ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Ink-wash animation

Hey there! Let’s talk about ink-wash animation. Imagine you have a piece of paper and you drop a big blob of ink on it. What do you think happens? The ink spreads out and creates different shades of the same color. Right?

That’s the basic idea behind ink-wash animation. But instead of using just one color, artists use different colors and tones to create motion and depth of the image. It’s a style of animation that originated from ancient Chinese and Japanese art forms.

To create an ink-wash animation, first, the artist paints the background in black or another dark color with a brush. Then, the artist carefully drops different shades of ink onto the paper to create the shading and textures of the different objects in the animation. This process can be time-consuming because the artist has to wait for the ink to dry fully before adding more details.

After the artist is done with the ink, the animation is photographed frame by frame to create the illusion of movement. All of these individual frames are then put together to create a full animation.

Ink-wash animation is known for its unique style that’s different from other animation styles. It creates a dreamy, surreal feeling that makes the animation look like it's happening in a world of its own.