Cat Soup

Cat Soup animated short film directed by Tatsuo Sato

Artmaking strategies: Element of surprise, symbols, cartoon style.

•   What is this animation about? (big idea, or theme or narrative story)

This animated story follows Nyatta, a kitten with human like qualities, on his travel to the land of the afterlife and back in an effort to save the soul of his sister Nyako. At some point in the film both siblings die and are brought back. However, initially Nyako only has part of her soul.

I think the main theme is about life after death and how we deal with that within our lives!

•   What are the main characters?

The main characters are two anthropomorphic kittens named Nyatta and Nyako. They are brother and sister.

•   What is the style?

This short film is animated in a Japanese style and is very, very whimsical! I won’t lie, at times I was very confused!

•   What art making strategies (conceptual/ technical/ visual) does the artist use to illustrate his story?  Please give an example and assess the effectiveness of the example.

I think that the use of the music in conjuncture with certain parts of the story were very effective! I also liked the “conceptual-ness” of the ending. What’s going on? Will the story continue? Is it over? You’re left with questions and I think that was a really smart move on Sato’s part.

•   How might Sato's animation help create your animation?

I particularly liked the music used in conjuncture with the visual aspects of the short film. The ways in which it used the music to help influence the vibe and feeling of the story was really impressive!

Photoshop Project!

Artist Statement:  Photoshop Project

When I was first asked to think of a “place” with meaning I immediately thought of my barn. This place is filled with memories—the good, the bad, and the all right. The memories that this place brings to me involve my mother.  The barn was her safe haven and the horses within were like her “other” children. She filled this place with her love, her very essence. I go there to experience what I can no longer experience being in her presence. I go there to remember.

The concept for post card number one falls under repetition and an idea of an idealized landscape relating to memory. The perfect landscape to me holds aspects of my mom, the things I love—my barn and my horses. We gain new memories from different experiences. We can even gain new memories from established memories. Like when we tell stories over and over again, memories change. They take on new meanings.

The concept for postcard number two falls under transformation and memory. I feel as though memory is what we make it. It is still affected by our lives and what we experience. It changes as we change. There’s a spectrum in there somewhere—from the bad all the way to the good! I think memories are sort of like a rainbow. We move from one shade to another—they are all connected. We can’t have the good without the bad, or the happy without the sad. All we can do is look back on them and be content that they happened. Without those memories, who would we be?

For the final postcard, the concept falls under the idea of reminiscing. Memory is never really lost to us as long as we remember it! I’d like to think that this idea is central to a lot of people in the world, not just myself. Memories are what make us. Thinking of our memories is so important. They can build us up or tear us down. I lost my mother way to soon and I could have let myself be overwhelmed and shut down, but instead I remember. I remember so that I don’t forget.

Postcard #1

Postcard #2

Postcard #3

Thank you for taking a look at only my second attempt at using photoshop! Any questions, comments, or concerns are greatly appreciated! 

Thanks a bunch! :)