Category: Film

PRINTMAKING: Fish Six

animation, Art, experimental, Film, printmaking May 9, 2023

This is the final in a series of six posts documenting the production of the experimental prints that I created using woodblock printmaking techniques and their use for both gallery exhibition as art prints and also as animation frames in my experimental animated film Toxic Fish (see the photos below). The fish in this post is the kohada. Its static shape on the woodblock and in the film frame contrasts with the simulated flooding of coloured toxins from commercial pollution which are overlaid around it and which eventually poison the fish. Variations in the volume of ink applied to the block plus the choice of hue produced a range of similar but different outcomes that, when edited in sequence, contributed to the creation of the illusion of movement. At most times the associated movement of both fish and toxins dramatically and frantically appear to twitch and jump all over the frame. The action looks frenetic. That effect is reinforced by the percussive soundtrack. The film was selected and screened at CINANIMA, the Animation Festival in Esphino, Portugal, and at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney, as well as at the Big Day Out rock festival in Sydney (see certificate and photo on a previous post: PRINTMAKING: Fish Four).

A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for gallery exhibition and as a frame in my animated film *Toxic Fish*-©1990 Michael Hill. (Print of image for animation, dark blue ink over black base shape of fish with blue and green ink striped overlay and surrounds, for use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.)

A woodblock print with overloaded, hand-coloured blue ink blotches for gallery exhibition and as a single frame in my animated film *Toxic Fish*-©1990 Michael Hill. The print of the fish for the animation has overloaded blotches of blue and grey ink smudged overlaid onto the basic shape of fish with yellow and grey ink surrounds, for use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.)

A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for gallery exhibition and as a frame in my animated film *Toxic Fish*-©1990 Michael Hill. The print of the fish for animation has overloaded blotch of green ink over the outline shape of the fish with surrounding pink and grey ink smudges and brush strokes, for use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.). Imagine seeing all seven of the above frames within a single second of the film…it’s a quite frantic movement of colour, shape and positioning!

Sitting at the Oxberry animation film rostrum stand back in 1990, shooting the film, frame by frame, from the individual woodblock prints. I appear both happy and calm and pleased with the process despite the frantic impact that the film makes. I do listen to music while I work but I don’t recall what I was listening to that day.

A later grouping of one species of the fish for art gallery exhibition. Individual prints were torn and collaged into a school formation.

This post concludes my look at the Toxic Fish animation project, however, there will be further posts under the PRINTMAKING banner.

PRINTMAKING: Fish Five

animation, Art, experimental, Film, printmaking February 8, 2022

This is the fifth in a series of six posts documenting the production of the experimental prints that I created with woodblock printmaking techniques for both gallery exhibition and also as frames in my experimental animated film Toxic Fish (see photos below). The fish in this sequence is the gizzard shad. Its static shape on the woodblock contrasts with the flooding of coloured toxins from commercial pollution which are overlaid around it which eventually poison the fish. Variations in the volume of ink applied to the block plus the choice of hue produced a range of similar but different outcomes that when edited in sequence contributed to the creation of the illusion of movement. The film was screened at CINANIMA, the Animation Festival in Esphino, Portugal, and at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney, and also at the Big Day Out rock festival in Sydney (see certificate and photo on previous post: PRINTMAKING: Fish Four).

A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for my animated film *Toxic Fish*-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (Print of image for animation, green ink over black shape of fish with red and green ink smudged overlay, for use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.)

A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for my animated film *Toxic Fish*-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (Print of image for animation, orange ink over black shape of fish with blue and grey ink smudged overlay, for use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.) This print also stamped to be sold for framing as static artwork.

A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for my animated film *Toxic Fish*-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (Print of image for animation, pink ink over black shape of fish with pink ink smudged overlay, for use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.)

A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for my animated film *Toxic Fish*-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (Print of image for animation, red ink over black shape of fish with red and grey ink smudged overlay, for use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.)

Some examples of the fish art from the animation, as in the image above, have been added to the Doctor Comics website (doctorcomics.com) under the post heading PRINTMAKING: Fish 1, 2, 3 etc.(see links below at the bottom of this post).

All photos postcards, postcard art and printmaking by Dr. Michael Hill aka Doctor Comics.

PRINTMAKING: Fish Four

animation, Art, experimental, Film, printmaking February 14, 2021

This is the fourth post documenting the production of experimental fish prints that I created with woodblock printmaking techniques and their use in my experimental animated film Toxic Fish (see photos below). The fish in this sequence is the Kohada. Its static shape on the woodblock contrasts with the flooding of coloured toxins from commercial pollution which are overlaid around it which eventually poison the fish. Variations in the volume of ink applied to the block plus the choice of hue produced a range of similar but different outcomes that when edited in sequence contributed to the creation of the illusion of movement. The film was screened at the Animation Festival in Esphino, Portugal(see certificate below), and at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney, and also at the Big Day Out rock festival in Sydney.

A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for the animated film *Toxic Fish*-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (Monoprint of image for animation, black ink for shape of fish with black ink surrounds), for use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.).

A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for the animated film *Toxic Fish*-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (black ink with sepia wash overlay, for use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.) This print also stamped to be sold for framing as static artwork.

A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for the animated film *Toxic Fish*-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (Woodblock print of image, blue/black ink with green ink overlay, for use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.) The fish in this sequence is the *Kohada* or Gizzard Shad. Its static shape on the woodblock contrasts with the flooding of coloured toxins around it.

A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for the animated film *Toxic Fish*-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (print of image for animation purple/brown ink over black with green ink overlay, for use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.)

A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for the animated film *Toxic Fish*-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (print of image for animation with use of overprinting out of registration to stress texture.) This print also stamped to be sold for framing as static artwork.

Two of the hand-carved woodblocks of various sizes and sharpening stone that were used in the production of the animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill..

Me, shooting the film on the Oxberry animation rostrum camera for the animated film *Toxic Fish*-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill.

Certificate of participation in the International Animation Festival, Espinho, Portugal, 1990.

Colleague Jeremy Allen pointing to the large screen projection of my film at the rock music event *BIG DAY OUT.* (Photo and artwork-©1990 Dr. Michael Hil).

All photos postcards, postcard art and printmaking by Dr. Michael Hill aka Doctor Comics.

PRINTMAKING: Fish Three

animation, Art, experimental, Film, printmaking May 5, 2017

This is the third post on the fish prints I made with woodblock printmaking techniques for the experimental animated film Toxic Fish. The fish in this sequence is the Kohada or Gizzard Shad. Its static shape on the woodblock contrasts with the flooding of coloured toxins around it.

Fish woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for the animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. Fish printed in black ink with orange and yellow surrounds including grey smudging. This print also stamped to be sold for framing as static artwork and was also later reworked and published as an art postcard-©1999 Dr. Michael Hill.

Fish woodblock print with overlaid pale-blue hand-colouring and orange surrounds for the animated film Toxic Fish-© 1990 Michael Hill. This print also stamped to be sold for framing as static artwork and also published as an art postcard-©1999 Dr. Michael Hill.

Fish woodblock print with overlaid purple hand-colouring with yellow and pink surrounds for the animated film Toxic Fish-© 1990 Michael Hill. This print also stamped to be sold for framing as static artwork and also published as an art postcard-©1999 Dr. Michael Hill.

Overlay textural effect inking of a sequence of prints for the animation on the floor of the studio. (Photo by Louise Graber).

Other posts of my graphic based material include:

MORE CARTOONS

POSTCARD-Second Series

PRINTMAKING: Fish Two

animation, Art, experimental, Film, printmaking January 28, 2017

This is the second post in my series of making fish prints made using the woodblock printmaking method for my experimental animated film titled Toxic Fish. As the ocean fish are poisoned their bodies swell up then disintegrate. The static shape of the fish from the woodblock holds firm at first before being flooded by toxins. The method employed was to gradually over-ink the block so that details were dampened into puddles and definition reduced.

A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for the animated film Toxic Fish-© 1990 Michael Hill.

Here is a photo of me carving one of the blocks using a Japanese chisel. Warning: this is not the recommended way to of doing it! It is much safer done on a fixed bench with one carving away from, not towards, oneself. The photo is condensed pose of the process for promotional purposes.

Hand carving one of the woodblocks for the animated film Toxic Fish-Photograph © 1990 Demetra Christopher.

If you liked this post you might like to look at others on my Blog.

PRINTMAKING: Fish One

THE GRAFIK GUITAR

POSTCARD

PRINTMAKING: Fish One

animation, Art, experimental, Film, printmaking July 23, 2016

This series of posts will profile a collection of creative prints that I have made over the years, beginning with a series of fish. Using the woodblock printmaking method with variations in inking to make monoprints, the prints made could be used in animation. Six species of fish were featured, the first of which, featured here, is the Japanese Tai or sea bream. I was very attracted to the idea of working in both animation or printmaking at the time but found it difficult to sustain both and then to choose between the two. I found the answer in combining both mediums. Animation’s enormous need for artwork could be more speedily met by using the printmaking medium. I was doubly happy but have since settled on making comics which falls in the space somewhere in-between the other two.

Shooting my 1990 animation Toxic Fish on the Oxberry animation rostrum camera with artwork produced from woodblock printmaking.

Posts of my graphic based material include:

BOOKBINDING THE GRAFIK GUITAR

CARTOON

POSTCARD

Archive of Australian Alternative Comics: IMAGINARY WORLDS SYMPOSIUM

Archive of Australian Alternative Comics, Art, Comics, Film January 22, 2014

This symposium continued the novel association between the University of Technology, Sydney and Supanova of staging comics related academic events. In this case topics were not confined to the study of comics in general nor Australian alternative comics in particular. Rather, the papers reflected a more wide-ranging list of subjects that included connections between comics and fashion, film, animation, literature, calligraphy and computer games. There was even a presentation on the design of comics for young readers with vision impairment. The range of topics reflected a broader range of the university’s teaching and research areas and also had resonance with Supanova’s own broadening interests that had spread from an initial focus on comics (it was originally known as ComicFest) to a wider pop culture spread.

Page from the SUPANOVA program listing the event.

This symposium researchers focused on the use of the design elements of image and space and the manipulation of these in the creation of fantasy worlds in these various media forms. Co-curated by Dr. Vicki Karaminas and I the symposium was staged at the UTS city campus in the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building on 14th October 2005 and was opened by the Dean of the faculty. This is the fifteenth in a series of posts called Archives of Australian Comics History that document moments in the recent history of Australian comics, particularly alternative comics and the Australian Small Press, however, as stated above, this post has a broader orientation. I started researching this subject in the late 1990s and it eventually led to my PhD thesis and doctorate: Ph.D. Macquarie University, Division of Society, Culture, Media and Philosophy, A Study Of Contemporary Australian Alternative Comics 1992-2000 With Particular Reference To The Work Of Naylor, Smith, Danko And Ord, 2003. On completion of the research I donated the materials and comics I had collected to the National Library of Australia: Michael Hill Collection of Australian Comics.

GIGANTOR AND GOJIRA IN THE HOUSE

Art, Comics, Film, Japanning April 1, 2012

I’m happy to now have two three dimensional flat sculptures of Gigantor and Gojira on the kitchen walls of our house: Gigantor the giant, remote controlled, peace-keeping robot, based on the manga Tetsujin 28-go (Iron man No.28) by Mitsuteru Yokoyama and adapted for animation, plus Gojira (Godzilla) star of the famous Japanese movie directed by Ishirō Honda. These plaques are the work of model maker, artist and comics creator Lewis P. Morley and were exhibited just last month at a gallery in Redfern, Sydney. Once installed, Lewis agreed to attend to their christening.

Gigantor installed …above the stove in the kitchen. (Photograph and ceramic tile design by Louise Graber)

I have always thought that Gigantor’s body resembled a pot-bellied stove so I decided that it was appropriate he be positioned above the stove. His clunky design with rivets and pistons, prior to those more elegant mobile suit robots, such as Gundam that succeeded him, have some resonance with the metal stove and the various pots and pans on the shelves.

Gojira installed on the Japanese graduated toned wall. (Photograph by Louise Graber)

The whale eating Gojira, on the other hand, coming from the depths of the ocean and memorably seen in the 1954 Godzilla movie wading through Tokyo Bay, had to go over the kitchen sink.

Lewis and his magic silver signing pen signing Gojira. (Photograph by Louise Graber)

Christening Gigantor in steampunk style with steam from a boiling kettle. (Photograph and ceramic tile design by Louise Graber)

Christening Gojira with water from a metal jug. (Photograph by Louise Graber)

Job done: the artist poses in front of the installation. (Photograph and ceramic tile design by Louise Graber)

It was very kind of Lewis to come over, wearing his Gundam T-shirt and perform this ritual. He now has visiting rights. This post was first published on the Doctor Comictopus blog.

Doctor Comictopus alias for Michael Hill Ph.D (a.k.a. Doctor Comics) designed by Michelle Park.

UPDATE: GODZILLA GETS RESIDENCY CERTIFICATE IN TOKYO, June 2015

News photo: Godzilla officially welcomed to Shinjuku by the Mayor.

UPDATE: POSTER DESIGNS FOR THE NEW SHIN GODZILLA FILM, April 2017

FLYING THE ANIME FLAG ON TREASURE ISLAND

Art, Comics, Film, Japanning November 14, 2011

In late October I spent a week in Fiji on behalf of the Japanese Embassy and the Japan Foundation in Sydney to present a lecture and workshop at the School of Arts, Language and Media of the University of the South Pacific and introduce films at an Anime festival. It was all part of Japan Culture Week 2011 in Suva, the capital city on the largest of the 300 islands and it seemed a bit like an act of cultural colonisation, raising the Anime flag and flying its colours on Treasure Island, creating a little Anime paradise in the Pacific Ocean.

Dr. Michael Hill lecturing on the global spread of Japanese pop culture in the 1980s. (Photo by Louise Graber)

My lecture Up In The Air: Anime’s Journey To The Stars described the global success of Japanese animation and its rise to prominance in the film world and in popular culture. It covered the work of Osamu Tezuka and the success of his work abroad. It also referred to Rintaro’s involvement with him as an animation director on Astro Boy prior to his subsequent productions that included his Tezuka homage film Metropolis, his adaption of Leiji Matsumoto’s manga Galaxy Express 999, and of Sanpei Shirato’s manga The Dagger of Kamui. Describing Shirato’s beginnings as a kamishibai artist before moving to manga and the alternative publication GARO the lecture was situated in the context of anecdotes from my time as a lecturer at an Arts college and a School of Design in Sydney where I observed the growing interest of students in Japanese popular culture. They became fascinated with manga, Anime, cosplay, J-Pop, scanlations, computer games, cameras, turntables, TV game shows, food and fashion, not to mention the learning of the Japanese language and the odd visit to Tokyo. The lecture concluded with an analysis of the productions and rise to prominence of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli who, like Tezuka, found both an international audience and critical acclaim.

The tools and materials for the printmaking workshop. (Photo by Louise Graber)

In addition to the theory lecture I also presented a practical workshop demonstrating the printmaking technique I have developed as part of my artistic practice. Based on the Japanese creative print movement of Sosaku Hanga and the work of Koshiro Onchi and Shiko Munakata in particular I showed examples of my work that have been made following this approach and methodology and applied to my prints, postcards, T-shirts and comics.

Dr. Michael Hill teaching techniques to students of the University of the South Pacific. (Photo by Louise Graber)

After the demonstration the students had the opportunity to make their own prints. By chance, the cultural activities took place in the same week as the Rugby World Cup finals and the only paint colours to hand were those of the Wallabies, yellow and green. My own rugby woodblock print (on the table and being passed around the class, in the photos above) provided some amusement and interest.

The ‘sosaku hanga’ creative printmaking workshop. (Photo by Louise Graber)

On the roof of the Village Cinema complex Batman and Spiderman look down intrigued at the sight of people going in to see the Ninja super hero Kamui. It was here that the Anime Film Festival was held each evening. The films Galaxy Express 999, The Dagger of Kamui, Laputa: Castle in the Sky and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time were screened to impressed audiences. Anime is now a fixed part of the Japanese cultural coat of arms, emblamatic of the country’s long history of graphic arts that feeds into and nurtures both Anime and manga. A week long festival of Anime films and supporting contextual cultural events signaled an alternative offering to Hollywood and the further spread of Japanese popular culture in the South Pacific.

Village Cinema Centre, Suva. (Photo by Louise Graber)

Some other visual moments from my Fiji trip follow:

In the hotel pool in Nadi, my friend the octopus. (Photo by Louise Graber)

Doctor Comics in shark jaws at the University of the South Pacific. (Photo by Louise Graber)

Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics poses in shark jaws at the University of the South Pacific in 2011. (Photo by Louise Graber)

In the Fiji Museum in Suva, the Eel God sacred club. (Photo by Louise Graber)

In addition to my affinity with the octopus and various fish I am partial to the eel. During my Fiji visit I was pleased to find that the eel has acquired the status of a deity and a creative one at that in Melanesian mythology. Below is an artwork I created based on the freshwater eels that once used to be found and fished in the Parramatta River near Blacktown in Sydney.

My own eel art work(print, painting and collage-© 2009 Michael Hill).

Another treasure inside the Fiji Museum was this old metal Hopkinson & Cope printing press, imported from England in earlier days. At my printmaking workshop in Suva I demonstrated a Japanese method that employs one’s body weight as a press rather than a device such as this European device.

Old metal, pre-digital printing press. (Photo by Louise Graber)

On this Treasure Island, apart from the art and the marine life, there were collections of coconuts, palm trees and flowers including red hibiscus and white frangipani, all over the place.

Big frangipani presence on the island. (Photo by Louise Graber)

Many thanks to Sayuri Tokuman and Susan Yamaguchi of the Japanese Studies & Intellectual Exchange Department and Tokiko Kiyota, Director of the Japan Foundation in Sydney, and to Nobuko Iwatani, Mako Nakauchi and Mele of the Embassy of Japan in Fiji, and His Excellency Yutaka Yoshizawa, Ambassador of Japan, for their ideas, assistance and support with this project.

CATS IN COMICS: The Rabbi’s Cat

Art, Cats in Comics, Comics, Film October 4, 2011

This cat can talk! The Rabbi’s Cat by Joann Sfar.

This is a story about a wonderful talking cat from Algeria that lives with a rabbi and occasionally visits Paris. One day it ate the rabbi’s parrot and in so doing, gained the gift of speech. Being a smart cat it denied eating the bird and instead demanded conversion to Judaism. The design of the cat appears loose and improvised. Whilst it is rather thin and scrawny in physique it is big in terms of personality, intelligence and cheek. This richness of character and determination affords the cat the capability of comprehending foreign languages(he speaks Arabic, French, Latino and a bit of Spanish) and of learning the Torah. The rabbi’s cat is a marvellous, witty and charming cat that pleases itself, as cats do. It has appeared in several comics and most recently in an animated feature film of the same name and is the creation of the Joann Sfar, a jury prize winner at Angoulême for The Rabbi’s Cat graphic novel. The cat likes to hang out with the rabbi’s daughter and snuggle up close to her. It even tells her that it loves her. She tells it to shut up as she prefers it when it’s quiet or not around. It’s also inconvenient for both of them when her boyfriend visits. The cat loves a bit of a scratch, preferably on the ear by a female foot with painted toenails. Resilient, resourceful, stubborn, smart, curious and decidedly nocturnal, this cat is difficult to ignore.

This cat considers taking up painting to impress his love.

The Rabbi’s Cat (Le Chat Du Rabbin) film is a charming animated adaption of the graphic novels by Joann Sfar who also co-directed the film thus ensuring an authentic visual adaption of the bande dessinee. I saw the film at the 2012 French Film Festival in Sydney and I have been reading the graphic novels for a couple of years. You can watch the trailer of the film here. Sfar is a prolific and award winning comics creator with awesome talent who is now transferring his talents to filmmaking. Sfar had previously directed the highly stylised live-action film Gainsbourg (vie héroïque) based on the life of the famous 1960’s French pop singer Gainsbourg (that’s Serge Gainsbourg, Charlotte’s dad). The film won the French Oscar, César Award, for Best First Film. The Rabbi’s Cat (Le Chat Du Rabbin) film also won a César for Best Animated Feature and the similar prize at the 2011 Annecy International Animated Film Festival. It is a traveller’s tale in more ways than one dealing with the cat’s progress from ordinary cat to talking cat, its enforced separation from its beloved mistress, the rabbi’s daughter, and its struggles with the rabbi in its attempts to convert to the Jewish religion. Then there is the overland journey in an antique Citroën half-track, all terrain vehicle from France to Africa with the rabbi, a Russian artist and others in search of African Jews in Ethiopia. The film is ambitious covering material from three of the graphic novels although some characters and sequences have been altered or omitted. Its visual design has also been modified into a more simplified cartoon look suitable for animation production from Sfar’s sumptious illustrative style but the images remain rich and varied. It contains plenty of satire including a few barbs aimed at Tintin and his dog Snowy whom the travellers meet in Africa and whom the cat finds somewhat obnoxious.

Poster of the film.

For a more formal analysis of The Rabbi’s Cat graphic novel see my post Gridlocking Joann Sfar’s Talking Cat on The Comics Grid. You can also watch an extract from a new documentary by Sam Ball called Joann Sfar Draws From Memory that shows Sfar cheerfully drawing in a restaurant with his pen and water-colours whilst dining and commenting on his cross-cultural background and port city upbringing.

This post was previously published on the now discontinued Doctor Comictopus Blog.

Doctor Comictopus alias for Michael Hill Ph.D (a.k.a. Doctor Comics) designed by Michelle Park.