Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1521473
14 KEYFRAME O N T H E J O B WORLD OF COLOR THREE BACKGROUND DESIGNERS SHARE HOW THE LANGUAGE OF COLOR AND LIGHT BRINGS LOCATIONS AND SETTINGS TO LIFE. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR JOB? I often joke with other painters on my team that we have the " fun, coloring book job," but I think it's a pretty apt description of what we do. We receive beautiful designs from our amazing background design team, and then we get the pleasure of painting them. It can involve making different color iterations of a background if we're exploring a location for the first time, as well as ensuring that the characters will stand apart from the background while keeping the palette cohesive. Often, our job also requires us to be able to shift the local color or day palette of an existing background to a different light setting—this always ends up being a great exercise in demonstrating just how much colors change depending on the light source. WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES OF YOUR JOB? One of the biggest challenges I've been facing recently is learning how to really push my detailing and rendering. That last 5 percent once you've already flatted all the colors can really make the difference between a good piece and a great piece—this is something I only noticed by observing other Background Painters on my team and learning from their process. WHAT ARE THE BEST PARTS ABOUT BEING A BACKGROUND PAINTER? Fundamentally, I think it's getting to work with color and treating it like its own language. Even with only a few years under my belt, I feel so much more fluent with color than when I first started. It's really comforting to feel confidence and control in the when, where, how, and why of introducing a specific color or palette into a piece— it's a very unique sense of satisfaction. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR ASPIRING BACKGROUND PAINTERS? Practice your understanding of lighting and color interaction through photo studies, observe and learn from artists you like, and absolutely learn from your peers. On a broader level, be deliberate about what you want to work on, but be open to every opportunity that comes your way. Don't be afraid of venturing into other departments or fields if you're given an opportunity— you will always gain something from it. NATALIE ARENZON Kiff, Titmouse Animation TELL US BRIEFLY ABOUT YOUR ANIMATION CAREER. After graduating from a liberal arts college where I majored in film studies, I managed to land my first gig designing and painting backgrounds for the pilot of Primos at Disney T VA when it was still in development. I went on to work as a Background Painter on Netflix's Carol & The End of the World, and most recently have been painting backgrounds at Titmouse on Kiff. I didn't initially plan on having a career in animation when I was in school, but now I can't imagine myself anywhere else.