Amiga Computing - Commodore Is Awesome

omputer 2D animation has been
having a rough lime of it over the
last few years. After the eye
candy niceties of LightWave, Wavefront
and 3D Studio and its professional users.
2D is seen as something from the past
that should remain there indefinitely
unless produced by Disney. There's no
les flare. no 2.400 lights illuminating the
undercarriage of a space freight and no
30 chases through 24-bit deep space.
freed. computer animation is inherently
seen as a 3D format of polygons,
ditmapped textures and splining because
the medium lends itself so well to the
genre and for the last few years has been
seen as the best option for achieving the
ercessible. The likes of Jurassic Park and
Lawnmower Man to Babylon 5 and
SetiOuest DSV have created a myopic
view of computer's potential throughout all
alas of silicon art.
After this initial flux of enthusiasm In
one area, it's now becoming more apparent
that artists and animators from all
weiliz of life are finding ways of turning the
30 legacy into something else far, far
removed
Amiga Computing thought it was time to
tin the spotlight on the unsung heroines
it heroes who are making real waves in
the animation scene to ask them what
makes their Amiga such a vital comporeit
in the production process, and what
techniques they use to turn the ordinary
efe the extraordinary
,
An anim for all
5Pa50115
O Judging from the media, it
rwears
that there are two distinctive
ttraes.
The commercial artist who's in it
ipallor
the money (to eat, clothe, live
s id so on) and the individual artist
t'hose
work apparently shouldn't be
s lunded because it only appeals to a
hmnonly.
While there are extreme cases
aol
stereotype in both areas that inflame
vpublic
contempt and do more damage
e than good to the arts scene as a whole
a
tininess Camelot's award of E55 million
n t the Royal Opera House and the sub-
inewt
backlash that has people mutmWring
that money should be given solely
to charities, never mind the Arts
a
g
Crunch). many artists are genuinely try-
e
bg their best to bring something fresh,
p
vaginal and individualistic to the small
r
and big screens
o
Despite the supposed black-and-
b
inkte nature to the arts, the majority of
people operating in the grey areas In
l
between are working in both arenas and
e
m
creating original and exciting work
sesultaneously.
.
Take Jonathan Hodgson. He's been
animating for the past 15 years using a
variety of media. His commercials
rude SAAB. Kilmeaden Cheddar and
FEATURE
Four animator5
and an
Amiga
program 'biros for
While Heat (BBC1),
Kersplat (Channel
4), Nelson Mandela
(Channel 4) and
Classic Trucks
(Channel 4 ) .
Originally an illustrator,
Hodgson came
across animation
while studying
at Liverpool arts
school and decided that the
moving image was tar more interesting.
As with many art schools, the slant was
very much on the experimental - a tradition
that Hodgson still swears by today.
He had his first introduction to computers,
specifically the Amiga, only a year
ago when he applied to the arts council
for funding for a short experimental animation
that'll be screened as part of the
FourMations series on its completion.
Since that time, the computer has
become a vital part of his animation
process. He has since produced an intro
animation for Channel Four's Classic
Trucks series (detailed below).
MENTAL GRAFFITI
Meanwhile. Hodgson continues to
work on his animation. Described as
'mental graffiti', using a variety of different
medias from charcoal to video, the
basic theme behind the film is what goes
on inside someone's head while doing
something as mundane as walking to
work. The Amiga is being used as a vital
part of the production with the now
famous PARcard taking centre stage for
lifter looking at 311 animation in fia5t
1
8rt15t5 . who dal making llmiga animated art
5
the management and playback of all
5
Images (detailed below).
So impressed is Hodgson with the
1
Amiga that he's planning to produce
another film created solely on the
1
machine. The appeal of using the Amiga
is the speed of adding a variety of
0
effects: "You can turn a photographic
image into an outline image within sec-
,
onds. Also, the potential for the likes of
morphing is very exciting" commented
N
Hodgson.
"While uses so far have been very
a
obvious, there's lots of stuff yet to be
m
P
Amiga Computing
OCTOBER 1995
57