Visual effects to die for

There has been a drastic climb in visual effects and animation in the past 10 years. Animation has become visually stunning, video games put you right in the line of fire, and movies are pulling off scenes and effects that one may have never imagined possible. Being a huge fan of video games and movies I have watched as technology and artistry have reached an all time high, seems like only yesterday I playing Super Mario Bros. and watching Star Wars....oh wait that was yesterday! The Point being that movies and video games have come a long way!

Being an artist I have come to appreciate even the smallest details that make up a whole, whether it be naturally occurring as in nature, or synthetically fabricated for other purposes. Photography is one of my favorite artistic mediums and has a strong influence on any art that I create or enjoy. When watching films each frame tells a story, very much like a photograph, and when every part is orchestrated properly a very harmonious outcome occurs.



Most recently I watched Let Me In in theater, I had not viewed the trailer so I had no idea what I was in for. Being a fan of horror movies, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but not just because of the genre. I felt the film itself was eloquently shot, and the visual effects were well executed. After reading the article by AWN (Animation World News) on some of the challenges while shooting, I was intrigued. I had no idea that a lot of the scenes were fabricated, even some backgrounds were rendered using Maya. Most of the scenes and characters were even altered using Maya and Houdini. It's no surprise coming from director Matt Reeves who also brought us Cloverfield. Overall, the film is excellent, and the visual effects are to die for.


Original Article from AWN:

Disney Digs Up Traditional Animators

Traditional 2D animation is beautiful, unique, yet is very time consuming. Even when produced by the most prestigious animation studios, hand drawn animations can take years to complete. In today's world, time is everything, and there has been a dramatic decline in the use of traditional animation over the years. This decline has lead many to believe that hand drawn animation is a dying art form. Technology has advanced to a point where everything has evolved, not only the art, but also the artist.

Animators who have been classically trained in animation would have to adapt to the new three dimensional techniques. While I do have an appreciation for artwork that has been created via the computer, traditional painting and hand drawn artwork is astonishing. There is something more personal about traditionally created artwork, especially if you have the honor of owning an original piece. It's like owning a piece of the artist, that is truly one of a kind, something that can never be replaced by the cold duplicate created on the machine. I realize that with the ever changing world of technology one must adapt to survive, but the beauty of artwork created by hand is irreplaceable.

I find it very refreshing that Disney has revisited its past with the creation of The Princess and the Frog. This has been Disney's first hand drawn animation since 2004. Since the release of Toy Story in 1995, CGI has become the norm amongst various animation studios. While I do not think there is anything wrong with computer animated films, I do feel that 2D animation needs to be resurrected. The beauty of hand drawn animation should be more than a nostalgic past time, hopefully this trend will continue for Disney's future animations as well.