Peter Parr

        Whilst reading through Drawing for Animation, I noticed the work of Peter Parr. Unlike Quinn's work, where the soft pencil lines flow together to create fluid movement, Parr's life drawing sketches are made up of bolder, shorter lines. Rather than sketching the body as a whole, Parr's lines construct a figure in motion, creating more of an impressionistic expression than a fully realised drawing. In this way, he manages to give a detailed depiction of motion as well as physicality and the presence of the figure. 

 

        Despite the more impressionistic style of his sketches, Parr manages to capture the volume of his subject through carefully considered mark making. By varying the intensity or lightness of the line, Parr suggests weight and form, while maintaining the overall simplicity. Parr's work is also successful in communicating the characteristics and  gesture of his subject, the latter being an important tool for expressing attitude and feeling, and giving life and depth to animation.

 

        By not over working his life drawings, Parr allows himself to focus on the performance and motion, while his energetic strokes capture the rhythm of a movement, which form the basis of natural movement. Yet behind the ostensible simplicity, Parr's has vast skill in drawing and understanding the human form, that can only be achieved through practice. Without this skill and knowledge, it would be difficult to imbue the line with such meaning and presence, and so seamlessly record the energy of his subjects.

Komposition in Blau

        Although I have suggested a couple of times that I am not overly fond of abstract animations, unlike Lichtspiel Opus 1 where the on screen shapes bear little or no relation to the musical soundtrack, Oskar Fischinger's 1935 film Komposition in Blau uses the music as a frame of reference, with the geometric shapes expanding, appearing and moving in correspondence with changes to volume, pitch and tempo. Without much musical knowledge it is difficult to explain, but Fischinger manages to capture the nuances of an orchestral piece perfectly.

 

        Indeed, it is possible to imagine that if the soundtrack were removed, one might be able to at least decipher a rhythm from watching the animation, whereas with Lichtspiel Opus the animation did not seem to flow and change along with the music, as though the soundtrack is incidental or vice versa.

 

        Having watched the animation several times, to me at least it seems that there are  small hints of traditional ways of reading music included in the film; small cubes move up and down coloured bars which almost resemble the keys of a xylophone or glockenspiel, and later as the music moves up and down a musical scale, the cubes move up and down over a screen marked with horizontal lines as though marking where the notes would be written. Consequently, although the abstract imagery within the two films is somewhat similar, Fischinger's work is considerably more enjoyable, at least to me, thanks to the harmony of the synchronised animation and music.

Joanna Quinn Figure Drawing

        When asked to think of good examples of figure drawing in animation, the first name to come to mind was Joanna Quinn. Although there is often a degree of exaggeration to her animations, particularly the more comedic 'Girls Night Out' there is a strong understanding of life drawing and human anatomy which acts as a solid foundation for further characterisation.

        While watching clips of Quinn's way of working, what stood out to me is that she always has a mirror beside her, so that she can act of the poses and facial expressions before she begin to draw, and continually returns to the mirror for reference. This corresponds with the belief that animators are actors as well as artists, and need to have a good comprehension of body language and how action can communicate with an audience.

       
        What Quinn observes in this clip, about quickly capturing the movement before finalising the image, resonates with our own life drawing task. Rather than being allowed time to draw a detailed figure, we have been given the bare minimum of time to capture the essence and gesture of a pose, which I can see is an important skill in order to imbue animated characters with energy, vivacity and spontaneity.

        Quinn's pencil lines contribute to the quality of her life drawings, as although the result is slightly sketchy, there is a natural flow to the forms that she draws, which leads to lovely, fluid motion in the final films. This is particularly noticeable in several of her animations, where the characters change form; in Britannia a bulldog morphs into Queen Victoria, in The Wife of Bath a hag to a young woman, and in Body Beautiful Beryl's body becomes skinny, fat, tall and muscular in celebration of each. 

 

Looney Tunes

        The way in which Looney Tunes and its sister series Merrie Melodies have animated sound has effectively become a benchmark for all subsequent animations. The distinctive explosions and gun shots, represented by sharp, spiked shapes and bold primary reds and yellows, automotive sound effects to denote speed, fading whistles and  tip toeing xylophones have all become generic conventions of slapstick cartoons. This is due in part to their universal success as visual representations of sound, but also as tools for humour, particularly in the sketches where there is little dialogue and a greater reliance on visual gags. For example, see in the clip below how Wile E Coyote's body contorts and folds, becoming the deflating accordion that can be heard on the sound track. 

 

 

        This clip also illustrates another trait, not just of cartoons, but also of comic books. As the mouse trap snaps shut on the Coyote off screen, the word 'SNAP' is propelled onto the screen in synchronisation with the sound effect, in a similar way that some comics place words in explosive shapes to emphasise the force of a blow or impact. 

        The font of words in these instances is also carefully considered in order to make the most impact; the 'SNAPs' etc. in Looney Tunes wobble and vibrate along with the audio, mirroring the Coyote's is no doubt shaking nerves or building rage, while the 'ZAP' is clean, bold and crisp, connoting a loud and sharp noise.

 

        These strong methods of responding to sound, which have become ingrained in the public's awareness and interpretation (try looking at a spiked red and yellow shape without imagining an explosive sound) also allow the cartoons to appear more brutal and violent than they actually are; Coyote is caught in the mouse trap off screen, and the explosions often cover the character, before subsiding to show them in the aftermath, but the effectiveness of these techniques leaves the viewer feeling that they have seen more. Also, by incorporating non diegetic musical cues into the characters' body language (as with the accordion) the action is exaggerated and heightened, and has a greater impact.



 

Fantastic Mr Fox

        The way that Wes Anderson utilises environments in his first foray into animation is not so very far removed from how he depicts them in his live action films. The flat, almost 2 dimensional landscapes, and vibrant colour palettes of his latest feature, The Grand Budapest Hotel, were so strikingly alike to the style of Fantastic Mr Fox that it was hard to shake the feeling that some of the former was also animated.

 

Both films utilise landscape shots from very flat perspectives, which almost appear as though they are on layers, like a theatrical set.

        Such a distinctive style is suitable for an animation based on the surreal imagination of Roald Dahl, in an equally surreal story where woodland creatures worry about real estate opportunities, midlife crises, family dynamics, and the titular fox's addiction to thieving on the sly from the local farmers causes a rift in the neighbourhood. The sense of disorientation created by the contrast between the characters' animal appearances and human sensibilities is heightened by odd proportions; there are scenes where it seems that the environments and characters are created separately, rather than as a whole. This is particularly apparent in the digging scenes, where the underground tunnels, shown in cross section to allow us to see the animals within, seem more like an illustration (such as the in depth houses of Brambly Hedge) than a stop motion set.

 

        However, the sense that you are watching a story book come to life is certainly appropriate, as the film does indeed begin with the traditional device of a book opening, and the camera zooming into it. Aside from the unusual proportions, the pop up style is accentuated by Anderson's manipulation of perspective; the way that the characters move around in the static landscapes is not consistent with 'reality', as they can appear far in the distance one moment, before pooping up unexpectedly in the foreground. Unusually, the camera never really pans through the environments to show their depth. Instead, Anderson maintains a distance, tracking left and right, with few high or low angle shots offering a different perspective to the story book framing. Similarly, the characters more often than not move in straight lines from side to side or front to back, as though the background is an flat picture rather than 3D environment.

 

        The cosy picture book effect is carried further by the warm colour palette. Even in it's most perilous moments, Anderson's film rarely abandons the autumnal yellows and oranges, which imply a pastoral idyll and nostalgic charm, and leave the viewer with the impression that no matter what obstacles Mr Fox may be facing, he is in no real danger, and will triumph over the farmers.

 

 

Sketchbook

        I haven't really been using my sketchbook as much as I feel that I should have for work outside of our set modules and study tasks. In part, this is due to the fact that aside from drawing and sketching, when I have some free time I like to knit and embroider as well.

 

        Of the drawings I have done in my own time, the vast majority are in pen and Indian ink maybe with a splash of watercolour, materials which I discovered on my foundation degree worked well with my style, and consequently I feel comfortable with. However, I feel that maybe I should be a little more experimental, and try out different styles and mediums.

Some pieces of work from the beginning of the year. I do not feel that I have been as experimental with other media as I should have been.

         Also, in the future, I am going to make more of a effort to make observational drawings when I am out and about in different locations. Hopefully, this should help me to build up a library of ideas and reference materials for future projects, as well as help to develop my drawing skills in tandem with my set college work.

Ryan Woodward

        I first came across Ryan Woodward's beautifully simple animation Thought of You, as the video for the Arctic Monkey's song I Wanna Be Yours, although it was not originally created to accompany this piece of music.

 

 

        Woodward is an animator and storyboard artist who began his career working on hand drawn animations for Warner Brothers before moving into live action storyboarding for films such as Spiderman 2, Cowboys & Aliens and many of Marvel's superhero blockbusters. In a way, this short animation is the antithesis of working on storyboards, as Woodward keeps a fixed perspective and distance from the dancing figures, with no cinematic shot changes, emotional close ups or dialogue to tell the story for him. It is all gestural., which allows each viewer to associate the characters with people of events personal to them. There is no fixed or definite meaning to the film. 

 

        It is stylistically as well as thematically different to his commercial work; the characters are simple, with few features and no facial expressions, yet incredibly well drawn and expressive through their movements, which are elegant, smooth and graceful. Despite the simplicity of the design, the animation is far from straightforward. As the characters dance together, not only does Woodward have to contend with capturing their spontaneity and the secondary motion of clothes and hair, he further complicates the project by having their limbs transform into wings or extend as though they have become swathes of fabric. The pace also alters, with one character freezing as the other continues to dance, while their bodies shift between weightlessness and reality. It is in these complex moments that Woodward's skills as an effects animator (he animated fluids for Warner Brothers) shine through.

 

        This animation is hypnotic, with the simplicity allowing you to focus of the beauty of the movements. That a colourless, line drawing can capture so much feeling and emotion demonstrates how well Woodward has recorded the complex motion and interaction between the two characters, and his skills at drawing figures.  

Life Drawing

        I have only done a little life drawing before, on my foundation degree, and mostly involving longer, more in depth poses, with briefer ones being used for warm up exercises. So, our final Visual Language brief which required us to complete sequences of poses lasting 5-20 seconds each, with only this short amount of time to capture the essence of the pose, was definitely challenging.

 

        Aside from accepting that in this time frame I would not be able to produce an image that I would be satisfied with, I found that 10 seconds was barely enough time to look at the pose, without then having to draw it as well. However, this exercise was good for me, as I often feel I take too much time over my work; working in a looser more gestural style may be an interesting departure.

 

 

         After the very quick exercises, there were also two longer tasks, requiring us to draw a number of 5-10 minute and 20-30 minute poses. The former was intended to depict a figure pushing or pulling, with a focus on the weight and power distribution, and the latter a more traditional life drawing task. These were definitely more in my comfort zone, but after the quicker tasks, I found I was able to make broad marks capturing the shapes and angles of the figures before working on finer details, rather than working meticulously on one specific area and running out of time.

 

 

Sequence

        The final part of the Set, Series, sequence brief was to take the series of eight images and use these as the basis for a narrative sequence. I chose to create a storyboard, based around a dystopian society centred around clocks, which I feel suits the grim, monotone style that I have developed in the previous two parts of the brief. To match the colour scheme, I wanted the characters to be similarly grey, with harsh angular features, as though they have lost their vivacity.

 

 

        I enjoyed the fact that we were allowed to develop a narrative for this image sequence, as I am often able to find greater inspiration when I can imagine a story behind it. To emphasise the oppressive nature of the narrative, I used extreme high and low angle frames to accentuate the height of the clock tower, which acts as a controlling presence, and also to show the insignificance of the lowly workers below. By placing at least one clock in every scene (although not every shot) I hoped to place this usually innocuous object as a 'Big Brother' like face of totalitarianism.

Series Sequence

        After the frustration of milking every possible meaning out of 'clock', the next stage to the task was comparatively simple; expanding idea behind the one chosen image from the set of thirty two into a series of eight.

 

        My chosen image (the domineering clock tower) suggested a dystopian vision of a world dominated by time and clocks; think 1984 except with Big Brother replaced by Big Ben. To communicate this idea, I explored using ink, watercolour and pens to create a murky, grimy atmosphere. The original from the 32 set was drawn using a thick graphite stick, but for small scale drawings I find graphite too messy, as it smudges so easily, whereas ink and watercolour are set once they dry, and spread in a natural smog like pattern when applied to wet paper. 

        Using fine pens also allowed me to add finer details, such as architectural lines and facial expressions , which may have been lost with the use of graphite, which is better in my experience for broader strokes.

Set, Series, Sequence

        For our first Visual Language project, each person in the class was given a word at random, and tasked to draw a set of thirty two different interpretations of that word, exploring its various meanings and connotations through different media, mark making and drawing styles. Some of these words seemed to lend themselves more readily to this task, such as 'fly', as they have numerous meanings, definitions and potential.

 

        The word I was given was 'clock', which unfortunately doesn't have that many alternative meanings. Aside from a time clock, I could think of dandelion clock and the verb 'to clock', meaning hit or notice, which unfortunately made it quite difficult to come up with thirty two pictures. Consequently, I had to use a few turns of phrase as inspiration, including body clock, biological clock and time out. Of the three parts to this task, this was undoubtedly the most strenuous, demanding and patience trying, but in retrospect I can see how it helped me develop ideas for the subsequent elements which may not have occurred to me otherwise.

 

        Of all these different concepts, I had to choose just one to develop further, and the one that stood out to me was the image of a Big Ben style clock tower looming over people's lives.

Sound Effect Animations

        Having realised visual representations of my 10 chosen sounds, I was able to begin animating them. Unlike the single images, the animation would be able to depict how the sound developed and changed throughout its duration. The sound file could also be incorporated as a soundtrack, so even if the subjective visuals do not suggest 'frying egg', 'gelignite' or 'electric spark' to everyone, the audio could support the visualisation.

 

        Animating to sound also provided a strong frame of reference. By listening to the sound file, and noting down the times at which the audio changes tone or pitch, or new notes emerge, I was able to figure out where the key frames should lie, and build a structure to animate around, which I found extremely helpful. The synchronisation of audio and visual strengthen the visual responses, allowing others to accept the abstract depictions, even if this is not how they would have represented the sound effects.

Visualising Sound

        The concept of responding to and visualising sound is a tricky one to me, as working in an abstract style s not something that I particularly enjoy. The main obstacle was trying not to picture the actual source of each sound, instead varying the shape, thickness and tone of mark making to try and visually communicate the nuances of the sound effects.

 

        As a starting point, I listened to all of the available sound effects (mostly from the Hanna Barbera and BBC sound libraries) before selecting the 10 which paced the strongest images in my mind. I then began by sketching out different possibilities for each, while listening to the sound. I also tried making marks with my eyes closed, but this approach wasn't very effective in depicting the tone of the sounds. Having settled on an effective visual response to the 10 sounds, it was also important to consider the composition of each depiction, as the size and spacing within the page could be a strong tool in communicating  volume and pitch.

Examples of sketchbook pages showing experimentation and thought process in the development of visual responses to sound effects.

         To convey all of the variations and changes in a sound effect which could last as much as 4 seconds, many of the visualisations incorporated various different marks, such as the below 'fried egg' which has sharp pops/spits alongside the main bubbling sound. The brief had specified that the visualisations shouldn't contain more than 2 colours, and in some of the sounds it was more effective to use multiple shades than different colours, as variations between pale and dark could show alterations in the sound's intensity.

 

        Others, on the other hand, were better suited to  single colour. The 'cartoon xylophone' tip toe effect comprised of two notes repeated over and over, and the lack of variation within the sound was well suited to a dense, flat colour palette.

 

        After all of this thought and consideration into the effects of tone, colour, mark making and composition, I am fairly happy with my final solutions, especially since abstract work is far outside my comfort zone.

Environmental Storytelling

        For our Environmental Storytelling brief we were required to visit a minimum of three locations and make a series of observational drawings in each, using the right medium to capture the mood and atmosphere of the location. The locations that I chose were the York walls (mainly around Monkbar) and Christmas Market, and the Corn Exchange in Leeds as an indoor location.

 

        I felt that the walls would be best drawn using artist's pens, as to me they summoned up old fashioned line and crosshatched illustrations. This style was particularly effective on one image of an indoor staircase providing access to Monkbar, as it perfectly captured the dark, dingy and claustrophobic atmosphere. The pens also allowed me to include finer details of the locations without losing definition.

 

         The markets required a softer approach. The festive and warm atmosphere fitted well with a deep red pencil, which allowed me to add tonal definition without the harsh lines which were appropriate for the stone walls.

 

        The Corn Exchange building was perhaps the most difficult location to capture, due in a large part to its round shape and domed ceiling, which made accurately showing perspective more troublesome than it already is. The Victorian style of the interior, particularly the intricate iron balconies and staircases, and the aforementioned ceiling, were ideal for pen and ink, due to the detail. However, I wanted this set of drawings to stand apart from those of the Walls, so I chose to add a wash of colour. The light and airy interior seemed well suited to a pale sky/duck egg blue, a colour which I feel also suits the period of the building.

 

         In retrospect, these three locations are perhaps a little too similar to each other, and I could maybe have visited somewhere which would have leant itself to a bolder medium. I had intended to revisit the location of my Dad's former steel fabrication business, beneath the Leeds railway. I have strong memories of it being a very dark, grim and imposing place which would have been well suited to grimy charcoal or graphite. I should perhaps have done more preparatory sketches in each location, exploring different compositions and perspectives, yet the cold an blustery weather was somewhat off putting.  

Brave

        Many of Pixar's films have stylized environments which match the predominant themes of the films, such as the retro, angular cities of The Incredibles, the toy box world of Toy Story and its sequels, or the recognisable videogame set ups of Wreck It Ralph. What these films also have in common is that they are largely set in urban worlds.

 

        Brave differentiates from this pattern. Its depiction of an ancient Scotland is akin to the beautiful seascapes of Finding Nemo; highly realistic, magical and evocative of an unfamiliar world. The lush forests of the Scottish highlands are brought to life through the use of sweeping camera movements and long shots which reflect Merida's free spirit and love of independence, and through the vibrant yet naturalistic colour palette full of verdant greens. However, through a slight change to the light these landscapes are transformed into menacing woods reminiscent of traditional Disney films such as Snow White and Sleeping Beauty.   

 

 

        The two above images are good examples of how similar landscapes can convey contrasting moods and atmospheres with only a few minor changes. The de-saturated colours and fog enshrouded landscape of the second image contribute perfectly to the unsettling, imposing and generally perilous scene. Yet when you look closely, you can see that the composition of each image is remarkably similar; both are set in woodland, with boulders and tree roots littering the floor; but the addition of greenery and soft, yellow lighting to the first image result in an infinitely warmer, more inviting scene.       

 

The Model Continued

        In the second of our 3D workshop inductions, the emphasis was very much on using plasticine to add form and body to our armatures, and beginning to build them up into the character we had designed. However, before we could start using the plasticine, we had the vital task of covering the bare milliput with pharmaceutical tape, giving the plasticine something textured to grip onto, as apparently it just will not adhere to milliput.

 

 

        Although I had left plenty of space between the milliput blocks to allow for free movement in the joints, as I added the bandage, I felt that perhaps I should have used less milliput around the wire, as the characters 'muscles' began to look too bulky before I had even added the plasticine outer layer. The problem is that I had tried to add shape using the milliput, when really I only need it to keep the wire rigid. However, rather than giving up and starting again, I tried to make the best of the situation and learn from my mistakes.

 

 

        Once everything was securely bandaged up, I began applying the plasticine, not bothering too much with refining the figure, but ensuring it adhered securely to the armature and being sparing at first, allowing the opportunity to build up areas later.

 

 

        Once the entire frame was covered, I began shaping her figure. I was inspired by the extreme shapes used in many stop motion characters, where often women have extreme curves (see Paranorman's sister and Corpse Bride's hips) which would be absurd in real life and yet work well within context. Oddly though, it was the arms and shoulders that proved the biggest challenge, probably due to structural problems. Aside from large milliput biceps, I don't think that I made the wire shoulders wide enough, or high enough. Consequently, I couldn't make her torso as wide as I would have liked, and she has a little hunchback, but again this will be something I can learn a valuable lesson from.

 

        By the end of the session I hadn't managed to get as much modelling done as some of my classmates, who had added facial features, clothing and milliput eyes (as the plasticine doesn't stick, they can be rolled around in their sockets by tweaking the 'pupils' which are actually holes), but I was happy with what I had achieved and am really looking forward to our next session!

 



Finished Falcon

        After sketching out the outline I was able to think about whether I should colour in the falcon, leave it as a pencil drawing or add definition to the lines.

        As taxidermy is (to me) scientific and observational, I chose to keep the lines simple, as in a technical drawing, and keep the focus on the shape of the bird. Also, in terms of colour, as the falcon is mainly pale and creamy with a darker pattern on the wings, there wasn't much to add. While ideally I would have included the darker areas of pattern to contribute to the sense of shape and form, it would have been immensely difficult and time consuming to keep the position of the feathers consistent as the bird rotated. So in order to avoid making the animation uncomfortable to watch (through overly wobbly lines), I chose to keep it simple with pen and ink lines.

 

 

Spinning Falcon

        The object I selected to animate a rotation for is a taxidermy falcon, mainly because if I am going to be doing 12 observational drawings, I wanted it to be of something which I was interested in and would enjoy looking at for a prolonged period of time. Also, I have always found birds very challenging to draw, as despite their deceptively simple body shape their is an elegance and grace which is difficult to achieve.

 

 

        This draft is made up of the rough pencil sketches. Before further working on the images, I wanted to make sure that they lined up correctly as an image sequence, without dancing around on the page. I was concerned this would be an issue, as keeping the bird centralised around a pivot point, and maintaining the same height and angle when drawing was as much an issue as sketching the right shape. It would perhaps have been a wiser idea to use a ceramics turntable to spin the falcon, rather than turn it on a chart I had mapped out on paper. Yet despite these small problems, I am pleased with the overall outcome and can now decide how to finish the images.

You Spin Me Right Round

        As the penultimate task for our Visual Language module, we have been tasked with creating a series of observational drawings of any object (aside from something overly simple) from different angles, with the idea that they could be assembled into a short animation showing the object rotating through 360 degrees.

 

        The more I watch animations from an analytical point of view, the more I can see how this task relates to our course and will help to develop our skills as animators, as well as character designers. There are numerous examples of the camera circling a character in Disney films (off the top of my head, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King spring to mind), often at dramatic or emotionally heightened moments such as romantic encounters or climactic confrontations.

 

The ballroom scene in Beauty & The Beast masterfully shows the characters from all angles.

        Being able to draw a character or object from all angles is also important for solid drawing (one of the 12 principals of animation), as it allows you to depict figures from more dynamic angles than just front and profile. Three quarter views will give the illusion of depth and shape to 2D animations, preventing the characters from feeling flat. 

The Model

        The main area of animation that I am interested in is stop motion, and in particular the creation of the detailed and charismatic puppets which lie at the heart of many stop motion films. So, now that we finally have the chance to work in the 3D workshops, building a character from the wire armature up, I feel in my comfort zone.

        Thus far, we have made simple wire armatures/skeletons, and begun adding form and structure to them using Milliput, which will also limit the armature's movement to the joint areas. One problem that I and a few other members of the group encountered already is the scale of the model. The brief requested a character around six inches high, which with my design resulted in a rather long and spindly armature, which may make modelling and sculpting any delicate/small features tricky, while it has also caused a slight issue with the wire; ideally, for such a delicate structure, I would have liked to work with thinner, more malleable wire. But this is all a steep learning curve, will offer me a challenge, and I will be able to draw on this experience and knowledge when creating models in the future.

While designing my basic character outline, I was bearing in mind the exaggerated womanly figures of many characters in Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. An unexpected benefit was that the shapely hips balanced the model nicely, preventing her from being top heavy and toppling over.

        Once the armature was complete, with the Milliput applied and drying (this putty, which starts off as malleable and clay like, becomes rock hard when fully dry) we were given the opportunity to experiment modelling with plasticine. I have horrible memories of wrestling with slimy clay and trying to persuade two separate elements to mould together, but the plasticine was pleasantly pliant and obedient, although perhaps more suited to a rounder more cartoonish style than how I usually work.

        This last image, of a quickly modelled zombie-like character reminds me of one of the undead elders of Laika's Paranorman. Not only are exaggerated and caricatured features more fun to work with, but often in terms of stop motion are easier to work with, as they provide ample opportunity for feature to be detached and replaced (different mouth shapes, eye expressions).

Colour Theory

        I was intrigued by the idea of having lectures on colour theory, as aside from a very basic introduction to the colour wheel, primary, secondary, tertiary and complementary colours in a year 7 art class, I didn't know much about the topic.

 

 

        What I was expecting was a lesson into the different moods and feelings colours can connote, the psychological aspects of colour, and how to use it to effectively communicate a message. However, the lecture had more of a scientific slant; how we view and perceive colour. Despite differing from my expectations, the lectures prompted me to think about colour in a new way which will hopefully inform my future practice, as well as bringing up one of my favourite unanswerable questions: how do we know that what I see as red is the same as what you see as red?