Daydreams and Nightmares: Amalgams of Technology and Aesthetics in Animation
A fascinating symposium on September 8th – 9th 2017 that looks at hybrid technologies and collapsing boundaries in digital animation will take place at the Central Linz in Austria as part of the Ars Electronica Festival.
Ben Hibon studied Graphic Design at Central Saint Martins and initially applied his strong illustrative style to Flash animation. His first major film Full Moon Safari, created at Unit 9, was drawn exclusively in Flash with no 3d software used. The three dimensional style he used was entirely worked out in the drawings. Made in 2001, this film featured on the first Onedotzero DVD in 2003 and won awards at the OFFF and Flashforward festivals.
Since then Ben has directed a series of commercials and idents. In Codehunters, a short film for MTV Asia, his signature style is clear although the animation is created in a hybrid mixture of comic style art, hand drawn textures and CGI. This film won many major awards in 2006-7.
More recently, Ben has directed animation sequences for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Created in CGI, his own drawn aesthetic still comes through clearly.
2d / 3d hybrid styles were a big feature in this year’s Onedotzero festival. The Blackwater Gospel, (Bo Mathorne, The Animation Workshop, Denmark, 2011) combines hand-drawn backgrounds and textures with CGI to create a stylish and fully integrated visual environment.