражаючий
mascot талісман
rescind скасовувати
attitude ставлення
emulate наслідувати
speedy швидкий
signifier символ
subconsciously підсвідомо
aware of в курсі
outspoken
щирий
sidekick напарник
goofball дурник
claw коготь
fang ікло
hulking незграбний
predecessor попередник
threatening загрозливий
horn ріг
dichotomy
дихотомія (розбиття цілого на дві частини)
subtly невловимо
permeate пронизувати
harken звертати увагу
aloof відчуджено
teardrop сльоза
stalk of
broccoli стебло брокколі
reduce перетворювати
orb сфера
immediately
негайно
II Vocabulary
focus. Study the words and word combinations, check your understanding
using flashcards, practise
their translation, spelling. Check
your knowledge in the test. Play matching vocabulary game (match words to their
translations to make cards disappear) and save the planet from asteroids by typing in correct translation of the words.
III Watch the video and note down the
names of all the cartoons it uses as examples. Compare your notes to the lists
created by other students. Who noted down the most of the cartoons?
IV
Watch the video and fill in the gaps with the words from the list. There are
some words you don’t need to use.
characterized; humans ; designed ;
visually; land ; story; joy ; personality; characters; topics; characteristics ;
vehicle; essential ; clue; theme ; react; audience; depend ; control ; around; points ; characters;
unfolding; build ; face; relate ; marketable ; aesthetic; animation ; invited;
comment ; brand ; animals ;
consideration
; well-designed ; animation ; hand; recently ; itself; control ; visual ; alter
; creation ; visually; setting ; drawings; intentions; setting ; promote ; connect
; based ;
The 1)_______ for any narration is the 2)_______ that inhabit the world and
how they 3)_______ to their
circumstances. A 4)_______ is
important but we as an 5)_______ want
to know whom the story centres 6)_______,
we want to connect with the 7)_______,
watch them tackle the 8)_______ events
and settle into their conclusions. Characters help us 9)_______ to the world we’ve been 10)_______ into. But in regards to 11)_______ the character is fully 12)_______ and realized by 13)_______.
Now because an animator has complete 14)_______
of every aspect of their work, they can 15)_______
the character to their own 16)_______.
Today I’d like to 17)_______ on how
artists design characters to help us 18)_______
their 19)_______ design to the
characters’ core 20)_______. Well,
specifically how Pete Docter does it.
The
design of a character will of course 21)_______
on the 22)_______ of the animation.
Are the Vikings raiding the 23)_______
of saints and scholars, 24)_______ trying
to carve out an existence on a hostile planet or even anthropomorphic 25)_______ dancing in a barn?
Considering 26)_______ and the 27)_______ of the story will start to 28)_______ the characters in the
animator’s head. But of course there is more to designing a character than just
where they’re located. If we look at a list of 29)_______ considerations when designing a character, 30)_______ such as thinking about who
it’s aimed at and ensuring to use exaggerated 31)_______ cross every list. But more 32)_______ these tips include acknowledging that your character
will be a 33)_______ ambassador.
They highlight the idea that your character will become the 34)_______ of your product and because
of this it needs to be a striking 35)_______
design. It’s no surprise most of the biggest 36)_______ studios have a mascot to 37)_______ their work. And a lot of these are very recognizable 38)_______ characters. But to me
starting to design a character 39)_______
on how marketable they will be withdraws from the character 40)_______. I think it rescinds the
ultimate 41)_______ of not only
creating a character, but also it narrows the artistic lens in regards to how
you want your 42)_______ to appear 43)_______, rather than just appeal to
a market.
“No, no.
He was supposed to have attitude.”
“Can we
put him in more of a hip-hop context?”
As you 44)_______ all aspects of your world, a
key 45)_______ is that the
character’s personality should come across in their 46)_______.
“I think
he needs a little more attitude. Oh, yeah, there it is. That’s it. I love it.”
V
Watch the video again and choose the correct
option to complete the sentences.
But how do you relate/duplicate/translate
that visually? Well, let’s take a rare/square/dare. Even looking at it
feelings of stability/sustainability/probability, strength, and thrust/crust/trust
emulate from this fantastically/basic/classical shape. We can see it used in
creating a anxiety/piety/variety of strong/long/alone characters.
Similarly, a circus/circle/spheres elicits a loftier/draft/softer
approach and can give a friendlier/meddle/friends softer
character. There’s warm/warmer/warmth and happiness in these designs. Finally, a triangle/angle/angel,
which at first might not appear to draw at any prolific/specific/especially
feelings, until you consider/considerable/consideration it within character design.
We sense the intensity, the anger/danger/dangerously, how sharp
and speedy/greedy/needy
they appear. These primarily/primer/primary shapes and how we interpret them via
the recognizable/sizable/
notice signifiers is known as shape linguistic/speaker/language.
We are subconsciousness /unconscious/ subconsciously aware of these feelings/feel
in/feel it from just looking at the shapes loneliness/loner/alone.
And it can be a powerful/cool/powerless tool at how you translate nationally/national/personality
traits to an ambient/audience/ambience.
“Like if you only took one thing away from design scholar/school/cool,
I think it would be the word ‘contrast/contrasted/crust’. That’s
what makes things real, that’s what makes things interestingly/interested/interesting.”
To me this is where Pete Docter shines. He analyse/recognizes/realising
the importance of contrast not only in the personality but how that can be explored/deplored/implored
visually. In Monsters Inc. Sulley is strong, rusting/trusted/trustworthy,
and friendly but also the top/crop/flop scarer in the
business. Mike is his deadly/friendly/needy outspoken
sidekick, quite literally/literature/littered a goofball. If we take a closer looked/look/looking
at Sulley, he is a pillar of strength and morals/immoral/pillars, but when
he’s at work his triangulation/angles/triangular claws and fangs/bangs/fans come out
adding sharpness and danger to his harking/barking/hulking size. Mike
initially battles/kettle/battered against his inability to scare effectively/effected/affected,
he was considered not just scary due to his realize/mesmerize/size
and shape.
Not that I notice this in Monster’s University, but
the attributes of Mike’s characters were creative/additive/subtractive in its
predecessor. Later he designer/designed/resigns himself to
being a comedian/comedy/comically. Nothing in his character design
appears threatened/threat/threatening, even his horns are rounded/surrounded/grounded.
We can readily recognize the characters via the spine/shaped/silhouettes.
But also the signifiers/implied/symbolised built into the primary shapes the
characters are derived/arrived/divide from automatically denote their
dichotomy in their personalities/commonalities/reality.
Similarly looking at Up!, Carl and Ellie are built from these primary shapes.
“Ok, Ellie was very ground/rounded/grounded
shape. And so a lot of things associated with her are these circles/circus/circular.
Carl is more of a square, and so even in that very shot you just mentioned,
pictures of Carl will be in square blames/games/frames, pictures of
Ellie are in circular frames. If there’s a picture of the two of them, it’ll be
like a mat that’s circular with the square frame or something like that just
trying to blend those shapes and use those to, hopefully, subtly plug their story/territory/glory.”
VI Watch the video and fill in the gaps in the text.
We can
see the sentiment permeates the entire 1)_______. But also with Up! they explore 2)_______shape
combinations with Russell, Dug, and Kevin. Each 3)_______is clearly defined and
again can be recognized from their 4)_______. It’s 5)_______that the primary
shapes are still used to elicit 6)_______like both Carl and Ellie but the 7)_______shapes
of Russell and Dug harken to their soft characterizations, both feels 8)_______and
familiar.
“I have
just met you and I love you”
Whereas Kevin has a quick intensity to it,
while remaining aloof. These 9)_______are clearly defined down to the core 10)_______,
right from the beginning.
Now
similar to Up!, we can take this
further 11)_______of not only primary shapes, but also how we personally 12)_______additional
shapes of what 13)_______they may elicit.
“We have
Joy who’s kind of an explosion or a 14)_______, we have Anger who is just like
a brick, a 15)_______, Sadness is an upside-down teardrop, Disgust is actually
based on a stalk of 16)_______, and then Fear was this raw nerve, you know. So
from here you can you can generate any number of the characters. You can kind
of flush them out.”
Docter found core geometry to explore each
emotion and how to 17)_______the clear shapes to help us 18)_______understand
the characterizations of these 19)_______emotions. He even draws attention to
the character 20)_______process when Sadness, Joy, and Bing Bong stumble into
the abstract thought chamber. And through their literal deconstruction they’re
reduced 21)_______to their two-dimensional origins. Inside Out is also interesting, as upon closer 22)_______of the
characters their final rendering is made up of countless orbs, rather than
pixels and 23)_______. Like the spheres that contain the memories they witness
and 24)_______, the emotions too could be constructed of these raw 25)_______.
“Unlike
live action where you have a location and somebody happened to walk by or this
lamp is great. It’s just happens to be. Nothing is for free, 26)_______is for
accident. You have a blank screen. And so everything you see goes through a
very intentional design 27)_______, both shape, surface, lighting, all of that
stuff. And so, to a fault, we can 28)_______everything.”
Telling a 29)_______, for him, is discussed
through the characters. And he sets them as distinguished through the
exploration of 30)_______to aid his storytelling.
From the
primary shapes included and 31)_______in his work we take a clear 32)_______from
the language signified in their shapes. And we immediately 33)_______the nature
of a character visually. So when designing a character think beyond the market
potential and create interesting characters that exploit these subconscious 34)_______to
help you tell your story. The core 35)_______of your character can be instantly
recognizable when using these methods. So rather than destroying a character,
think about who they are, who you 36)_______them to be, and build that into
their design. A circle and a 37)_______could go a long way.
VII Watch all the parts of the video and
answer the questions.
1 What is the relation between basic geometric
shapes and characters?
2 What shapes are mentioned in the video?
3 What are the meanings or associations that shapes
create?
4 What are the important stages in character design?
5 How is creating characters in animation different
from films? Who controls this process?
6 What characters are designed around squares? What
characteristics do these characters have?
7 What characters are modeled like circles? How
does it show their personality?
8 Why is contrast important in character design? How
can contrast be used in character design? What characters exist in contrast?
9 Why should a character be marketable? Is it an
important consideration in character design?
10 How are settings connected to character design?
VIII OVER TO YOU. Create your own character
silhouettes using at least 2 geometric and 1 organic (or free form) shapes.
Show your character silhouettes to other students. What personalities do these
characters have?
