I could not say it any better, so I won´t try…

I have nothing against CG. I love what Pixar does, what Dreamworks does, Lucas does etc. There is no bias, in fact, I was always VERY happy and excited when Disney incorporated CGI into their films. I love 2D for sure, but I understand the change. But, that’s not my point at all.

I’m talking about DESIGN here, not animation. CG “animation” as it is done today isn’t exactly (IMHO) in the same league as 2D. To me, a lot of it is plug-in-play. It’s puppetry. I’m not saying it’s bad, but the designs are getting stale.

On to design…

Computer imagery is at a point where anything can be realized. ANYTHING …Unfortunately all we are getting a.) photorealistic b.) plastic/homogenized. Mostly it’s on the verge of Avatar realness or plasticine ala stop-motion. I see the beauty in those, and I see the beauty in emulating those, but it’s getting very old and is already dated. What I’m not seeing is Mary Blair whimsy or Maxfield Parrish or even Lady Gaga. Most CG films fall in those two categories. Even the Suess films!

The Rotoscopers mentioned the art book from the Croods. It is absolutely incredible. Those illustrations are just stunning. Can you imagine those illustrations being animated in 3D and with computers? Is it possible YES. It doesn’t happen though. There are few frames in that film I would hang on my wall, but those designs, yes please. What would a pastel textured world be like?

I understand much of “concept” work is just that, concept, it helps everyone, it sets tone etc. But now that we’ve reached the peak of CGI, when anything can be done, …where is the artistry? Where is the moment some studio says “hey we’re going to make this all look like watercolor ” or “hey can we use our own physics?”

I have worked in animation for a very long time. I know many artists and I know they do incredible things. Look at the work above. My question is why has design stopped? It’s almost CG for the sake of CG.

When are people like you going to get over your obvious bias against computer animation? Not every movie Disney makes is photo-realistic like you keep commenting. This movie looks stunning as it is. So tired of people like you who don’t know a good thing when they see it.

Thanks for sharing! I’m going to change it immediately!

Nice post! However, a couple images are mis-credited.

From the top down, Brittney Lee, Brittney Lee, Bill Schwab, Bill Schwab, David Womersley, Hyun Min Lee, Hyun Min Lee, David Womersley, Lisa Keene, Jin Kim, Jin Kim