ArtMasters is the National Open Championship of Creative Competencies for specialists in backstage and digital art who implement large-scale industry projects under the guidance of leading experts.
Challenging Yourself
I learned about the championship during the final days of registration. Unfortunately, there is no «Comics Artist» competency (the field I am studying), so I decided to participate in «Artist-Animator.» Anyway, I enjoy animating from time to time. For the first stage, when creating my showreel, I used clips from a short film I made during my first year. I assembled my portfolio from numerous ongoing projects. And! I made it to the qualification stage, somewhere in the latter half of the participant list. The top ten included employees from animation studios.
For the qualification, my task was to create 2–3 animations for the «Animur» festival mascot. The stage took place during the summer session, and after looking at the competitors, I realized I wouldn’t make it to the finals this year.
Animations I created for the qualification round of the ArtMasters Championship
I was so surprised when I made the top ten. Better yet, I scored the maximum 100 points in the stage! And even better… I’m going to Khabarovsk!
Final
As part of the final assignment for the «Animator Artist» competency, participants were tasked with creating animated videos to welcome ASEAN countries at the «Animur» International Animation Festival. For this, we traveled to Khabarovsk, and for inspiration, we were even taken on tours to the lake with lotus flowers.
Artmasters Photo
Based on the drawing, I was assigned Vietnam. Therefore, my final project is an animated greeting for guests from Vietnam arriving at the international «Animur» Festival. The meeting location is the airport arrival zone. The task is not just to display a beautiful image in 20 seconds, but to create an emotional bridge between Khabarovsk and the Vietnamese guests, using the universal language of animation and the festival’s brand style. The background of the postcard is a landmark of modern Vietnam—the Golden Bridge. The props throughout the animation are the national Vietnamese conical hat. And, of course, I decided to include a reference to the famous Monkey Island in Vietnam.
Representatives from the festival provided their brand book for reference, and I strived to use the festival’s corporate identity as sensitively as possible. The main characters in the video were Creature 1 (the Animur character) and Creature 11 from the Animur festival brand book. What are these Animur characters? They are cute, slightly mischievous—their life, like all animation, is a game and a celebration. They are children who see adventure in everything. The acting style is also built in the spirit of «Animur"—it is minimalistic expression and charming eccentricities.
Research
I researched the country assigned to me and generated numerous ideas for a postcard. I developed many concepts.
Outcomes
As a result, we created a video postcard shown to guests at Khabarovsk Airport, along with a template for printing the postcards distributed to guests at the exhibition and the festival.
The plot centers on a delightful, absurd gag. The main character, after losing his hat, scrambles after it, nearly risking his life. However, instead of simply retrieving it, the characters, in a burst of exuberance, place the hat atop a giant mountain. This «subversion of expectation» transforms a majestic landscape into a friendly character wearing a small hat.
In addition to the video, we also needed to create and prepare a greeting card file for printing. During the Animur festival in Khabarovsk, the cards created by the finalists were used for a scavenger hunt. At partner locations during the festival, collectible cards dedicated to ASEAN countries were hidden. To retrieve them, participants had to complete a small task: take a photo, leave a review, stop by a coffee shop, or simply share their impression. Photo: Animur Festival
Photo: Natalya Brenich
Photos; Diploma / Award
Attitude Towards HSE
I find it difficult to determine the extent of the collaboration between HSE and the ArtMasters Championship; however, the linear competency expert for the «Animator Artist» role, Andrey Rubetsky—an employee of the University—was involved. A roundtable discussion with finalists from all competencies was held in the University Atrium, and three of the ten finalist animators were either current students or alumni of HSE.
