Greening the Animation Industry

Animation Sector and the Climate Crisis

In 2022, Cardiff Animation Festival alongside the Arts and Humanities Research Council ran the ‘Animation and the Climate Crisis’ event https://www.cardiffanimation.com/caf22-rifacaf, an evening of events focused on environmental sustainability in the animation industry. Cooked Illustrations was contracted by Greg Mothersdale, R&D Producer with the Clwstwr Programme, a collaboration  between Cardiff University, University of South Wales, Cardiff Metropolitan University, with support from Welsh Government and Cardiff County Council. https://clwstwr.org.uk/

The sessions were an opportunity to be inspired by content and films which are already raising awareness and advocating for change, as well as participate in discussions about ways in which the climate emergency can be communicated to different audiences using animation.  

Graphic Recording

Our team delivered a session of creative conversations and graphic recording. By creating a physical space and actively inviting event participants to contribute to an evolving illustrated construction, we created a living conversation. In this way, we captured true opinions, qualitative data, and surprising ideas in a way that gives them legacy beyond the temporal limits of an event. The final paper engineered art piece is a tangible way for organisers and participants to be transported back to the moment the words were first spoken and consider them again.

The real value of industry-changing meetings is to the conversation going, developing, evolving. Capturing these through paper maquettes brings theatrics to the event, thus inviting people who wouldn’t react to traditional survey methods. In this way, the desk we used during the event came alive ideas evolved, constructed in front of delegates eyes, an act that invited them to participate and share with our illustrators on the spot, which further increased the size of the paper tapestry on the table, gathering more ideas and capturing higher value for our client.

Paper Engineering to develop deep, honest conversations

The edifices created through paper engineering are metaphors in the real world, visualisations that are tangible through the metaphor itself and through the paper. When a participant can physically hold ideas in their hands, it gives them new meaning, new weight, new considerations. A simple, yet effective way to increase audience participation, democratising the floor, so everyone, not just those giving the platform of the keynote lecture, can feed back.

For the organisers, the resulting maquette is an object they can explore over and over. Documented through photography and video, it is an invaluable tool for all interested on the subject of the climate emergency and the animation industry to use in future conversations.

As a physical object, it can become a permanent reminder of the strongest points, something that sits on your work table for years and years.

We must thank our creative partner, Chris Glynn, for collaborating on this project, and providing experience in making Paper People. Chris is an accomplished creative facilitator, theatrical practitioner, and illustrator.

Cooked Illustrations provides a variety of event illustration and graphic recording services with a focus on life capture and post-event engagement. If you’d like to ask us about our services, you can use the contact form here.