CHENNAI: The first-of-its-kind effort of combining art and animation in the country, a week-long gallery show displaying the fantasy works of animator Dr Ezhil Vandan, was inaugurated on Tuesday.
The exhibition is being held in the backdrop of the 3D animation movie directed by Ezhil, Hanuman vs Mahiravana. The story journeys a dramatic confrontation between Hanuman, son of Vayu, and Mahiravana, a sorcerer and brother to Ravana.
“The gallery show is more like a storyboard that shows how the scenes of the movie were planned. There are a lot of talented animators here in Chennai, but we don’t have a flagship product (a movie or a lengthy series) around which we can make an industry. This exhibition is an attempt to bring like-minded people together, which is the starting step of building a potential industry,” said Ezhil.
Students from different colleges who worked on similar lines can display their work at the gallery. The best entries from the event will be awarded prizes ranging from digital tablets to scholarships for advanced animation courses. The gallery also features live demonstrations on 3D Basis to Create Digital Artwork, screening of short films by students of EMagic Animation Academy and interactions on the topic Influence of Animation in the Digital World.
The inauguration function also witnessed the release of Dark Spell, a 100-page graphic novel of two short stories written and conceptualised by Ezhil. “The first story is a European fantasy flick about a witch lurking in the woods that captures a prince and puts him in a bottle. The story is about how he escapes. The second story is about the origin of Mahiravana, which we could not elaborate in the movie. The story delves deeper into how he got his powers and strength,” said Ezhil.
The gallery show will be open for all between 10 am and 6 pm at Lalit Kala Academy till March 18. Entry is free. For further details, contact: 99419 83758.