Computer Graphic Cartoons: The Next Thing?

[AsterAzul]

I was always a big fan of computer graphics and stuff like that as a kid. I was so excited by the continuing developments in 3D computer art and such, and was frustrated everything was going so slowly. (I mean, come on, 3-dimensional coordinates. What's so hard about it? Geez! Where's my 3D drawing program already?)

But now that we've actually gotten to the point where this stuff is commonplace, I'm more irritated than interested. People are starting to use 3D graphics systems to create cartoons (I refer to animation, mostly) and such without drawing them, and movies are rampant with bad CGI. Is cartooning soon to be replaced by the CG wave?

[Humbug]

I hope not, I love classical animation. And being an animator myself, I feel the pain.

[Anywherebuthere]

I was always a big fan of computer graphics and stuff like that as a kid. I was so excited by the continuing developments in 3D computer art and such, and was frustrated everything was going so slowly. (I mean, come on, 3-dimensional coordinates. What's so hard about it? Geez! Where's my 3D drawing program already?)

But now that we've actually gotten to the point where this stuff is commonplace, I'm more irritated than interested. People are starting to use 3D graphics systems to create cartoons (I refer to animation, mostly) and such without drawing them, and movies are rampant with bad CGI. Is cartooning soon to be replaced by the CG wave?

I thought disney was SHUTTING DOWN their 2D studios. The last hand animated film they were going to release was Brother Bear.

However, I also remember hearing, and I kid you not, Pixar was planning on STARTING a hand animated devision.

[PieceOfSkunk]

Disney shutting down its 2D animation is a pretty stupid, short-sighted move. I read a very good (long) article about the history of Disney animation and its struggles here, and it seems to me that a move like that will only bite them in the ass later.

[Mr.Bob]

Old school animation for ever!

[McDuffies]

However, I also remember hearing, and I kid you not, Pixar was planning on STARTING a hand animated devision.

That's, like, the best news EVER!

Well, when CGI started to get into animated cartoons, I didn't really like it. Even now I think that first CGI movies were too much into mimikhing the real world instead of creating the world that was more suitable for the means given (Dreamworks still does). But luckily, the learned along the way and got a hang of it. After all, first Disney's long animated movies were lacking in many ways too, and first cartoons as well (anyone seen old "Mutt and Jeff"?)
Of course, classic animation will never die. Nothing ever dies. After all, Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks aren't the only studios doing animation in the world.

[AsterAzul]

I still don't like computer animation, even after seeing the Incredibles. (Which was an awesome movie.)
It just looks cheap and unfitting to me. But that's more my instinctual resentment of turning times than anything else.

*Goes to dig out his dusty NES, records, and old CDs.*
Ah, I remember the day I bought my first John Taylor CD. Still have it, in fact. "The Compact Disc Digital Audio System offers the best possible sound reproduction - on a small convenient disc

[War]

CGI comics are crap. Mostly they reside in the uncanny valley. If you're striving for realism, go out and make a photo comic. Comics aren't about making stuff look as real as possible.

Pixar got it right. It's not about going for realism, we've got actors for that.

And have you ever tried using 3D Studio Max? Working in 3D ain't easy.

[TheSuburbanLetdown]

I rather enjoy CGI movies, but I think it's a terrible idea to replace traditional animation with it. Disney shutting down their animation is foolish; their latest failures with animated movies had a lot to do with the content, not the medium it was in. A bad movie is a bad movie, period.

On an aside, "The Incredibles" is one my favorite movies ever. It did everything right: casting, writing, story progression, chracters, soundtrack, excellent animation, everything. It even had a good mesasge without being cheesey and/or preachy. And I believe this movie would've worked as a regualr animated feature as well because the content is there.

[AsterAzul]

My first experiences with 3D drawing involved POV-ray, so I have a pretty healthy respect for the difficulties involved. I was actually pretty surprised at the sudden popularity of 3D art and such, because I didn't recognize that it had gotten easier to develop 3D art.

One thing I'm waiting for is software that has more sophisticated transformation elements to bring to the table. Ragdoll and the new clothing textures were pretty impressive. (I was impressed when they started using shadows, so it doesn't take much to impress me.) But a lot of the cheaper animation has pretty poor handling of axes of motion and the like. Animation still has the advantage of being stylistic.
I guess they really are getting there, though, because they had some pretty impressive animation in The Incredibles.

I rather agree about the uncanny valley, though. The almost-human graphics in some animation kinda freaks me out.

[McDuffies]

On an aside, "The Incredibles" is one my favorite movies ever. It did everything right: casting, writing, story progression, chracters, soundtrack, excellent animation, everything.

Even the closing credits.

[Gau dog]

Disney did shut down their 2D studios. Both in Florida and Burbank. The only 2D movie production studio Disney has left is in Australia making the "cheapquels". Dreamworks shut their 2D studio too. I'm don't have anything against CG as a medium, but when it's taking over traditional 2D animation, it's a sad thing.

[Dotty]

I like disney and everything, but closing down the 2d studios is flat out retarded. Hand drawn, and old school animation is the stuff that still rocks my boxers. Reboot and The Beast Wars, heck, even Shadow Raiders was pretty cool stuff.....but I still love the hand drawn stuff more.

War's right. Pixar knows where it's at.

[Subhuman]

"The Incredibles" is one my favorite movies ever. It did everything right: casting, writing, story progression, chracters, soundtrack, excellent animation, everything. It even had a good mesasge without being cheesey and/or preachy. And I believe this movie would've worked as a regualr animated feature as well because the content is there.

Replace "The Incredibles" with "Finding Nemo" and I totally agree. (The Incredibles was very good, but it just felt kinda...thin.)

[Specterz]

I just loved the first Shrek (and the second), but mainly because of its humor, and not particularly because of the great animation or anything. So I suppose it could have worked just as well with hand-drawn animation.
Boy, that would have been different, though...

[Sketch286]

i miss hand-animated stuff, it had a better feel to it.

[Turi]

I mean, come on, 3-dimensional coordinates. What's so hard about it?

I have a friend, who studies computer science. He tried to explain to me the mathemathics behind 3D... I can only go "wow" for the people who creates 3D engines. They are using numbers that can only be defined in R^4 (outside the real numbers (R), outside the complex numbers (R^2, like the square root of a negative number), outside R^3, which I have no idea of what describes, and into the fourth dimension)...

On Disney shutting down their 3D studios: That was about the stupidest thing they could have ever done. They shut down the 2D BEFORE making sure that Pixar would continue to work 3D for them, which - as we all know- they wouldn't...

[Sketch286]

yeah, just looking at them try to work maya makes me like, bleed out my ears......not really though
that program is crazy

[McDuffies]

Dreamworks shut their 2D studio too.

Finally a good news.

[The Neko]

I think 3D is becoming popular is because it's much easier and cheaper to produce, and it's the current fad. I think people will become tired of it eventually.