▲In the core link of the opening ceremony, "Ice and Snow Five Rings", a group of ink animations full of "Chinese style" revealed the development process of the Winter Olympic Movement. Photo courtesy of Xinhua News Agency
The Beijing Winter Olympics attract not only sports events, but also beautiful visual design. In the opening ceremony ink animation creativity, the opening and closing ceremony program design, the award square landscape design, etc., you can see the figure of Beijing Printing Institute.
Ink animation highlights the humanoid beauty
In the core session of the opening ceremony, "Ice and Snow Five Rings", a group of ink animations full of "Chinese style" revealed the development of the Winter Olympic Movement. How did this ingenious combination of Chinese culture and digital technology come about?
Professor Gao Yanmei, head of the ink animation team and a high-end innovation center for new media art at Beijing Institute of Printing, revealed that this group of ink animations was finalized after 6 revisions on the basis of nearly 1,000 paper effects and nearly 30,000 frames of digital animation.
Director Zhang Yimou's request is to give the characters a traditional texture and life spirit in the form of ink painting. How to highly appreciate and understand the creativity of the general director, make it present more perfect, make the work both fashionable and modern, and have the charm of Chinese style, and how to fully display the unique artistic concept and aesthetic style of the Chinese nation in front of the world, it is very difficult. Gao Yanmei said. After nearly a thousand hand-drawn attempts on paper, the team used the method of "visual image to take meaning" in traditional Chinese culture to realize the extraction of the inner expression of the moving humanoid, grasp the traces of the humanoid movement, and transform the calligraphic brushstrokes into a form of expression of life.
"Drawing human figures is different from writing brush characters, we understand the feeling of brushes through the touch of digital brushes, not only to ensure the high degree of fluency of animation movement rules, but also to clarify the life rhythm of ink humanoids." Gao Yanmei said.
In just over 80 days, the team made six modifications to the ink animation, tested nearly a thousand paper effects, and drew nearly 30,000 frames of digital animation. In January 2022, according to the observation opinions of the International Olympic Committee and the revision requirements of director Zhang Yimou to "highlight the texture of calligraphy writing", the team strengthened the sense of power and writing of ink humanoid production. At this point, the core link of the opening ceremony, the Chinese feng shui ink animation that amazed the world, was finally completed.
The program list hides Chinese stories
On the evening of February 4, at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the general audience each had a three-fold program list, and the VIP audience had a 26-page program booklet, which had a common theme - the warm sun in winter. The VIP seat program book also adopts the classic technique of binding ancient Chinese books - butterfly suit.
"This is not only because we started to hold an ice and snow event on the day of spring, but also because in the context of the global epidemic, the warm sun in winter symbolizes hope and the people of the world work together to the future." Xia Xiaoqi, the designer of the program list and the program book and the head of the publication design studio of the Beijing Printing Institute, said.
There is both the cold temperament of ice and snow blue, and there is no lack of warmth brought by warm colors, which is the first visual impression brought to the audience by the cover of the program. Looking at the details inside, you will find more elements of Chinese culture.
In the three-fold program list, you can see classic Chinese elements such as the Great Wall of China and the snowflakes of China's enchantment. In the VIP program book, you can see the design elements extracted from classic images such as the Beijing-Zhang high-speed train, the pine needle of the welcome pine, and the powder blue peony on Chinese porcelain.
"'Romantic, icy, modern, minimalist, dreamy, wonderful, safe', these seven words are all the information we could get when our team was told last June that they could participate in the design of the program list." Xia Xiaoqi said, "The final design product does confirm these words, and behind this design is the embodiment of China's inherent cultural self-confidence." Taking traditional Chinese culture as the soul, it runs through every detail of the opening ceremony. The small program list also reflects our desire to tell the Chinese story to the world! ”
Romantic and beautiful awards plaza
The landscape design of the venues for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is an important window to showcase the concept, vision and culture of the Winter Olympics. The image landscape design of the five major venues of Beijing and Zhangjiakou Awards Plaza, Beijing, Zhangjiakou Winter Olympic Village and Winter Paralympic Village, and Olympic Family Hotel designed the beijing and Zhangjiakou awards squares designed by the teachers and students of Beijing Institute of Printing and Printing, and the design of the five major venues, under the vision of cultural self-confidence, integrates design with the nation, the times, and science and technology, and carries forward the Olympic spirit with "Chinese creative design".
Beijing Awards Plaza is located between the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, the design team in the optimization of the overall visual design of the landscape at the same time, according to the flow of personnel and live broadcast machine layout, repeatedly deliberate, modify, deepen the design effect of each node, highlighting the creation of "gorgeous, romantic, dreamy" square landscape environment atmosphere. Based on the display of traditional Chinese cultural elements, the design scheme combines the elements of traditional Chinese landscapes, such as the "Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains", snowflake shapes of the Winter Olympics, sports and sports icons, etc. in the main control tower of the award square and the surrounding facades, and carries out a modern design of multi-dimensional visual language combination, reflecting the Olympic spirit, ice and snow characteristics and Chinese style.
Zhangjiakou Awards Plaza is located in Chongli Prince City Ice and Snow Town, the design team combined the unique natural conditions of the competition area, a long history and humanities and fierce snow project events, all-round, multi-dimensional, immersive visual form, to create the image of the Winter Olympics landscape atmosphere, but also highlighted the unique charm of China's new era of cultural innovation.
▲Gao Yanmei, head of the ink animation team at the opening ceremony and professor of Beijing Printing Institute.
For more information, stay tuned to the Winter Olympics.
Source Client The Winter Olympics | Reporters Wang Qipeng, Li Yang, and Zhang Pinqiu
Editor: Han Ye
Process Editor Tai Shaofeng