A Study On The Style Design Of Contemporary Animated Characters Based On The Theory Of Visual Symbols

Since the birth of movie, animation, a branch of film, has also played an increasinglyimportant role in the global entertainment economy as the technology advances. Due to thediversified operation, penetration in daily necessities, and development of derivative productsof animation, it has benefited various industries. In recent years, Although various supportivepolicies have provided China’s animation with a favorable environment, China’s animation isnot better than those in USA and Japan concerning the box office earnings or market share ofderivatives. The weak style design and communication is one of the core elements.A successful work not only requires high-quality artistic design capabilities, but alsodecodes the cultural values through images, so that information carried can be easily acceptedby audiences and they can be well conveyed. Therefore, character style is an important part ofanimation design. Similar to stars in movies, characters are one of the keys of the success ofanimation and to create values of animation and its surrounding industries. It is also the coreof the entire communication process, and its functions are similar to symbol transmissionprocess in Communication Studies. If the information conveyed by the symbol message cannot fully restore the existing information value, it will affect the recognition of the wholemessage. The communication industry is constructed based on symbolic consumption. Asa communication system which takes multimedia as the media, animated movies also need tobe supported by symbolic consumption, while the symbol system is supported by the entirecultural system. In fact, animated movies can be understood as a behavior to present and sellcharacter styles as cultural codes. The work can enjoy popular support if the understanding ofboth receiver and sender is highly coincided. Visual symbols undertake the mission to spreadthe cultural values of entire animated works, which are of important research significance.With the advent of experience economy era following product economy and service economy,it is a trend of gradual transition from symbol consumption to cultural consumption.There are many methods and literatures of animation style design in China, but theresearch on guiding and supplementary methodology based on visual symbol theory has justbegun. In addition, China’s style design in animated movies has many problems, such asimitation, plagiarism, failed color blending, and no creative style. Many researchers haverealized that the backward character style in China’s animated movies is greatly related toChina’s lack of relevant design theory of conscious guidance. As a composite discipline, thetheoretical intersection between animation design and symbol theory will certainly form a new composite system. Symbolic theory allows the methodology created in the design area tobe generally recognized. Under the influence of symbolic theory, visual symbols can provideanimation character design with a cultural guidance. Meanwhile, visual symbols can alsoserve as a bridge between designers and audiences, playing a significant practical role in thedevelopment of China’s current animation design. Under the symbol system, style design ofanimation characters also upgrades from the stage of repeating what book says and artisticpainting to the inside-out stage of more in-depth connotation and enriching the entirecharacter. It has achieved the value dimension for scripts.Through the case study, the use of visual symbols in contemporary animation charactersis studied, namely a tentative study on image processing and communication rules incharacter style of animated movies. The application principle and design method that takevisual symbols as a foothold and apply to three different stages (pre-stage, middle stage, andpost-stage) are created.Innovation on design thinking and method of character style by using visual symbols isjust the first step to explore the symbol systematism of animation character style. Promotingthe quality and height of animated movies and driving the development of China’s animationindustry based on the rise of animation style is our ultimate goal.