April's Animation

For April, things needed to be portable, as I spent most of it exploring parts of France, Italy and the Netherlands.

I knew that when I set up this challenge for myself, this month would be particularly difficult.

I brainstormed a series of ideas, but most of them seemed impossible or unrealistic.

It began with a sketchbook. I envisioned a series of drawings to make a 'flip-book' animation.

I ended up with 2 sketchbooks that had the perfect paper, but they weighed me down (literally)! When the time actually came to doing "10 drawings a day" it was a dumb idea. I was taking in new sights! And uninspired to focus on sheets of paper, even in transit.

I decided not to stress about it and enjoy my trip. I started in Paris, made my way down South and when I got to Nice, things changed!

I fell in love with my little hotel room. It had a balcony with plants, a single bed, a sink, a shelf and a desk by the window. It was the perfect place to get some work done. Almost every single time I start a project, I have to move stuff around in my studio- for it to feel "right".

I went for a long walk my first night there. I think I have a thing for shutters.

They're everywhere! I love how they add so much character.

I took the photo (at the top of this post) and was inspired to recreate it.

A timelapse animation seemed to be the easiest way to animate in one evening.

When I got back to my hotel room, I set up my awesome new tripod, closed the curtains, moved a few lights around and began to draw my reference photo. Sure, I made a couple uneven lines, but I was drawing upside down! Then came the watercolours. I ALWAYS pack my watercolours.