It’s the most fascinating art form where the artist gets a chance to play with sand and negative space. As the name suggests one can create a short film or capture frames at time intervals to get a stop motion or do a video while performing live.
The main underlying idea is the use of negative space to create breath-taking visuals that communicate on their own. This art form is very intriguing in nature. The artist uses hands and gestural movements to manipulate the sand on a light table. Each frame is carefully woven by the artist that forms a part of the storytelling process.
After every scene the drawing is transformed or erased to leave space for the next frame or visual and does not exist anymore, neither can be recreated as it was.
The very volatile nature of this art form makes it special and interesting to watch. This art form justifies the fluid or free nature of sand. With artists using their hands or equipment to blend sand on a light table, thereby giving it a stationary 2D form.
As time has passed the way sand animation is presented has also changed. People often have an option to accompany the art with music or narration. Songs of different genres or nature can be chosen by the artist to give an emotional touch to the art form, let it be live or recorded.
The continuity of frames or images is as important as each individual frame of the storytelling. Absurd or random frames might look artistic but the audiences might not be able to grasp the intent of it. So, artists need to be very careful about it and have to maintain a very subtle balance while performing.
A good performance or animation is one where the frames connect together strongly with the narration or music upholding the emotional vibe. And the message comes screaming out loud to the audience. Every artist has their own personality that gets reflected in their way of art representation.
These art forms are well recognized and have been practiced by many artists in and around the globe. One can choose his/her genre of interest in one or many of these exciting art forms. Here we will be exploring mainly about Sand art and animation.