Description:
My abstract animation is intended to be a playful visualization of the song “Dark Demo” by Art Dealer to help viewers notice the unique sounds in this piece. This piece also reflects the bold and colorful environment of a climbing gym, a place I spend much of my free time. I chose crisp geometric shapes in bold and bright colors that remind me of the climbing holds. I also incorporated a motif of vertical rectangular panels, reminiscent of the shapes and lines in the climbing wall.
Creative Process:
I began this piece by choosing a piece of music. I liked the song “Dark Demo” by Art Dealer, however the music was too long, so Jackson Wells helped me cut it down to 40 seconds.
I created storyboards for this song along with two other song options. As I began animating, I mostly followed the storyboard, but I chose to change several sections as I learned new techniques in After Effects and also wanted to maintain consistency in motifs throughout the piece.
At first I animated without choosing a color palate, yet as I got a better feel for the piece I decided to choose bold colors with bright contrast against the background to align with the sound of the music and correspond with some of the climbing route colors that inspired my design.
I also tried to incorporate series of vertical rectangles in my animation, reflecting the vertical faces of the climbing wall.
Artist Inspiration:
This piece called Several Circles by Wassily Kandinsky inspired me especially for the circles at the beginning of my animation. I also like the way many of Kandinsky’s pieces use bold colors and geometric shapes.
Jason Woodside is another artists whose work served as inspiration for this piece. In this mural he painted in my hometown, Durham, I like the repeating parallel lines and the bright colors.
Annotated Bibliography
Art Dealer, “Dark Demo,” Artistry, Spotify, February 14, 2024.
- This is the original song from Spotify that inspired this animation.
Envato Tuts, “Make a Wiggle Effect in After Effects,” YouTube video, August 15, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLmfZBT2kJc.
- A helpful tutorial for using the wiggle effect in After Effects.
Kandinsky, Wassily, Several Circles, 1926, painting, https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/1992.
- One of the pieces that inspired the shapes and colors in my animation.
Woodside, Jason, Untitled, 2022, https://www.thedrawingarm.com.au/artists/jason-woodside.
- A mural artist whose work in my hometown inspired the colors and repeating patterns in my animation.
