In 1970 I was born in Mannheim, Germany. I spent my youth in an idyllic south-German setting. In 1990 I moved to Hamburg to find my place in the awakening German animation industry. Later, I studied classical animation in Dublin, Ireland and moved as an "animation nomad" to Hamburg, Seoul, Copenhagen, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. For 20 years, I have worked as an art director and production designer on a large number of European and American animated features films. My passion lies in exploring a cross between drawing and cinematography.Currently I work as an Art Director for Walt Disney Feature Animation. I live with my wife, daughter, cat and dog in Ventura, CA..
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| matthias_lechner.pdf |
When I was a young teenager, I started an extensive collection of movie stills (this was before the internet, so it consisted of magazine clippings and actual stills from cinema displays.)At first, the subject didn’t matter. I just fed my brain with every movie-shot ever taken.
Later, I was in love with Robby Mueller’s Cinematography (Down by Law, Paris Texas) which reminded me of Edward Hoppers paintings. The second influence would be the American landscapes as photographed by Ansel Adams and Brassai’s Paris-Photos.
At this point, I might not have known what to do with all this. All I knew was that this was what resonating with me.
One doesn’t have to come from the classical arts to find ones voice as an illustrator. You just have to find, what drives you. Over the years you will develop (or find) your own procedures and techniques. The experience and skill makes for a pleasant or interesting viewing, the content though – your drive – makes it unique.
My entire career, I have been illustrating for animation movies. This is what I have always wanted to do, and this is, what satisfies me to this day.
Concept:
The key to good production design is – not the drawing – but asking the right questions.
Often the director might not know what he/she wants exactly and is it up to you, to figure that out for him/her. At this point in the game it is just vague descriptions the emotional charge, time and space and sometimes demands on the staging of the characters.
Often while talking about it, something has already taken shape inside the head and every step hereafter is about materializing this “thing”.
I can’t tell you much about where the idea comes from. And I don’t worry too much about it either. It’s just the spark; to make a decent fire, it still takes some concrete work on the drawing board.
Composition:
I used to use books (random art and photographs) now I use Google, nearly like a séance to get in contact with the idea that has formed inside me. I find images, that might be entirely unrelated but there might be a composition or a detail that works.
After I selected 20 images I know pretty much, where it’s going.
I try to avoid clichés in my compositions. There is always a more interesting way that you can only find if you are willing to look beyond the textbook solutions.
Space and Composition:
Part of my task is to create a believable space for the animation to act in.
Solid perspective is therefore essential. But what I find more important is what kind of “lens” you are using: A wide-angle lens that shows a maximum of environment or a long lens, that compresses the environment to a small window. There are various cinematographic and psychological effects associated with the choice of lenses which I’m not going to expand on right now.
Reference:
I start sketching and/or I search for reference online or in books.
(Image search tip: try to search for a word in different languages)
It is of utmost importance for me to know and understand the object I am going to draw. It doesn’t matter if its Beijing’s architecture or the specific flora of Borneo, I have to know and understand it to create a believable and original environment. Once I know the shape and function in reality, I translate it into my particular design. This is also the part, where I learn new things about the world, while I’m working. Very enjoyable!
If I don’t understand it, I can’t draw it!
Collage:
I have all the elements and now I start creating a “collage” in Photoshop (Before Photoshop I used a Xerox machine). I use my sketches and a number of photographs, Text, Patterns ect.. I scale rotate distort and shift them until it makes sense to me. The result does not look very appealing, but it is only a shorthand sketch for myself to work from. The form of collage (rather than sketching) is the fastest way to come up with a rough version for my picture. Speed matters, when you are working on a production.
Drawing:
Finally! I print out my collage, and start “tracing” it on a fresh piece of paper, using a light table. I’m not actually tracing, though. I make sure, the paper is thick enough (or I put another sheet in the middle) that I can’t make out the lines quite clearly. This way, I am drawing the picture, but I have a constant reminder, of what I have planned and what I have learned through my research.
The process of drawing, making a physical mark on paper is the closest I get to the trance-like state where the artist channels the flow, not unlike a musician improvising a piece of music.
I guess the trick is, to hold the fine balance between a sharp and alert mind (the “under-drawing” constantly reminds me of that) and the dreamy dance of the pencil tip on the paper.
Some thoughts while I draw:
Entertain:
-Through Variation – don’t use the same shape twice (unless that’s the point). Make the effort to think of different styles, forms, attitudes, rhythms for the objects you draw – don’t bore with repetition.
-Through Personality – Everything has personality. Every house, tree or cloud has a psychological effect just by the way it is “designed”.
-Through confidence – Don’t be shy. The way you move your pencil, your “handwriting” is the voice through which you sing your song.
I work very small with an extremely sharp (col-erase) pencil. This forces me to simplify detail and makes for a stronger result when enlarged.
Shading:
My favourite! At this point, I’m mostly using Photoshop, but I have worked a lot with markers and graphite-dust in the past.
Before I start, I choose one main light source. (I usually had that in mind all along) This choice will have a profound emotional impact on the picture. It will direct the shadows and therefore it could change the composition entirely. The shadows can direct the attention to a specific place of interest and help to transport the 2-dimensional drawing into a 3-dimensional space. At this point, I have enough experience to make this decision entirely in my head.
There’s a whole science behind the lighting in movies and it translates nicely into the world of illustration.
After I made this choice, I “turn into a computer” and paint a shadow layer accordingly. I do “cheat” if that enhances clarity or mood.
I am very precise and accurate at this point, which allows me to be fast and vague in following layers. I find that as long as you have made the effort once, everything else “reads” just as accurate.
After that I add various layers with gradients, tones and highlights.
Again, I have a few things to keep in mind:
-Use Atmosphere: There’s nothing better to paint light than a little bit of fog in the air.
It is a wonderful tool to highlight silhouettes, simplify and enhance negative shapes.
-Use Reflections: from a tile on the wall to a smooth water surface, reflections add an extra dimension. You have to be careful not to complicate things, but when it works, its magical.
-Use Bounce Light: The light that bounces off a wall or the ground is often more interesting than the main light source.
-Be open: Since this is a game with relationships, don’t necessarily stick to your plan. If something else works better – go for it.
Done:
I usually “give up” at some point.
And that’s good.
Later, I was in love with Robby Mueller’s Cinematography (Down by Law, Paris Texas) which reminded me of Edward Hoppers paintings. The second influence would be the American landscapes as photographed by Ansel Adams and Brassai’s Paris-Photos.
At this point, I might not have known what to do with all this. All I knew was that this was what resonating with me.
One doesn’t have to come from the classical arts to find ones voice as an illustrator. You just have to find, what drives you. Over the years you will develop (or find) your own procedures and techniques. The experience and skill makes for a pleasant or interesting viewing, the content though – your drive – makes it unique.
My entire career, I have been illustrating for animation movies. This is what I have always wanted to do, and this is, what satisfies me to this day.
Concept:
The key to good production design is – not the drawing – but asking the right questions.
Often the director might not know what he/she wants exactly and is it up to you, to figure that out for him/her. At this point in the game it is just vague descriptions the emotional charge, time and space and sometimes demands on the staging of the characters.
Often while talking about it, something has already taken shape inside the head and every step hereafter is about materializing this “thing”.
I can’t tell you much about where the idea comes from. And I don’t worry too much about it either. It’s just the spark; to make a decent fire, it still takes some concrete work on the drawing board.
Composition:
I used to use books (random art and photographs) now I use Google, nearly like a séance to get in contact with the idea that has formed inside me. I find images, that might be entirely unrelated but there might be a composition or a detail that works.
After I selected 20 images I know pretty much, where it’s going.
I try to avoid clichés in my compositions. There is always a more interesting way that you can only find if you are willing to look beyond the textbook solutions.
Space and Composition:
Part of my task is to create a believable space for the animation to act in.
Solid perspective is therefore essential. But what I find more important is what kind of “lens” you are using: A wide-angle lens that shows a maximum of environment or a long lens, that compresses the environment to a small window. There are various cinematographic and psychological effects associated with the choice of lenses which I’m not going to expand on right now.
Reference:
I start sketching and/or I search for reference online or in books.
(Image search tip: try to search for a word in different languages)
It is of utmost importance for me to know and understand the object I am going to draw. It doesn’t matter if its Beijing’s architecture or the specific flora of Borneo, I have to know and understand it to create a believable and original environment. Once I know the shape and function in reality, I translate it into my particular design. This is also the part, where I learn new things about the world, while I’m working. Very enjoyable!
If I don’t understand it, I can’t draw it!
Collage:
I have all the elements and now I start creating a “collage” in Photoshop (Before Photoshop I used a Xerox machine). I use my sketches and a number of photographs, Text, Patterns ect.. I scale rotate distort and shift them until it makes sense to me. The result does not look very appealing, but it is only a shorthand sketch for myself to work from. The form of collage (rather than sketching) is the fastest way to come up with a rough version for my picture. Speed matters, when you are working on a production.
Drawing:
Finally! I print out my collage, and start “tracing” it on a fresh piece of paper, using a light table. I’m not actually tracing, though. I make sure, the paper is thick enough (or I put another sheet in the middle) that I can’t make out the lines quite clearly. This way, I am drawing the picture, but I have a constant reminder, of what I have planned and what I have learned through my research.
The process of drawing, making a physical mark on paper is the closest I get to the trance-like state where the artist channels the flow, not unlike a musician improvising a piece of music.
I guess the trick is, to hold the fine balance between a sharp and alert mind (the “under-drawing” constantly reminds me of that) and the dreamy dance of the pencil tip on the paper.
Some thoughts while I draw:
Entertain:
-Through Variation – don’t use the same shape twice (unless that’s the point). Make the effort to think of different styles, forms, attitudes, rhythms for the objects you draw – don’t bore with repetition.
-Through Personality – Everything has personality. Every house, tree or cloud has a psychological effect just by the way it is “designed”.
-Through confidence – Don’t be shy. The way you move your pencil, your “handwriting” is the voice through which you sing your song.
I work very small with an extremely sharp (col-erase) pencil. This forces me to simplify detail and makes for a stronger result when enlarged.
Shading:
My favourite! At this point, I’m mostly using Photoshop, but I have worked a lot with markers and graphite-dust in the past.
Before I start, I choose one main light source. (I usually had that in mind all along) This choice will have a profound emotional impact on the picture. It will direct the shadows and therefore it could change the composition entirely. The shadows can direct the attention to a specific place of interest and help to transport the 2-dimensional drawing into a 3-dimensional space. At this point, I have enough experience to make this decision entirely in my head.
There’s a whole science behind the lighting in movies and it translates nicely into the world of illustration.
After I made this choice, I “turn into a computer” and paint a shadow layer accordingly. I do “cheat” if that enhances clarity or mood.
I am very precise and accurate at this point, which allows me to be fast and vague in following layers. I find that as long as you have made the effort once, everything else “reads” just as accurate.
After that I add various layers with gradients, tones and highlights.
Again, I have a few things to keep in mind:
-Use Atmosphere: There’s nothing better to paint light than a little bit of fog in the air.
It is a wonderful tool to highlight silhouettes, simplify and enhance negative shapes.
-Use Reflections: from a tile on the wall to a smooth water surface, reflections add an extra dimension. You have to be careful not to complicate things, but when it works, its magical.
-Use Bounce Light: The light that bounces off a wall or the ground is often more interesting than the main light source.
-Be open: Since this is a game with relationships, don’t necessarily stick to your plan. If something else works better – go for it.
Done:
I usually “give up” at some point.
And that’s good.
