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Anime - The Popular Animated Japanese Art And Artists |
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Friday, 22 May 2009 17:02 |
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By: Andrew Wills
Starting in the early 1960s, anime has blossomed into one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the world. Originating in Japan as comic books and magazines, and going on to animated forms, the series of incredible stories developed with various characters, their life and growth have attracted fans around the entire planet, both young and old.
Anime is, of course, an abbreviation of the word "animation." There are a wide variety of artistic styles in anime because it depends on the specific style of the artist or studio and what they create in their own imagination. In many series, the characters have large, round eyes and big hair but this isn't always the case.
All animation must first be hand-drawn by the artist, and these artists have mostly also done comic renditions for comic books and started out with that as their goal. This then expanded into the animation sector, and was often assisted by other animators in studios, sometime using computer techniques. The procedure of turning drawn cartoons into animation is a long and complicated one but fulfilling for both the artist and eventual viewer.
Early on, the Japanese film industry solved the problem of low budgets and other restrictions by making their movies from the characters in the early comic books. The artist could have free reign to create whatever kind of characters they wanted. Since Japanese anime usually emphasizes backgrounds for atmosphere, any scene whatsoever was possible, from the big city, nature, to different countries around the globe and even outer space settings. Thus any story line could be complimented by the illustration coming from the artist's free creativity. Any sort of action and activity was feasible, from wild fights, to whole cities blowing up. The possibilities were endless.
The artists of these characters and story lines often took part in the animation process, sometimes devoting literally years to creating the series. The anime went on to become television broadcasts and occasionally full-length movies.
One of the most popular anime series is called Inuyasha, a feudal fairy tale. Rumko Takahashi, a Japanese manga (comic book) artist, developed the tale originally. Her incredible talents led her to become the best selling female comic artist in history. Studios adapted her comic illustrations to the screen, and now there are currently about 167 episodes of Inuyasha on DVD for all to enjoy. It is still an on-going plot and thus fans can continue to enjoy Inuyasha far into the future.
DragonBall, another extremely popular series, was created by Akira Toriyama who spent over 11 years producing hundreds of episodes. Over 160,000 people a month search for DragonBall Z on the main search engines, and it is likely growing by the day.
Credit must be given to the Japanese culture for producing such original and thoroughly enjoyable entertainment for all ages. It has competed with the American cartoon industry that has mostly concentrated on the children of our culture, but now competes with the animated movies becoming more and more popular in present day.
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A Concise History Of Cartoons And Funny Pictures |
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Friday, 22 May 2009 16:48 |
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We all like to laugh and a smile and there is no quicker way to evoke joy than looking at cartoons and humorous pictures.
For as long as man has been able to paint and draw, funny pictures and cartoons have been depicted on caves walls, canvas, paper, floors, ceilings and even skin!
Many award-winning artists have drawn and painted comical and funny pictures not to mention such legendary historical figures as Raphael and Leonardo De Vinci whose comical works are highly regarded.
In the 15th-century the printing press was popularised by Johann Gutenberg and later this invention gave rise to the ability to replicate satirical images for widespread distribution to the masses. In the 16th-century humorous cartoon strips gave politicians the ability to reach illiterate people to further their cause and win precious votes. They were also a powerful tool of propaganda and party policy.
Contrary to the famous Queen Victoria saying, "We are not amused" the Victorians were actually very easily titillated and throughout the 19th-century funny pictures were depicted on Victorian postcards in various formats from slapstick scenes to the more risque and innuendo orientated themes
In the 1890's the invention of Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope heralded the age of animation screening rudimentary projection technology. Many people of the time saw the enormous potential this novel invention would provide.
The name Disney is synonymous with animation and in 1928 we saw the birth of Mickey Mouse who is still today one of the most iconic and recognised symbols in the world. In the 1950's the United States also saw another company emerge, Hanna-Barbera Productions which went on to produce many classic cartoons, Scooby Doo, The Flintstones and The Yogi Bear show to name just a few.
Technology has come a long way and from early cartoons in comics and funny pictures on postcards and newspapers we are now treated to high spec digital animation with films like Toy Story and Finding Nemo.
Probably the reason cartoons and animation will never die is because our imaginations are the only limits for this media with the scope for ideas and possibilities beyond the constraints of real life being truly endless.
It is always nice to receive a funny picture by email so if you do ever receive on always send it on, you may put a smile on someones face or brighten their day! You could even try and create your own funny pictures.
By: Vicki Churchill About the Author: Vicki Churchill writes for http://www.internet-logic.com, a site that specializes in The Internet Including Working from home, Affiliates, Internet Business & Optimization. |
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Comics, Art, Posters |
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Written by Isabel Lopez
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Friday, 17 April 2009 17:50 |
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Comics as an art form established itself in the late 19th and early 20th century, alongside the similar forms of film and animation. The three forms share certain conventions, most noticeably the mixing of words and pictures, and all three owe parts of their conventions to the technological leaps made through the industrial revolution. Although the comics form was established and popularised in the pages of newspapers and magazines in the late 1890s, narrative illustration has existed for many centuries.
Rodolphe Töpffer, a Francophone Swiss artist, is seen as the key figure of the early part of the 19th century. Although speech balloons had fallen from favour during the middle part of the 19th century, Töpffer's sequentially illustrated stories, with the text compartmentalised below the images, were reprinted throughout Europe and the United States. The lack of copyright laws at this time allowed such pirated editions, and these translated versions created a market on both continents for similar works.
The 1920s and 1930s saw further booms within the industry. In China a market was established for palm-sized picture books like Lianhuanhua while the market for comic anthologies in Britain had turned to targeting children through juvenile humour, with The Dandy and The Beano launched. In Belgium, Hergé created the Tintin newspaper strip for a comic supplement; this was successfully collected in a bound album and created a market for further such works. The same period in the United States had seen newspaper strips expand their subject matter beyond humour, with action, adventure and mystery strips launched.
In Japan, a country with a long tradition for illustration and whose language evolved from pictures, comics were hugely popular. Referred to as manga, the Japanese form was established after World War II by Osamu Tezuka, who expanded the page count of a work to number in the hundreds, and who developed a filmic style, heavily influenced by the Disney animations of the time. The Japanese market expanded its range to cover works in many genres, from juvenile fantasy through romance to adult fantasies. Japanese manga is typically published in large anthologies, containing several hundred pages, and the stories told have long been used as sources for adaptation into animated film. In Japan such films are referred to as anime, and many creators will work in both forms simultaneously, leading to an intrinsic linking of the two forms.
Comics have been presented within a wide number of publishing and typographical formats, from the very short panel cartoon to the more lengthy graphic novel. The cartoon, traditionally containing satirical or humorous content in the manner of those seen in The New Yorker or Private Eye, originate from the mid nineteenth century. This form of comics is still popular, although the last few years has seen a reduction in the number of editorial cartoonists employed in the US media. Although there is some dispute as to whether the cartoon constitutes a form of comics, a precursor or a related form, it has been argued that since the cartoon both combines words with image and constructs a narrative, it merits inclusion as a form of comics.
Today comics are an integral part of culture in our society. Their popularity fuels the art and print industry. Comic characters now occupy their corners in hall of fame of every realm. Decorative comics are very popular nowadays. You can buy posters of your favorite comics characters online. Comics posters such as Superman posters, Spiderman posters are popular decorations. Other notable names are Tintin, Peanuts, Batman, Captain America to name a few.
Comics artists will generally sketch a drawing in pencil before going over the drawing again in ink, using either a dip pen or a brush. An artist will use a variety of pencils, paper, typically Bristol board, and a waterproof ink. When inking, an artist may choose to use a variety of brushes, dip pens, a fountain pen or a variety of technical pens or markers. Mechanical tints can be employed to add grey tone to an image. An artist might also choose to create his work in paints; either acrylics; gouache; poster paints; or watercolors. Color can also be achieved through crayons, pastels or colored pencils. With the growth of computer processing power and ownership, there are now an increasing number of examples of comic books or strips where the art is made by using computers, either mixing it with hand drawings or replacing hand drawing completely.
by: Isabel Lopez
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