Early animations

The earliest form of 3-D animation evolved before the use of computers. Long before the evolution of fully digitally animated three-dimensional movies, such as Frozen, a technique known as ‘claymation’ was used to make moving images.

This involved manipulating clay, modeling clay, or other substances used to make models, into shapes for each frame of the film. This technique was promoted and promoted by the British animation firm Aardman Animations, in their beloved series Wallace and Gromit (1989), but the art form may date back to 1897, being the first surviving claymation film. The sculptor’s nightmare (1908).

Advancing technique

Later, animation studio Laika advanced the traditional clay animation technique by using 3D printing to create thousands of different facial expressions for each character.

They would change the expression of each frame in one fluid motion, making it appear that the characters were talking and moving. Laika made several films, including Coraline Y For NormanBut it was not as successful as Disney, and as such it was not as successful at the box office.

Moving on to television

Pixar was the first to use 3-D CGI animation, with Toy story in 1995. It was a huge success, and they went on to create 11 other feature-length animations, including Monsters Inc. among others.

In the early 2000s, cartoon shows also began introducing 3-D animations. This included Jimmy Neutron, but there have been many others to date.

Attention to details

Details like hair or skin have been a key indicator of modern advancements in animation.

One of the most advanced animations of the early 2000s was The Incredibles. It featured more realistic fluid movements and detailed models of human anatomy.

In particular, the character Violet’s hair was a key part of her personality, as it was made to darken her face often. As such, the hair was made from 1000 individually rendered strands.

Pixar animators also captured themselves on film to get a better idea of ​​human movement. Nicknamed ‘Alpha Omega’, the team had to split into four, with one team developing the modeling, shading and design, another the final camera, lighting and effects. The third team, known as the ‘character team’, manipulated, digitally sculpted and shaded all the characters, while the ‘sim team’ developed the models for hair and clothing.

Monsters Inc. (2001) began to focus on paying particular attention to Sulley’s fur, which featured 2,320,413 individual pieces. With such attention to detail, it took 3,500 computer processors to create the movie.

Similarly, I worked on the Disney movie Tangled up focused on the detailed animation of Rapunzel’s hair. Before Tangled up, Most of the animated female characters wore their hair in a lock or braid, as digital reproduction of individual strands of long hair involved high levels of computer processing.

Rather, Rapunzel’s hair is made up of 100,000 objects (locks) that collide with each other, fall onto her shoulders, and slide across the ground and other characters. As such, Rapunzel is one of the most technically advanced animated characters to date.

The team promised to produce very realistic hair, and Rapunzel’s was made using a ‘Hair Bible’ created by Glen Keane, who had animated Ariel’s hair from Tea Little Mermaid, and the skin of The Beast of Beauty and the Beast.

They then went on to do a series of experiments; including dropping 70 feet of fabric from a balcony to recreate their hair falling from the tower, brushing wigs on their desks, and wearing a live model. They even went so far as to create helmets with 70 feet of fishing line attached and run through the office hallways while wearing them.

It took a core team of 10 software engineers just to duplicate the movement of genuine long hair in a CG environment. Even the color was a chore – blonde requires a lot of maintenance, as it requires multiple colors to keep it from looking artificial. Therefore. Delicate work from highlighter and shader teams was needed to make Rapunzel’s hair look realistic.

Icy creations

Disney’s next big blockbuster was Frozen, and although he lacked the attention to detail in hair and facial features that Tangled up It had, advanced technology meant that the studio could create a highly detailed world, capturing the appearance and luminescence of snow and ice.

Frozen was a box office success, and its sequel, Frozen II, it has become the highest grossing animated film to date.

Who knows what advancements in animation will come next? Will Disney and Pixar continue to dominate the 3-D scene?

We hope to hear from you!