Forefront: Hybrid Animation
This is a technique that has been evolving over time. Hybrid Animation term is used to describe the technique when a film has the combinations of two or more Animation types such as 2D, 3D, Rotoscope or Stopmotion. Here I will explain in further depth the combination between the 3D and 2D animation currently in the industry of storytelling and videogames cinematics and how I will use this technique in my current final major project Athos.
Video 01. Examples of Integration of 2D and 3D
Early development.
The mixed of 2D and 3D was developed in the development of Tarzan (1999) and later on, was further implemented on the film Treasure Planet (2002). For Tarzan (1999) the research team created a software called Deep Canvas. This software consists of generating basic shapes like cylinders and later create a camera that can move through this space. Later, these shapes will be painted with a stylus and this painting will replicate on the other instances. For example, if one branch was painted in a certain way, the other branches will follow this pattern.
How did they match the 2D animation with the 3D software images?
Well, they print each frame of the basic shapes camera movement (24 Frames for each second) and the Animators will, later on, draw on top of these frames. This means that the artist had to draw on once, which duplicates the production of the animation. Nonetheless, they used this technique for only 17 minutes of the entire film.
Pic 01. Pencil test of Tarzan moving across the trees.
Video 02. Deep Canvas early tests:
Pic 02. Further integration of Deep Canvas and pencil lines:
These where truly breakthrough in technology. In 1999 not only the computer generating images was rare in films, moreover, never used in animation. This technological development helped create new narratives for the films to come. Treasure Planet (2002) used more this mixed. The captain Silver arm was entirely done in 3D and matched seamlessly with the rest of the 2D character. Some props and backgrounds were modelled and painted using this software.
Pic 03. Treasure Planet (2002)
Nowadays this technique has evolved over the years, been almost a standard in the industry, where the techniques are mixed in a variety of narratives and audiovisual masterpieces.
In the world of videogames, Blizzard’s titles like Warcraft and Overwatch had utilized this art form of 2D and 3D mixture in most of all their cinematics and video inserts in the games. But the one game that truly takes this type of animation mix is League of Legends. The cinematics from this game are outstanding and in my opinion the best in the industry right now. The way they compose every shoot and make the sequence work as a moving comic makes you feel inside the game. They animate action vividly and each sequence transition smoothly into the other one. The 2D texture has evolved greatly since the Tarzan movie and now is entirely done in 3D, but this 2D special effects that are composited into the video. The technique here helps greatly to tell the story, the profiles of the technician and animators may change nowadays, but the goal in this type of narratives and films are the same. Generate a deep impact on the audience, making them involved in the story.
Video 03. Rise - League of Legends.
Implementing this technique in my film.
I have a big scene that requires a practical way to solve it. This scene is a flying view of the main character that after release itself from a great obstacle flyes away in the sky. Athos is looking down to discover new places. So this will be the perfect opportunity to mix techniques in my film. This is also a shoot that can be easily done in 3D with camera movement like in the early days of Deep Canvas, to later be hand-painted in a 2D animation software like TV Paint. However, I am not versed into the 3D software, that’s why I asked my friend Josh Payne to help me in this task. I know the collaborative work always adds to any project and having the talent of my friend Josh, will help solve this shoot in no time. Next, I gave Josh my aerial scene sketch and the reference in order for him to create the scene.
Pic 04. Aerial Scene and references.
Pic 05. Aerial Scene in 3D by Josh Payne.
Up here is the scene that Josh did for my film. He applied a camera to hover the scene and the movement works very well. The basic shapes work perfectly because I will later paint over it frame by frame and I will need a bulk structure to paint over. I just had to adjust the speed and I will continue later on with the process.
Next step now is to export this scene in a low frame rate. This shoot was 10 seconds long. I short it out to be 3 seconds and export it at 8 frames a second, the reasons for this is if I export a 3 seconds scene in 24 or 25 seconds I will end up doing 72 - 75 frames and that is a massive load of frames to paint. Next, I import the final 24 frames to TV Paint and start painting one by one.
Pic 06. TV Paint process.
The idea is to create brushes that resemblance forms, so that matches the backgrounds that Laura Blandón is doing for the backgrounds. I came up with an interesting movie called the girl without hands and the technique utilize here is a great inspiration for the way I will approach the Rotoscope animation for this shot.
Video 04. The Girl Without Hands Trailer.
This is my by to pay tribute to the early developer in the animation. From Tarzan to now, technology has shown that when well executed and used creatively, can add new tools to enhance the narrative of a film, thus, delivering an innovative experience for the audience.
References:
Daly, S. (1999). https://ew.com. [online] EW.com. Available at: https://ew.com/article/1999/07/09/tarzan-changes-face-animation/ [Accessed 24 Jul. 2019].
Timbo (2009). The Art of Deep Canvas | Retro Junk Article. [online] Retrojunk.com. Available at: https://www.retrojunk.com/article/show/1400/the-art-of-deep-canvas [Accessed 24 Jul. 2019].
Cadwell, T. (2019). League of Legends. United States: Riot Games.
RISE | Worlds 2018 - League of Legends. (2018). [video] United States: Riot Games.
The Girl Without Hands. (2016). [film] Directed by S. Laudenbach. France: Shellac.
Treasure Planet. (2002). [film] Directed by R. Clements and J. Musker. United States: Buena Vista.
Tarzan. (1999). [film] Directed by K. Lima and C. Buck. United States: Buena Vista.
