Triangulation of Research

For my dissertation I am addressing the question of "How does the use of 2D & 3D animation, impact the audience's ability to connect with a character?" I have chosen this because, as somebody who's area of focus is character design, I feel it would be a very interesting area to look into, especially with the rapid growth of 3D animation. I want to see how this growth has impacted the way audiences today perceive a character, and the extent to which the medium drives their perception. In order to determine this, other areas will need to be addressed, such as appeal, performance, nostalgia, and even financial aspects. At this point, I do believe that the medium of animation has a huge impact on the way a character's performance is put forward and the use of both 2D & 3D can have it's pros and cons.

Their has been much evidence so far that supports the view that the physical design of a character is not always the most important aspect that needs to be considered when it comes to making them relatable and believable. In Chris Webster's "Animation: The Mechanics of Motion" It is stated that "It's the fact that the characters demonstrate the kind of traits we recognise in ourselves and in others that brings them to life" (Webster,C. 2005) This suggests that to an extent the medium in which a character is animated, and their physical design can only go so far when it comes to making them believable to an audience. Webster supports this again by stating "How well they are drawn, or how well crafted the modelling is does not make them real to us." Again this brings us back to the argument that the well thought out physicality of character is pointless without the internal side. "Ideas for The Animated Short - Finding & Building Stories" Holds a similar argument, the argument that it is not about that character's physical performance, but more about the fact that the "..character has the ability to move an audience emotionally through the events of the story." (Sullivan, K Alexander, K Mintz A, Besen, E 2013) This again re-iterates the importance of a character's psychological design, above the physical. There are also other reasons as to why the personality of a character is of the up most importance, for example, the possible limitations when it comes the creating the visual design. This is referred to in "Producing Animation" By Catherine Winder & Zahra Dowlatabadi where it states that if a character "..wears a costume that has intricate details such as lace and buttons, every scene in which they appear will require a lot of pencil mileage, or line work, in 2D projects, and additional development and render time in 3D projects." (Winder, C & Dowlatabadi, Z 2001) This reminds us that, other aspects that are out of the designers control, such as financial aspects as well as technical and time limitations can have an impact on the final visual aesthetic of a character, therefore re-enforcing the importance of the deeper attributes a character holds mentally, which therefore does not just depend on the designers, but also the writers.