The Work of Art On Screen – World Animation Day

By Siyana S. Zhelezarova, IX B class, ELS “Geo Milev”, Burgas

Hello, readers! We are here to present our article on World Animation Day.  

Animation – what do you imagine when you hear the word? Some utopic world where everything comes true with a single *swoosh* of a pencil? Or, rather, an amazing skill that renders the artist’s limitless imagination? And all that, of course, appears in the smallest details visible on screen, thanks to the unstoppable dedication on the part of the creator!

Animation – art or hobby?

Animations are a magical world which one can feel and interprete into real life only with the help of visual art. Today, this lovable hobby has turned into a desired job position. Why? First, it has become more popular with the boom of modern technology. Second, it expresses the artist’s deepest feelings, sincere opinion, original thought, and pretty honest mindset on any kind of topic – from pure humor to satiric political matters, locked in various symbols. Hence, its great effect on the public. In fact, animators tend to be some of the cleverest people on Earth.

In the past, animators drew ideas on paper, turning them into art in a single move, with a quick stroke of the brush, or a wink, even! To create the illusion of motion, each their drawing differed slightly from the previous one, forming a chain of funny “moving pictures”. 

Nowadays, it has become quite easy to do cartoons – there is a wide variety of computer programs to help the artists and save their time. Moreover, the world can profit from an ecological viewpoint – no waste of paper, no waste of trees. In other words, natural resources don’t get transformed into pencils or stationary: the artists use their digital skills and save every single frame somewhere in the “cloud”. 

Types of Animation

There are four main types of animation: 

• 2D animation. 
• 3D animation. 
• Stop-motion animation. 
• Motion graphics. 

So, without further ado, let’s focus on the development of animation in Bulgaria.

The Art of Animation in Bulgria

In Bulgaria, the animated cinema most likely originated together with the activity of the cartoonist Rayko Alexiev. Made by state order, his works began to entertain the local spectators from 1948 onwards. However, the first Bulgarian film called “Bulgaran is Gallant” appeared thirty-three years earlier, in 1915. Its author Vasil Gendov fully funded, directed and shot the work himself. Another film, the author of which was Rayko Alexiev, was mentioned in “Narodni Prava” newspaper on December 12, 1915. Regretfully, there is no other trace of that work, as no copy remained. Nor is there any data on the number of times it appeared on screen.

Some of the most popular Bulgarian animations are “The Country of Cannibals”, “Prometheus” (1958) by Todor Dinov, “The Three Heroes” and “Swan Lake” (1964) by Stefan Topaldjikov, “The False Shepherd” (1970) by Stoyan Dukov, and, of course, the unforgettable Three Fools (from the series “The Three Fools”, 1970) created by Donyo Donev. Later, there are many others that have been translated into a number of languages all over the world.  

Did you know that a Bulgarian has worked for some of the biggest film companies in the world? Emil Simeonov is an artist and 3D animator, born and raised in Bulgaria, where he worked until 1989. Immediately after the fall of communism he went to work abroad. Well, not just anywhere, but in Steven Spielberg’s animation studio in London – Amblimation!

From then on, his career took a sharp turn, taking him to different countries and continents, as well as to various film studios, two of which were DreamWorks and Disney, which, if you live in a cave, are responsible for creating some of the favorite cartoons of people around the world. 

Simeonov has left his mark in many productions, including “Transformers”, “The Prince of Egypt”, “Oblivion”, “Sinbad – The Legend of the Seven Seas”, and “The Golden Compass”, which won an Oscar for visual effects. 

Do you like watching animations? Which one is your favorite? Do you have a favorite animator? Where does he work? We will gladly accept your answers! Support the animators and give them the appreciation they deserve for the films they create!