Painting, printing, animation: John Kitses
Print facilities: SVA RisoLAB
My work in motion graphics and video editing comes from a lifelong love of animation. I also paint watercolor urban landscapes. A few years ago I decided to explore Risography, and found the process a perfect way to unite these design obsessions through printmaking.
My process begins with a painting: I explore the landscape of NYC, choosing locations to paint plein air watercolors of the street scenes around me. Later I scan the paintings, then deconstruct and rebuild them, pulling characters out of the background and animating them in the scene. I render the animation frames, and assemble them in contact sheets.
Next comes printing: I separate the contact sheets into custom Risograph ink colors, then print them at the facilities of the School of Visual Arts’ RisoLAB. Then I scan the prints, re-sequence the frames in After Effects, and render a final animation.