Drawing the Past: How Bronze Age Cyprus Changed My Animation

The best research trips feel a little like treasure hunts. You go searching for one thing, but it’s the unexpected details that stay with you. This month I have found myself surrounded by, of all things, terracotta pots!

Most of my spare time recently has been dedicated to my new personal project, a short series of animated shots set in my fantasy version of the Bronze Age. As the visual research began to build momentum, I was inspired to seek out subjects beyond the limits of online archives and Pinterest collections. There is only so much information one can glean from online images - so I welcomed the adventure down to the British Museum, and alongside it, the digital cleanse from my usual screen-oriented work.

Surprisingly, it wasn't a single object that pulled my attention within the large exhibition space, (although the endearing animal vessels were a particular favourite of mine), instead among the floods of terracotta I began to notice a visual pattern with these Cypriot motifs that differed in comparison to my mostly Minoan (Cretan) research - and it completely redirected my outlook of my original animation idea.

Initially I had envisioned a mid-shot, with the character centred in the middle of the frame between two other figures. Very reminiscent of the flowing, energetic frescoes of Minoan Crete (c. 1700–1450 BCE). The plan was, after all, for these two figures to not be physical beings, but painted spirits swirling around their enchanted fresco.

To my eyes, the Cypriot works I encountered seemed closer in spirit to Early Greek forms than to this Minoan dynamism. Where Minoan art often feels like it’s in constant motion, these Cypriot figures stood still, rooted like guardians, favouring a more rigid silhouette and highlighting the subject's musculature. The sculpture too had a stylised straight-ahead stance, almost totemic with arms folded across the chest, or devotional with arms raised high.

As a viewer the effect it had was powerful! There was a directness and presence - a grounded solidity. While I still like my original animation idea, I personally found this new energy more compelling - what if I instead created a character somewhere between an idol and person? Here's how I plan to redirect my composition to create a more shot with a more enigmatic and timeless energy - perhaps even with a little sense of otherworldly detachment too:

Areas to PUSH:

• Spiritual Gravity - The location of this shot is within the private chamber of a temple. This can be illustrated more clearly with the addition of offerings, ritualistic tools, stronger architectural choices and character posing that carries an aura of devotion, prayer, or supplication.

• Mystique - This new stylization helps gives the viewer a sense that they’re witnessing guardians or intermediaries. I like the idea of the subject turning to acknowledge the viewer with a glance as though we have become witness (or intruders) to a deeper interaction.

• Cultural Blending - Expanding upon my original Minoan inspiration, I believe visual richness and worldbuilding can be enhanced by integrating hints of multiple civilisations - much like these Ancient Cypriot artefacts blending Ancient Egypt’s formality, Near Eastern stylization, and a Greek interest in human form.

Safe to say, this was a very inspiring and insightful adventure. I went in expecting to study the objects like a draftsman - lines, texture, patina. But what caught me wasn’t the surface, it was the presence.

These artefacts, whether rounded painted pots, or humanoid figures, don’t just depict, they also emanate. Their stillness and posing so purposeful - each artistic choice contributing less to anatomical accuracy and more to an emotional charge. They radiate a devotion, mystery, and a kind of watchful energy that feels as alive today as it must have thousands of years ago. There’s something surreal about locking eyes with a figure carved 3,000 years ago and feeling as though it’s looking right back. What an exciting challenge to try to capture!

Until next time ~

Lauren