Major Post 7: How a Mosquito Operates

Posted on by Sydney McPherson

I’ve written about Winsor McCay before, however I wanted to revisit another animation by him. McCay created “How a Mosquito Operates” in 1912. We discussed that McCay created comic strips before he did animation, and it really shows in how clean and precise his drawings are. Since he is first an illustrator, it is interesting to see how he turned drawings into animation. There is nice movement in the second scene as the man walk towards the door of his house. His dress drags behind him and there are wrinkles in the fabric to show the twisting of his body. McCay’s draftsmanship shines most when either the man or mosquito do any rotating motions. While they rotate, they stay exactly on model and the forms really seem round, which McCay achieved without any interior construction lines.

The design of the mosquito is hilariously large. It really adds a fun element to the animation starting from with first scene to see the scale in comparison to the man. I noticed that McCay uses looping animation and this “stuttering” where the animation will reverse and then continue several times. At first, I thought it looked strange, yet now the more I watch the animation, the more I enjoy the style and the overall look that the looping adds.

The man feels more like an illustration in motion while the mosquito, more like an animated character. It is less stiff and does some expressive movements with its legs and long nose. Lastly, I really like this animation because it is relatable. I have dealt with mosquitos pestering me while I try to sleep, and I’ve been in the man’s position. It feels like the mosquitos are never satisfied after one bite and it’s funny to see that experience translated into this animation with a ginormous mosquito.

Sydney McPherson

Major Post 2: Winsor McCay

Posted on by Sammy Liu

Winsor McCay; a man of detail and precise craftsmanship, with reminiscences of stylistic art nouveau. 🙂
By chance, during my journey to the massive library in Causeway Bay (HK Central Library), I saw, sitting in the specially book stand…
“Little Nemo in the Palace of Ice and Further Adventure and Further Adventure”

Much to my joy, I could say I know the name because of ANIM223!
In this comic, the plot is based on the DREAMS of Little Nemo, where he explores different worlds and stumbles into problems with the Princess of Slumberland.

To my surprise, it seemed like the comic caught Japan’s interest and Film Director, Masami Hata, collaborated with America’s William Hurtz to transform the comic into an American-Japanese animation in 1989.
(Side note: Masami Hata also directed one of the episodes in “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure” in 2016!)

We’re jumping further ahead here in the timeline of animation, however this is such a good opportunity to see how American Cartoonists/Animators influenced worldwide – to Japan, another country known for their iconic animations, and vice versa.
However, despite having many talented creatives involved in creating “Little Nemo”, many came and left, leaving the project unstable. To further complicate it, there were language barriers as well. Bet they learnt a lot and overcame many different obstacles as some still carried on and persevered.

Another side note: Before Little Nemo, Masami Hata also directed “Ringing Bell” (1978) and “The Sea Prince and the Fire Child” (1981), both of which were accomplished in their own right.
This is def a personal note, because it’s super cute, with magical yet ‘dour’ tones, and has Little Mermaid (1989) vibes, or rather, Little Mermaid has Sea Prince and the Fire Child vibes.

Sammy Liu

Major Post 2: Persistence of Vision

Posted on by Sydney McPherson

In class 2, we discussed artists that learned to work with the “persistence of vision” that our eyes have. Emile Reynaud’s optical theater was quite and amazing creation. It surpassed the ideas of the thaumatrope, phenakistocope, and zoetrope. Reynaud hand painted over 500 drawings to make a short 15-minute film. I would love to see an optical theater in action with the live orchestra and try my hand at operating the hand cranks.

Other artists whose work I enjoyed were Georges Melies and Winsor McCay. Melies’ “The Untamable Whiskers” used an interesting technique to give the appearance that the man is changing form. Melies overlapped his strips of film to create the gradual transitions. I also enjoyed “A Trip to the Moon” by Melies. He built out the more important props in 3dimensions and created painted backdrops for the rest of the settings. This creates dynamic visuals and depth without needing full sets. The paintings almost trick the viewer’s eye and they’re so well painted that it just works.

A film by Winsor McCay that I enjoyed was “Gertie the Dinosaur”. McCay made 10 thousand drawings and it took him 6 months., however it was worth the work because the animation is fluid and beautifully drawn. I like that McCay interacts with Gertie using the text and uses a simple story to develop Gertie’s personality.

Sydney McPherson