Good afternoon!
This week, I’d love to share with you my appreciation for the animation ‘Loving Vincent’.
I came to discover this animation following the recommendations from a close friend of mine! On a brisk, cold Saturday afternoon, we found ourselves in The Great Art Shop. There, we came across some Van Gogh Oil Paints that looked lovely. This was when my friend told me that Loving Vincent was a piece of art very worth watching.
Background
Loving Vincent is the first ever fully painted animated feature film in history. Its a Polish-UK co-production, written and directed by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman. The entire film covered 66,960 frames that were created by over 100 painters.
The Storyline
Loving Vincent follows a very intriguing storyline, based on the life and death of the famous Vincent Van Gogh. It features Douglas Booth as Armand Roulin where he tries to uncover the truth about Van Gogh’s death.
As a big fan of Van Gogh’s oil paintings and aesthetic style, I found that this story made his work so much more meaningful. I never knew that he was not successful during his lifetime and that only following the decades ensuing his norotious ‘suicide’ had he become world-famous for being a significant, yet tragic artist whose troubled mind led him to both his death and his fame that lives on today.
Artwork
I believe that the choice of oil painting on canvas used to paint each frame was very fitting. Each frame was painted beautifully in the style of Van Gogh’s artwork. I truly came to appreciate every second and every movement.
It was interesting to see the contrast in detail throughout the animation. The detail painted between the characters and the background was quite vast. The human face and emotions were painted with immaculate detail, whereas backgrounds were effective in a more abstract form with lesser detail.
A few of Vincent’s own paintings were featured / revised within the film mostly in the form of backgrounds.
The Making Of
The film used 66,960 frames all created out of oil painting on canvas. There were so many paintings that if we laid them side by side, it would cover an area of London AND the Island of Manhattan!
It all started when Darota was inspired to create this after feeling a deep connection following studying Vincent Van Gogh’s letters and paintings in a dark episode of her life.
Animation
The animation of characters was done very well. Every move was so realistic and the emotions portrayed in each character was truly flawless.
The production had to scout not only very talented painters that could recreate Vincent Van Gogh’s painting style, but they also had to be able to animate movement in a way that is realistic and conveys the emotions required.
Actors created scenes to help the painters paint and animate such scenes. The team also consulted photos from Vincent Van Gogh’s era to recreate scenes that they couldn’t simply imagine.
Colour
The choice of colour really reflected the palette of Van Gogh’s. There were plenty of yellow hues and dark blues.
The choice to use black and white paintings for scenes that reflected the past was very effective. It was very clear to the audience that they were referring to past memories.
In conclusion,
I really enjoyed this film. I particularly enjoyed the aesthetic style inspired by Van Gogh himself. Moreover, the entire film was gripping and interesting despite it being more than an hour long. I also found it really interesting for someone to use oil painting on canvas to create such a long film and feel inspired to try the oil paint brush on 2D software.
I hope you enjoyed today’s share!
Until next week,
Katie