Preview: Costume Colors

Although I personally like a wide variety of independent and studio animation and anime, I find myself analyzing Disney features more often than even Studio Ghibli. This is due to the fact that I am always interested in what we can learn from classic Disney (and golden age cartoon studios in general) for our own work.

Even if we neither endorse their conservative subject matter nor have their budgets, the thought processes and underlying principles - whether obvious or obscure - can strengthen our storytelling skills considerably and provide us with tools to bring out our very own artistic voices and hopefully advance animation as a medium.

SLEEPING BEAUTY (1959) is always worth a look when it comes to studying color concepts.

Among the fields we can learn most are layout, dimensional animation (animating forces, not lines), timing/rhythm and color. In my next few posts I will have a look at how to make costumes appear richly textured by way of analogous colors. Hopefully, I will also find some time to write about Cartoon Saloon's THE SECRET OF KELLS (2009).