Research: 'Simon's Cat'

After researching an historical example of animation I wanted to try find an example of a present day animation that has a similar style. An inspirational series of animations that have made an impact on me is ‘Simon’s Cat’. The concept of story telling presented in Simon Tofield’s animations is simple and syntagmatic.The simple sketching with minimal features enhances the bold eyes drawn for the characters expressing their emotions in a more vivid fashion for the audience. I believe what makes ‘Simon’s Cat’ so popular is that its structure is engaging for the audience as it strips itself of any complicated effects and story telling and instead focuses on the key points of the narrative.

The series of animations created by Tofield is incredibly popular and studied by many because he finds the balance between using pure hand drawn stylistic techniques with new ideologies within his narratives. I want to incorporate a similar approach with my animation, as I believe the balance between the two will drawn in my audience and allow them to appreciate the juxtaposition between the incorporation of old and new.

The image above is taken from one of Tofield's sketches called 'Let me in'.
The story is simplistic but effective because of its comedic timing and minimal elements. This animation appeals to me because the scene never changes; the background is constantly the same. This is effective because it is simple. The constant changing of scenes does not distract me as an audience member, which allows me to focus on the protagonist’s actions instead. I want to apply this technique to my own three-minute animation so that the audience is drawn into the narrative instead of the background.