Oct 16, 2012
Hisashige Tanaka was a great inventor, born in what is today called Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan on October 16th, 1799. Tanaka’s prolific career began in his youth, when he famously engineered a set of handmade karakuri dolls; small, mechanized figurines capable of performing simple tasks, such as shooting a bow and arrow, receiving an empty teacup and returning with a filled one, and writing calligraphy with a miniature brush and inkstone. I was immediately taken by the elegance of the karakuri, and set about developing a sketch in which the calligraphy writing doll completes the Google logo by painting an ‘o’ upon his canvas.
It soon became clear that in order to illustrate the fine motor movement of the doll, a bit of animation on the homepage would not go amiss. I then separated each element of the drawing into layers, which I used to create a animatable, digital puppet.
It soon became clear that in order to illustrate the fine motor movement of the doll, a bit of animation on the homepage would not go amiss. I then separated each element of the drawing into layers, which I used to create a animatable, digital puppet.
Though the karakuri dolls are only one facet of a truly inspiring career, it was truly an honor to have the opportunity to celebrate Tanaka's 213th Birthday.
Posted by Kevin Laughlin, Doodler
Location: Japan
Tags:
RSS