The Inkling Chronicles : "A Day For Hand-Drawn Animation

November 14, 2009

"A Day For Hand-Drawn Animation - 2009"

A Day for Hand Drawn Animation - 2009

(click on the image to see it larger)

I posted about this last year , here:

http://hand-drawn-animation.blogspot.com/2008/11/day-for-hand-drawn-animation.html

with a follow-up post , here:

http://hand-drawn-animation.blogspot.com/2008/11/forum-for-classical-hand-drawn.html

This annual "Day for Hand Drawn Animation" is sponsored by Tahsin and Lâle Özgür at Maltepe University in Istanbul .

All devotees of hand drawn animation are invited to mark the day , regardless of their geographical location. (the internet creates such a small world).

This year Tash and Lâle write:

November 18th, a Day for Hand-Drawn Animation
A universe of dreams and fantasy that opened up with Steamboat Willie on November 18th, 1928, or even earlier, with Little Nemo in 1911.
A universe wonderful for the spectator, and even more so for the artists and craftsmen.
The tradition is alive and well in 2009. May we all celebrate, those of us who insist on keeping it alive, and those of us who never tire of watching!
-Tash & Lâle Özgür

I thought the point that Tash made last year about the distinction of "hand drawn animation" bears repeating:

"We call it, in our quaint Oriental tongue, Çizgi Film Bayrami, which clumsily translates as "Line-Film Holiday" or something ... "Line-Film" being what we call this kind of film. English lacks a direct equivalent, and the more generic term "animation" might have even facilitated the CG takeover ("it's all animation, isn't it?")

Think of our concept of "line film" as closer to the French "dessin animé" ("animated drawing") - it's French, language of culture, so it probably has more weight in the argument. Which argument? Why, that hand drawn animation is a distinct art form, and not simply a step on the way towards something else. "

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Recently the veteran animator/designer/director Gene Deitch made a similar point in a speech prepared for the Xiamen International Animation Festival (Oct. 30th-Nov. 3rd) in China. Gene's speech is titled "Quo Vadis Animation?" The entire text of his speech is on Cartoon Brew:

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/ideas-commentary/gene-deitch-quo-vadis-animation.html

Here is the summary:

“The core of my speech is a pitch for the survival and eventual return to primary favor of “drawn animation.” (Don’t provoke me by mentioning the term “2D” in my presence!)"

Here is a video Gene made since his travel visa was not approved by the Chinese government , so he was not able to present the speech at the Xiamen International Animation Festival :