The nature of reality in animation — including films and graphic novels — was discussed at length at “Dreaming Differently”, a two-day, UGC-sponsored seminar on animation at Jadavpur University (JU), organised by the School of Media Communication and Culture.

On January 20, Sekhar Mukherjee of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, described the difficulties he had faced. “I was discouraged from drawing cartoons. Only after a degree in chartered accountancy could I pursue my dream,” he said.

On Day II, Rimi B. Chatterjee, a lecturer, department of English, JU, spoke on her upcoming graphic novel Kalpa. “Writing it was different from writing a novel,” she said.

“Here, the surprise has to be kept over the page. Often pictures can tell the story.” She showed the stages of creating it, like colouring, inking and lettering. Pinaki De, a designer and lecturer at Raja Peary Mohan College, discussed how rotoscoping raises fundamental issues about animation in the film A Scanner Darkly.

D.B.