It is obvious that you lack certain knowledge about animation. You know what cell animation is? It's the less artistic method to make hand drawn animation. Cell animation was a method to make animation faster and cheaper... and now it's obsolete... because celluloids aren't used anymore. Today, animation is drawn on paper and colors done by computer. "Pure cell animation" is dead since a couple of years already.
And there's nothing artistic about cells, this were just flat-colors painted on the back of celluloids, using computers is faster and do a better job. If you want to see "pure" artistic animation, go see the works of Frederic Back or Alexander Petrov who used pastels and paint on single layer.
Miyasaki and Otomo are in the film business and this business is more about efficiency than art, that's the reality. If they want to make "true art", then it's the wrong medium, because making films need large crews, time and money. If you want money, you have to make a viable product with the lowest cost possible. It's a matter of choice, Bill Plymton choose to work alone and stay independant. Miyasaki and Otomo (just to name those) want to make huge ambitious projects to be shown on the big screens all over the world. At this level you HAVE to make concessions, you have to think about efficiency, about money and about deadlines.
Princess Mononoke could have been all done traditionnaly, from start to end, it's a fact. The Incredibles could also have been done traditionnaly and with the same results. EVERYTHING can be done with traditionnal tools. It's only a matter of labor and cost. The tools are evolving but they are there to be used, the tools don't dictate how the piece should look like. There's no rules here, you can use every tool you like, what's important it's the results, it's to get the job done.
It's understandable to feel "unimpressed" towards 3D animation when you know nothing about it. CGI as its advantages and inconveniences, it's easier to animate lifeless, stiff objects, especially when they are "flying", it's easier to move the camera and with every objects, sceneries and characters infinetly reusable you save lot of time. But the animation could be as challenging than traditionnal animation and modeleling is in no way easier than drawing.
Mixing both tools is in itself very challenging. Everything must be perfect to create the illusion, that's why it looks out of place in films like Innocence. Even if the 3D was well done, the 2D was crappy, poor frame rate and poor animation compared to fluid camera movements. In Steamboy I didn't mind at all since they choose carefully what to put in 3D and when, sure, when you watch carefully you can tell but it's the same with traditionnal animation when the characters are flat and the scenery fully detailed, when you want to find flaws, you'll find some.
You know what? The most challenging scenes in Snow Whites were done using the help of "rotoscopie" (don't know the english term... I guess you noticed that english wasn't my first language), to be short, I'd say they use a method that's more close to "motion capture" then classic hand drawn animation. It's like putting a paper sheet on your tv screen and draw what was behind. The dancing sequence in Snow White was originaly a live action sequence. That wasn't the "real thing", they used a clever trick to help them get better and faster results. Animation is in constant evolution, you would understand that if you knew more about animation history.
There will always be people reluctant to new methods and tools, it's their choice if they don't want to use it, but braggin about it is pretty lame. The methods and tools used in the making of Samurai Jack are improvements from older tools and methods. If Tartakovsky was using the same method as Windsor McKay did with Gertie, his show would never be aired on cable networks. McKay did all his drawing on paper and backgounds were done on EACH FRAMES. That was the "real thing" indeed, but now it would be totally stupid to work like this when you can use multiple layers. Computers are just another tool, there's nothing to be proud about not using it.
You think that computer animation doesn't need devotion and loving care? What the hell, you think that computers do all the job alone? There's animators and artists in front of the screens working day and night on their computers. Skills and passion are needed, looking down on 3D artists just prove your lack of knowledge.
Oh, and I'm an animation student and I've done both traditional and 3D animation.
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God is overrated.
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SonicMozart
18 years ago
you can say all you want but at the end of the day most people just hate it when computer animation is abused. you cannot change nor deny that. The feeling is just not the same
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arch091101
18 years ago
Sure, traditionnal animation has never been abused and has never been used in atrocious ways.
People may think what they want, but I suggest them to gather some knowledge about what they are complaining or else I could care less about what they think.
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God is overrated.
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SonicMozart
18 years ago
I agree with you. But like I said, most people just talk about their feelings, you can't ask billions of people to study how computer animation is done so then they go "oh, now I like it". You either enjoy something, or you don't.
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