Gedo Senki (Tales from Earthsea)

2nd March 2006

Number 45 - Drama before picture detail!

So, if the pictures are simple,
does this mean it reduces the burden on animators and makes drawing easy?
Far from it.

That is because even though the amount of detail is reduced, the technical skill to maintain the illusion of reality becomes vital.

This technical skill is evident in character design that creates attractiveness out of fewer lines, and in "drama (movement)" that feels persuasive, from bold action to simple everyday activity.
"Detailed lines" and "Simple lines".
Of course you can't say which method is better, and depending on the nature of the story either may be suitable or unsuitable.

Based on that,
I have set my goal,
from my own personal preferences about animation and the subject matter of "Tales from Earthsea",
as "Strong words and lively movement through simple pictures".

Two things about this goal.
Firstly, Mr. Yamashita, who is currently serving as animation director[1], is in complete agreement with me in every regard.

As I wrote before,
Mr Yamashita's pet phrase is "Let's make the movement fun"!
The pictures Mr Yamashita draws have always been designed to focus on dramatic movement rather than getting hung up on detail.

Secondly, what is making this goal a reality at present is the solid technical skill of the staff, especially the animation directors Mr. Yamada and Mr. Inamura[1].

Translator's Notes

[1]: There appear to be two animation directors (or supervising animators), Akihiro Yamashita and Takeshi Inamura. I think they are the only two - I don't remember there being mention of any others.