Mariachi performing at a restaraunt.

Great musicians. Note the moustaches and stylish colours. They sing like a quire too with one do the lead and the other two harmonizing, possibly something I should consider making my skeleton band do.

Mariachi, is the name of this type of Mecican band.

Often acomplified by flamenco dancers.

Massive characters in the festival, provide the music- seem add a great deal to the general atmosphere of the festival. Theirs lots of artwork depicted these bands in skeleton format during the festival.

I like the idea of creating a band of these chaps and making them the center piece of this animation.

Courting, Dancing and Mariage.

Many models are of the dead during the festival, mostly around the themes of musicians, Catrina’s and emphatic male skeletons.

I like the idea of having a band in my animation. It would be good to create a soundtrack with Mexican guitar music.

I’ll have a look at some examples of DOTD Mexican bands.

"CALAVERA the word for skull in Spanish !"

The Nightmare before Christmas.

I know this film is based on halloween, but Jack and his dog seem to have a connection with the DOTD. The features of Jacks face aren’t indifferent from the skeletons in the artwork of Mexican artist Jose Posada. The eyes and the unconventional skeletal facial structure Jack bear indication that Tim Burton was inspired some what by the Mexican Festival.

The styling of The Nightmare Before Christmas goes to show the skeletons to have be perfectly perpotioned, having in fact exagerated features, can sometimes help convey emotion in motion.

Don’t forget the animals.

The day of the dead remembers all that has past, such as cats dogs and horses.

The animals look like they could be a rather cute element to the animation.

Here are some pictures of the clebrations in the streets of Mexico, most probably oaxaca (the capital of Mexico). As you can see they are varied and colourfull.

This festival makes Halloween look like a walk in the park.

Catrina is “the lady of the Dead” is a character made popular by the afore mentioned artist. This was from a series of stereotype characatures acomplified by poems.

Catrina comes from the word catrin, meaning elegant. The main meaning behind her is that despite being rich and elegant, she is still as suseptable to death as every body else.

I think these wax models are perticaury sinister, the bone like colours and big eyes make them look rather sinister.

These models would often be put on tables with other ofrenda’s (offerings to the dead).

The characters

Their are various characters personified in skeletal form for the festival, I’m going to have a look at some, with a to possibly including them in my animation,

Jose Gadalupe Posada.

A Mexican Artist (1852–1913). A cartoonist whos work symbolised the differences in classes in Mexico.  A rather original take on political cartoons (albeit slightly morbid).

Joe’s work is often linked with the festival as it seems to capture the way the Mexicans are able to laugh at death.

These expresionate takes on the human skeleton showe you that they dont have to be of true to life to form, to look good.