Influence - Ryan Woodward

Ryan Woodward is an art director and current storyboard artist who has worked for studios such as Sony, Universal, and Disney.  What appeals to me the most is the treatment of character.  He has ample experience in gesture drawing and has taught figure drawing classes at Brigham Young University which is where he refines his style of conte drawing in which he uses a variety of abstract lines to describe the figure without explicit detail.  The great accomplishment here is that he was able to show that in the medium of animation which is commonly known for having qualities like highly defined details, and fully colour-blocked shapes.

Thought of You from Ryan J Woodward on Vimeo.

In an interview Woodward described the reason he made this by describing a time when he was on a plane coming back home after a work-related trip.  He was listening to this song on his iPod, "The World Spins Madly On", by The Weepies when he came to the realization that he hadn't been spending enough time with his family and it dawned upon him that he wanted to be a better husband and father for his family.  This is a dedication to them.  Something to respect and admire- a conflict that confronts anyone that works in this industry.