Yuri Norstein

Watching the works of Yuri Norstein fascinated me... The one thing that really got my attention was how well he could portray character movement and emotion in stop motion. I have always wanted to make art that felt real, as if you were right there with the characters. I think a major part of that process is getting the movement of each character down so that every movement creates a strong, penetrating mood. It usually comes down to the details...those things you don't tend to notice unless they go wrong, and then the difference between reality and animation becomes far too obvious.

There are plenty of animations that I've seen that fail to represent human personality and emotion in the characters. The result of this is a distancing between you and the work of art, making it difficult to feel and appreciate what the artist saw when he or she was working. I think that a good artist will be able to skillfully and beautifully show through their art that which inspired them. Like in C.S. Lewis' example of the picture in his head...that moment when you read about the faun in the forest with his parcels is so well done that you feel something magical come right out of the pages, setting the mood of the rest of the story.

Saying this, when I come across people like Yuri Norstein, I feel like I've tasted something truly beautiful; like I can see a little more color in a place that once looked dull and grey. I want to make art like he does someday... I think he has become one of my few role models who encourage me and challenge me to reach higher for something sweeter than what I have now.