ITAP-6

Production and outcomes reactions and influences

This lecture is one that I found to be useful to me and more relevant  than some of the  previous lectures as it looked more closely at the area of illustration which is an area that I am particularly interested in and because it looked at in part, the way that images have been changed and adapted to fit the particular zeitgeist of the time period in which the work had been produced .The word zeitgeist refers to the ideas and “spirit” of the time and also the period and place, I found that this idea also coincided with a previous lecture which was on the notions of originality and how ideas can be “recycled” and reused to create a new interpretation of the original idea or concept. The example that was given during the lecture was Alice in wonderland. The book was written by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and was illustrated by sir John Tenniel in 1865.

Now as we can see the image was produced using engravings and the old printing press that was prevalent during this time, this technology enabled books and images to be reproduced in larger quantities than they were previously, but due to the nature of the techniques and technology of the time the images were produced in black and white. A point to mention in regards to the way the figures were drawn is that Alice is illustrated in a somewhat realistic way, the characters of the hare and the mad hatter are drawn in quite a slightly more whimsical manner to perhaps enforce the idea that Alice is in a fantasy environment.

 In contrast to this I’d like to focus on Walt Disney’s interpretation of the same story of Alice in wonderland. 

 Now the first thing we notice is that this version has colour and they are bright and they are vibrant, this is due in part to the technological advances that took place in this time period as animation had started to become much more sophisticated in its application and a wider range of colours and effects could be added. We also see that the ways the figures are represented visually are totally different to the way they were drawn originally. In the 1800’s, for example with the original the drawings seem to be quite stiff and rigid to me, whereas with Walt Disney’s version the characters are rendered in a much less formal traditional manner , the lines are also a lot cleaner especially when compared with the rough cross hatchings that were done previously this Is due to the way that drawings involved in animation have to be produced in order to create a much smoother animation. Another aspect to the way characters are drawn is that she is drawn in a much more innocent fashion so that it will appeal to a much younger target audience. The benefit of Alice been drawn in this way is that the younger viewers will find her a lot easier to relate to as she is depicted as being childlike and innocent.