A hand-drawn abstract animation of a colorful fountain performance
Duration: 3'09"
Technique: 2D hand-drawn (Photoshop)
Director and Animator: Tsz-wing Ho
Music: Catgot by ISAN
Special thanks: Max Hattler and my family
Artist Statement:
It is a 2D abstract animation using the music, "Catgot" by ISAN. Adopting different colored hand-drawn brushstroke textures to draw the movements of geometric shapes in Adobe Photoshop so as to convey a colorful “fountain performance” to the audience.
Gaining experience from the previous animation group work called “Xylomat” for ISAN’s song, I started to be interested in abstract animation. What abstract animation appealing to me is that it provides freedom for me to construct the work from my imagination, unlike storyline animation which requires following the plot to produce the work. Therefore, I decided to create an abstract animation as my graduation project. I take this as a challenge to handle a whole animation by myself and show the improvement from my previous work such as designing complicated movements.
The idea of the animation is to present a fountain performance in an abstract way. Those strong beats in the song express the sound of raining, water dripping and bubble smashing. By this, the water droplets conduct diverse transformations in the animation such as explosion, rotation, and distortion. In addition, the hand-drawn texture can enrich the vivid movement of the object as it is different in each brushstroke. My inspirations also come from two artists who are Masanobu Hiraoka, a Japanese animator and Matt Abbiss, a British animator and comic artist. They give me ideas on the movement design, composition and scale of the elements and use of space in the scene, not just concentrate on the center of the screen.
“Catgot” is designed for entertainment. It may not include a significant message or story. The artwork highlights the beauty of the colors, composition and transformations of the objects in the scene. Through my abstract animation, I hope the viewers can enjoy a beautiful “fountain show” and arouse their interest in abstract animation.
Awards
2024
2024
- Video of the day (12 NOV 2024), Motion Design Awards
2021
- Special Mention Color Box Award, Flatpack Festival 2021
2020
- Vimeo Staff Pick
- Junior Jury Award for a Graduation Film (少年評審團最佳畢業作品獎), Annecy International Animation Festival 2020
- Merit, 3x3 International Illustration Show No.17 Student Show, 2020
- Illustration Competition Shortlist, Communication Arts 2020
2019
- Adobe Design Achievement Awards - Top Talent (Adobe卓越設計大獎), 2019
- Best of The Show - New Vision Award (2019 School of Creative Media Annual Show)
- Applied Arts Student Awards 2019
Press & Review
2021
- "Colorful Hand Drawn Animation Set to Isan’s ‘Catgot’ " (LAUGHING SQUID) (5 Jan 2021)
- "【佳片有约】黑暗里的花火——实验动画短片《Catgot》" (SOHU) (2 Jan 2021)
2020
- "Hypnotic hand-drawn animation inspired by the song "Catgot" " (BOING BOING) (23 Dec 2020)
- "Abstract Shapes Flow Like Water in Ho Tsz Wing’s Psychedelic Animation" (Colossal) (21 Dec 2020) https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/12/ho-tsz-wing-animation/
- "Monday Short: Ho Tsz Wing’s Catgot (2019)" (QUICKDRAW ANIMATION SOCIETY) (16 Nov 2020) https://quickdrawanimation.ca/2020/11/16/monday-short-ho-tsz-wings-catgot-2019/
- "Leeds International Film Festival: Highlights from World Animation Competition 3" (RYAN NINESLING) (10 Nov 2020) https://reelnine.com/writing/leeds-world-animation-competition
- "Annecy 2020 : Graduate Shorts highlights" (SKWIGLY ONLINE ANIMATION MAGAZINE) (8 Jul 2020) https://www.skwigly.co.uk/annecy-2020-graduate-shorts-highlights/
- "‘Empty Places,’ ‘Catgot,’ and ‘To: Gerard’ Lead Group of Annecy 2020 Special Award Winners" (ANIMATION world network) (19 Jun 2020) https://www.awn.com/news/empty-places-catgot-and-gerard-lead-group-annecy-2020-special-award-winners
- "Catgot, an abstract fountain of animated color" (THE KID SHOULD SEE THIS) https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/catgot-abstract-animation-ho-tsz-wing
Screening
2023
-Punto y Raya Festival 2023 (Official Selection in Student Abstract Film Panorama) (Lisbon, Portugal) (13 Oct 2023)
-Kinomural 2023 (Official Selection) (Wrocław, Poland) (23 Sep 2023)
-Ciné Junior 2023 « cine-dance » program
2022
- Curtocircuíto – International Film Festival (Official Selection in ”CREATURES" program) (Santiago de Compostela, Spain) (01 Oct 2022 -09 Oct 2022)
- Independent Film Festival Ypsilanti (Official Selection in ”Acoustic Resonance" program) (Ypsilanti, United States) (03 Jun 2022)
- 2022 “The Long Night of the Museums“ at Museum of Communications in Bern (Film Programme curated by Fantoche) (18 Mar 2022)
- 2022 Walker Art Center Kids’ Film Fair (Walker Art Center & Online) (04 Mar 2022 - 07 Mar 2022)
2021
- 2021 Séquence Short Film Festival (Official selection in young audience competition) (Toulouse, France) (19 Nov 2021, 21 Nov 2021)
- 2021 El Meu Primer Festival (Official selection in “Little Experiments” section) (Online & Barcelona and Madrid) (12 Nov 2021- 28 Nov 2021)
- 2021 68th Sydney Film Festival (Official selection in SFF TV program) (Outdoor screening, Australia) (03 Nov 2021 - 14 Nov 2021)
- 2021 Athens International Film and Video Festival (Official Selection) (Athens, Ohio, United States) (15 Oct 2021 - 24 Oct 2021)
- 2021 Milano Film Festival (Official Selection in International Film Competition) (Milan, Italy) (09 Oct 2021 - 10 Oct 2021)
- 2021 Taichung International Animation Festival (Part of the 'Baby Universe' program) (Taichung, Taiwan) (08 Oct 2021- 13 Oct 2021)
- 2021 Silhouette Short Film Festival (Official Selection) (Holiday Inn Cinema & Parc de la Butte du Chapeau Rouge, 75019, Paris, France) (28 - 29 Aug, 01 Sep, 04 Sep)
- 2021 Encounters Film Festival (Official Selection in Animation Category) (Bristol, UK) (Online) (01 Sep 2021 - 30 Sep 2021)
- Big Cartoon Festival, regions 2021 Krasnoyarsk (March 26 – April 9), Voronezh (April 15-18) and Nizhny Novgorod (May 28 – June 6)
- 2021 Flatpack Festival (Special Mention Color Box Award) (Online) (22 May 2021-24 May 2021)
- 2021 RiverRun Film Festival (Official selection at Saturday Morning Cartoons program for kids) (Online) (8 May 2021)
- 2021 the 6th edition of the GLAS Animation Festival (Official selection) (Online) (5 Apr 2021 - 11 Apr 2021)
- 2021 Mecal Pro, Barcelona International Short and Animation Film Festival (Official selection at programme 6 of Animation Competition) (Online) (22 Mar 2021 - 22 Apr 2021)
- 2021 the 38th edition of the Carrousel International du Film de Rimouski (Official selection) (Online) (22 Mar 2021 - 28 Mar 2021)
- 2021 New York International Children's Film Festival (Official selection) (Online) (5 Mar 2021 - 14 Mar 2021)
- 2021 Cine Junior Film Festival 31st edition (Official selection in short films Competitive program dedicated to kids from 2 years) (Online) (27 Jan 2021 - 9 Feb 2021)
- AniMate - Australia Animation Film Festival (AniMate - Venus collection 2021) (Sydney, Australia) (21 Jan 2021)
2020
- Best of Annecy Kids Program 2020 (All Year Round)
- Relentless Melt No. 19: Hong Kong Visual Music (Seeing Sound) (Online) (13 Dec 2020)
- Palm Springs International Animation Festival (Official selection in Experimental Animated Shorts) (Palm Springs, United States) (22 Dec 2020 - 2 Jan 2021)
- « MON ŒIL », UNE WEB-SÉRIE DU CENTRE POMPIDOU POUR LES ENFANTS (Online: Épisode 207 | Mon œil, une web-série pour les enfants | Centre Pompidou) (Modern Art museum Centre Pompidou, Paris) (9 Dec 2020)
- Ionian Contemporary Animation Festival ICONA (Online) (4 Dec 2020 - 6 Dec 2020)
- NEOSFest (Official selection) (Puebla, Mexico) (23 Nov - 26 Nov 2020)
- Relentless Melt No. 18: Hong Kong Refractions (Online Screening) (28 Oct 2020)
- 34th Leeds International Film Festival (World Animation Short Film Competition & Leeds Experimental Short Film Programme) (Leeds, England) (3 Nov – 19 Nov 2020)
- Big Cartoon Festival (Official selection) (Moscow, Russia) (29 Oct - 9 Nov 2020)
- Manchester Animation Festival (Student Films Panorama) (Manchester, England) (17 Nov - 19 Nov 2020)
- Denver Film Festival (Official selection) (Denver, United States) (22 Oct - 8 Nov 2020)
- Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival (Official selection) (Baltimore, United States) (23 Oct - 30 Oct 2020)
- III ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival (Official selection in Best Short Experimental or Abstract Animated Film category) (Baku, Azerbaijan) (14 Oct - 18 Oct 2020)
- Animatou International Animation Film Festival (Official selection) (Geneva, Switzerland) (1 Oct - 10 Oct 2020)
- Quebec City Film Festival (Official selection) (Quebec, Canada) (18 Sep 2020)
- Fantoche International Animation Film Festival (Official selection in the International Competition) (Baden, Switzerland) (1 Sep - 6 Sep 2020)
- Cardiff Animation Nights Online Screening (27 Aug 2020)
- Anibar Animation Festival (Official selection in Student Competition) (Peja, Kosovo) (17 Aug - 23 Aug 2020)
- International Animation Festival Fest Anča (Official selection in non-competitive section Contemporary Abstract and Non-narrative Animation) (Zilina,Slovakia) (27 Aug - 30 Aug 2020)
- Annecy International Animated Film Festival (Junior Jury Award for a Graduation Film) (Annecy, France) (15 Jun - 30 Jun 2020)
- Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS 2020) (Official selection in Best Animated Music Videos programme) (Stuttgart, Germany) (5 May - 10 May 2020)
- The Magnolia Independent Film Festival (Official selection) (Starkville, MS, United States) (27 Feb - 29 Feb 2020)
2019
- Art Next Expo 第三屆新藝潮博覽會 (NEXT Contemp) (PMQ 元創方, Hong Kong) (1 Nov - 4 Nov 2019)
- Ottawa International Animation Festival (World Student Panorama) (Ottawa, Canada) (25 Sep - 29 Sep 2019)
- London International Animation Festival (Official selection in Abstract Showcase Competition) (Barbican, London) (29 Nov - 8 Dec 2019)
- Supernova Digital Animation Festival (Official selection in Student Shorts program) (Denver, United States) (21 Sep 2019)
- The 8th CIAFF (China Independent Animation Forum) & 1st Tobu International Animation Festival (Official Selection) (Jiangsu, China) (12 Dec - 15 Dec 2019)
- Relentless Melt No. 15: Hong Kong Abstractions at FILMASIA (Prague, Czech Republic) (7 Dec 2019)
- Relentless Melt No. 14: Hong Kong Experimental Animation (Taichung, Taiwan) (26 Oct 2019)
- Relentless Melt No. 13: Consecutive Correspondences (Hong Kong) (15 May 2019)
- TMFF - The Monthly Film Festival (Official Selection May 2019) (Glasgow, United Kingdom)
- Direct Monthly Online Film Festival (Official Selection June 2019) (Michigan, United States)
- Near Nazareth Festival (Official Selection Season 6 - June 2019) (Afula, Israel)
- The International Film Festival «Catharsis» (Semi-Finalist) (Russia)
