Analysis of the functionality and aesthetic value based on the design of color in animation

 

 

Hao Shen, DongHun Lee

 

Dept of Visual Contents
Graduate School of Dong-Seo University
Busan, South Korea

7716603@naver.com

papamac@hanmil.net

 

 

 

Abstract

 

In order to enhance the attraction and get the resonance of audiences, animation works usually need to rely on the scientific application of color, that is, to use color to describe a variety of storylines, thus interpreting role conflict.The application of color in animation design also requires careful design and effective artistic treatment under the influence of subjective will.The main purpose of this artistic treatment is to effectively serve animated stories,image of characters and so on. In the whole field of animation design, color plays an important role that can not be ignored. In animation works, the animated characters is also the main way to show the role performance.Therefore, the functionality and aesthetic value of color need to be paid attention to in this link, only in this way can we achieve the richness of animation. For this reason, this article will conduct a detailed analysis focusing on the functionality and aesthetic value of design color in animation.

 

Keywords-AnimationDesign colorfunctionalityAesthetic value

 

1. Introduction

 

Color is an important way to express everything in the world. It is not only an important reflection mode of light, but also a key component of visual elements.Animation can achieve intuitive representation of animated characters and imagined worlds through effective application of color. Therefore, to a certain extent, color can give the animation more complete expressive power. As a new visual art, animation should realize the display of function and aesthetic value with the help of color,which has a very important positive impact on the artistic value of animation works.From here we see that the application of color in animation design is also very important. This article will take the animation design color as the main research object, and further study its functionality and aesthetic value, hoping to provide effective help for the development of animation design color field.

 

2. functionality of color in animation design

 

Under the background of the development and promotion of various technical levels in the current society, animation technology has also been greatly improved and developed, so the presentation of animated films is often very rich, the use of color itself has a strong functionality. After practical research, its functionality is mainly reflected in the following points.

 

2.1. Improve the visual effect of animation

 

Animation is a typical visual art,so the visual effect is also very important. For example, Mickey Mouse, the earliest animation in Disney animation, can only show people black-and-white works because of the limitations of playing technology and animation technology at that time,while black and white color can only show the character's movement and expression, and can not show the best visual effect for people[1]. Until 1935, the appearance of the world's first color animated film “Flowers and Trees” not only gave people a more intuitive and stronger visual impact, but also brought a great impact on the use of color.

 

2.2. Exert the dynamic effect of animation

 

The dynamic effects of animation to be displayed not only by lines, but also by color. Only in this way can we adjust the color saturation, the way of using color and so on, eventually bring visual differences to the audience and strengthen the visual impression in connection with life, which is also the special effect of color on animation. Many animations use color position changes to construct dynamic lenses,such as Japanese animations often use meteor tracks to reflect the disappearance of characters[2]. In three-dimensional animation, the dynamic effect sketched out by color is often more significant, such as the current children's favorite “Frozen”, whose pictures take white, blue and purple as the basic tones of the animation,thus expressing the state of flying with the wind by color. Among them, Princess Elsa's cloak is expressed with a certain sense of transparency of the lake green, this way can not only show the transparency of the cloak, but also to a large extent enhance the princess's noble status and enrich the personality of animated characters.

 

2.3. Effectively communicate the animated emotion

 

In the process of color application, emotion also needs to be expressed. Show the emotional changes of characters through flexible colors in the animation, so that the audience can more intuitively perceive the character's emotional direction under the influence of color[3]. For example, in “Tom and Jerry”, when Tom encountered an unhappy event or was plotted by Jerry, the background will change to a dull color, thus expressing the character's emotions. But if something pleasant happens, the background color will also change, such as the blue sky or clear seawater can reflect the main character's happiness. In addition, color can also express the fixed emotional state of the characters themselves. For example,in the “Super Three”, the setting of the characters is closely related to the original, and the elements of opera are also strong, such as Guan Yu's red face shows his good faith, virtue and patriotism[4].

 

2.4. Enrich the meaning of animation

 

We know that color can achieve effective expression of emotion.Taking animation as the main unit, the color tone used in the whole animation can also represent the emotion of the whole animation,and part of the tone changes can realize the expression of the emotional transformation of animation. For example, the animation “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in 1937, as the impact of the First World War has not been completely calmed, the Second World War was spreading wantonly. Although people continued to live, the overall mood and atmosphere was still heavy. Through the bold use of warm tones and natural colors, this animation not only conveyed a sense of tranquility, but also reflected people's belief in the triumph of evil.

 

3. The aesthetic value of color in animation design

 

Animation with color only can not reflect the aesthetic value of the animation, and is also lacking in vitality, animation can be more vivid only by providing corresponding emotion and life for animation. The aesthetic value of color in animation design can also be studied from the following aspects.

 

3.1. It has a significant effect on style positioning

 

The value of style positioning is mainly reflected in the following links: First of all,the age span of the current audience of animations are often relatively large, the theme or style preference of different audience groups also has a great difference, among them,color also has a very significant difference in style positioning. For younger children,animation with higher color saturation can be chosen, because the richness of color has a more direct reflection on the children's brain, This simple way of using color also plays a very important role in the daily color teaching of parents[5]. For teenagers, thematic animation also can use natural colors and rich colors, this way can not only improve the exquisite degree of animation itself, but also play a very important role in the enhancement of the degree affection for teenagers. The adult group pays more attention to the sense of picture in animation, and has more meticulous requirements for the use and collocation of color, so it needs to spend more time to explore the details of color knowledge. Secondly, the color usage habits can achieve accurate positioning for the aesthetic style of animators themselves. For example, Hayao Miyazaki's works in Japanese cartoons can intuitively reflect his personal style. Among them, the coloring method of celluloid in Japanese cartoons is also a link with strong style characteristics, while the cartoons in Europe and America prefer to be realistic or exaggerated, and has more striking style characteristics.[6]

 

3.2. It has a significant aesthetic value for the shaping of roles

 

Color often reflects a greater value in the link of role shaping, the most prominent is the reflection of personality, the use of different colors can achieve the embodiment of different characters, and foil the atmosphere. Only under the influence of relevant atmosphere can the roles show more remarkable vitality. For example, in the animation “Monkey King: Hero is Back”, there is a scene of Monkey King wearing a purple gold crown with phoenix wings and a golden armor, majestic standing on the cliff, red cape waving behind himself, which formed a more obvious contrast with the cold color of the sky. comprehensively displayed the heroic image of Great Sage Equalling Heaven. Complete atmosphere also better showed the esthetic attitude for the hero, this is an important manifestation under the influence of color.

 

3.3. There is an aesthetic expression of film’s meaning

 

A film with depth will not simply think about the surface in the link of color selection, but embody the aesthetic thinking of animators in a more profound way. For example,in the animation “Spirited Away”, the colors are mainly white and silver, so as to reflect the character's calm personality, this way can more fully express the purity and simplicity of the protagonist in the animation world outlook.

 

 

4. Relevant countermeasures for improving the functionality and aesthetic performance of color in animation design

 

4.1. Scientifically research and explore the color matching

 

In the design link, the green design concept also has the very vital significance, which is also a design idea playing the impetus role to the human development. In the link of color effectiveness, the integrativeness of green is stronger, and the integration of green in blue often shows beautiful scenery, the integration of green in yellow often reflects positive images[7]. Generally speaking, the main purpose of setting the background color is to show the theme, which is also closely related to the emotions between the characters.In this context, the inner world of the characters will change under the background of the work. It should be noted that the background color can not be changed at will, but should be changed under the effect of the theme, only in this way can the work be full of vitality.

 

4.2. Construct the animation scene space

 

As a special form of language, the expression of color is also more intense. The design of animation scene also belongs to the art of space construction, which needs to play a more important role in the role playing. In the process of animation design, the most frequent usage mode is to highlight the scene space with the help of color and tone. For example, gray as the main keynote of the scene design, which requires the use of large areas of white and gray, this way can certainly expand the scene space. Although the color used in this way is relatively simple, but it can bring people a stronger visual contrast, and enhance the sense of level of the picture itself and sense of space.

 

 

4.3. Highlight the artistic effects of stories

 

Some animation scenes are relatively stimulating, especially in the use of lens language is more complex, it often brings a stronger visual impact in this way. There are also some animations more emphasis on atmosphere and effectiveness, so this special artistic style can also bring special visual effects to the audience[8]. For example, in the animation “The Incredibles”, the link of animated characters’ design adopted a very exaggerated way because there were many fighting pictures and chasing pictures and the way of lens expression was complex, which has brought obvious difficulties for visual display. If the traditional way still be used to express animation, it will affect the difficulty of expressing the force of character modeling, and even restrict the expression of animation technology. Therefore, in this context, enhancing the application of 3D technology can not only enhance the reality of animation, but also improve the role modeling, the functional and aesthetic performance of animation color.

 

5. Conclusion

 

In conclusion, the scientific application of color in film and television animation can not only improve the animation effect and visual effect, but also have a very important positive impact on the emotional transformation of characters in animation. In the course of the development of China's animation industry over the years, the various technical levels have been significantly improved, The animation works such as “Monkey King: Hero is Back”, “The moon of Qin dynasty” have realized the promotion and development of production level and artistic appreciation ability.Under the background of the continuous development of society, people's demands for animation color are bound to increase greatly, so we need to pay more attention to color design in future work, only in this way can we constantly explore the artistic charm of animation design color itself. As a brand-new visual art, animation should display its functional and aesthetic value with the help of color, which has a very important positive impact on the artistic value of animation works. Therefore, we hope this study will be of great help to the animation design industry.

 

Acknowledgment

This research was supported by BK21plus Level-up Project for Marine design team in Dongseo University

 

References

 

[1] Tian Mingxing, The functional and aesthetic value of color design in animation[J]. Art review, 2017,28 (2): 171-173.

[2] Zhao Mingguang, The functional and aesthetic value of color design in animation[J]. Art review, 2016,28(2).

[3] Wang Wei, The functional and aesthetic value of color design in animation[J]. Art review, 2017,39(2):171-173.

[4] Wu Yonghui, Luo Yongyou, A dissertation on harmonious design in animation[J]. Charismatic China, 2015,39(17):206.

[5] Li Zhaoxia, Color language and design in Disney's animated films[J]. Film literature, 2017,37 (10): 118-119.

[6] Yang Jing, A dissertation on application of digital color in animation design[J]. Art education research, 2018,82 (12): 62-63,66.

[7] Li Pengfei, Lu Dan, Zhang Chongyang. Color art in movie animation design[J]. Construction engineering technology and design, 2018,73 (13): 962.

[8] Ran Guoqiang, A dissertation on the importance of color composition in animation design[J]. Participation flowers, 2018,16 (6): 138.