CGI Anime

A number of Japanese studios have been experimenting with cell-shaded 3D in the past decade. It's  useful, saving time and allowing more distinct animation frames to be created with less time spent on inbetweening and coloring each drawing. In my opinion there are two really standout studios doing this kind of work, Sanzigen and Kamikaze Douga.

An example of Sanzigen's work:

An example of Kamikaze Douga's work:

Looking at Kamikaze Douga's work in particular, they use CGI technology to add texture to their rigged models. And they use traditional FX animation to provide some visual variety. Sanzigen uses the great Pencil+ plugin for 3DS Max to be able to explore a range of styles with lines and shadows that stay visually consistent and appealing. It's light-years away from the toon shader in Maya. The team that programmed Pencil+ made sure that it attempts to capture good shape design in the shadows. It adds a sense of intention to the CGI "drawings" that computer animation usually lacks.

One thing I don't understand though is why the recent series "Knights of Sidonia" and "Ronia the Robber" are being done in CGI. Both have relatively simple character designs and would look much more appealing if they were drawn. And neither series is taking advantage of the Pencil+ plugin, so shadows sometimes get that jagged, unintentional look, making the jerkiness of the animation seem like a mistake. I wish the studio, Polygon Pictures, would at least get the Pencil+ plugin, but it won't fit in their pipeline unless they're using 3DS Max.


Here's an example of an ideal form of CGI/cell-shading. This Gobelins short uses texture combined with hard and soft shadows and great art direction for a distinctive look. Plus a really funny script.

Animation Bits

I mostly do CG but have been trying some hand-drawn stuff that has a minimal number of frames. Many of these are based on reference, though none of them are rotoscoped (if they were the forms would stay more consistent, lol).

 

Blue Blazes

Blue Blazes ("Aoi Honō", also a pun on the main character's name) is a Japanese comedy-drama show about animators and manga authors. Specifically, one aspiring manga-author/animator and his competition with the future stars of Gainax like Hideaki Anno. It's an interesting, dramatized look at Japanese art/film-student life, and demonstrates the importance of being in the right place at the right time. If all these guys hadn't gone to school together and formed these relationships and rivalries, would they have ended up with such enduring/successful careers? It reminds me of the CalArts class that produced John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Henry Selick, Tim Burton, and Chris Buck. Sometimes you get the right convergence of incredible talents, who all work off each other to get better and better, and are able to create the right opportunities for themselves.  Especially if they're mentored by the right people.

The series is a lot of fun because of its exaggerated acting. I haven't seen much live action Japanese comedy so I don't have any idea if the stylistic conventions this show uses are normal, or are meant to represent that the characters share more in common with cartoon reality than the ordinary world. Its clear the show runners have done their research, and are committed to demonstrating the trials of an aspiring creative professional. Here is Hono externalizing his sense of not being good enough:

Also, the actor playing Hideaki Anno has one of the most threatening smirks I've ever seen. I might have to borrow that expression when animating a character filled with both satisfaction and disgust.

I recommend the series to any anime fans or aspiring animators. Especially because it contains some animation production history, such as how animation cells work. Thank god we don't gotta paint those no more. Maybe they'll go into x-sheets in a later episode.