AnimeSuki Forums

molitar · 2008-07-06, 00:41

Hope this isn't been brought up before I did a search for Digital Anime but didn't find anything on the topic in general.

Well lately I noticed a big trend towards digital anime and was wondering do you like it or dislike it? I can see some of the advantages of it but I haven't really found a good summary disadvantage vs advantage for Digital Anime.

Personal things I have noted is the world is more vivid to the point that sometimes it feels too colorful but the buildings look more detailed. But on the same note smaller details like ears and eyes seem to lose their definition and shape. But than as an advantage is the 3D look and feel to the world where their is more depth to the larger objects. I'm sure their is more to advantages and disadvantages that I haven't noticed yet but Slayers really brought my attention to just how much more depth Digital can be.

Advantages
1. Depth of the world (almost 3D)
2. Vivid Colors
3. Faster Production
4. Building detail seems more realistic

Disadvantages
1. Depth of smaller detail like ears look quite flat
2. Shading
3. Colors tend to be too vivid that the world feels a bit more unrealistic
4. Textures are quite flat many times like faces almost like plastic too smooth

Jiyuu · 2008-07-06, 08:29

by digital do you mean computer generated or computer colored/recorded?
cause today almost all anime is colored in the computer..

in general i think its more a matter of how experienced the studio is with CGI the most important cause good CGI can blend to the normal 2D drawings perfectly if done the right way,
so its all about each specific case..
thou in a couple of years the time will come when computer power grows and computer programs become better so that even low level studios will be able to use that..

Slice of Life · 2008-07-06, 08:56

What Jiyuu said.

When it comes to CGI less is more. CGI is great as long as you don't see that it's there. Exceptions are some rare cases where is has artistic appeal. However a two-colored face of pink (in the sun) and brownish-pink (in the shadow) next to, say, a pole of a thousand shades of steel-gray will always look cheap in my eyes.

molitar · 2008-07-06, 09:28

Well I noticed the trend moving away from CELLS to fully Digital in some aspects it's better in the 3 Dimensional look and feel of the world almost like watching a 3D movie. In other aspects it loses out in like the blending of the colors it's almost like watching a computer game right now with so few shading the clothes, armor, ect all have maybe two or three different colors to indicate a shade but not real shading. While I notice some companies are trying to use it to speed up the background but still draw the characters by cell to keep the cell than do a slight blur to blend it in more like the old CELL style done completely by hand and this seems to work pretty well.

I'm sure as time moves on they will improve on how they do digital but right now you can definitely notice a loss of details and lines that are done by hand. But I guess another good aspect of this will be we shouldn't see quality of anime drop because an animator got sick or such and they had to hire another animator to do an episode or two.

I just thought it would be nice to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Digital vs Cell and what the anime fans think of the changes it brings.

Jiyuu · 2008-07-06, 10:03

eh?
moving from cells?
i'm pretty sure that in the last 3-4 years every anime released was fully digital,
that is no cells were used in its making.

using cells has nothing to do with finer detail,
using cells might mean less consistant colors or something like that but if at all anime companies cant allow themselves to put too much detail into every shot cause that assload more work then what it is today..
and back then they couldnt really fix fuckups like they can today..
also simple things like moving an object from one side of the screen to the other had to be done by hand thus creating even more inconsistencies..
if at all in todays digital age studios can use things such as computer generated gradients and textures so things can actually have more details then in the past..

molitar · 2008-07-06, 10:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jiyuu

eh?
moving from cells?
i'm pretty sure that in the last 3-4 years every anime released was fully digital,
that is no cells were used in its making.

using cells has nothing to do with finer detail,
using cells might mean less consistant colors or something like that but if at all anime companies cant allow themselves to put too much detail into every shot cause that assload more work then what it is today..
and back then they couldnt really fix fuckups like they can today..
also simple things like moving an object from one side of the screen to the other had to be done by hand thus creating even more inconsistencies..
if at all in todays digital age studios can use things such as computer generated gradients and textures so things can actually have more details then in the past..

Well CELLS are hand drawn and shaded by hand when done by hand you definitely see more detail and shading. Digital is improving but it's still not to the point of a hand drawn and shaded image vs many methods of Digital. Like I stated I really noticed this in the quality and shape of the ears for one take a look at many of the older anime vs newer anime and you can really see that.

Jiyuu · 2008-07-06, 10:35

you seem to think they can add more details by hand,
you don't seem to take into consideration the fact that when using cells the number of colors availble is really small, moreover a lot of them don't transfer too well when the cells are being filmed.
and more then that when coloring cells they use Marker pens not brushes or even pencil,
they can't create anymore then that small verity that are more then the exact color of that specific marker..

if you think there are less details in digital anime that means that if whatever studio that did what you are seeing would have had invested the same amount of work on analog production the end result would have had looked about 30 times worse..
either that or you credit the noise created by the analog production with the title "detail"..

in other words its not the fact that its digital thats causing it to have less detail. its the studio spending less time on it.

2008-07-06, 00:41	Link #1
molitar Senior Member Join Date: May 2004	Digital Anime what do you think about it? Hope this isn't been brought up before I did a search for Digital Anime but didn't find anything on the topic in general. Well lately I noticed a big trend towards digital anime and was wondering do you like it or dislike it? I can see some of the advantages of it but I haven't really found a good summary disadvantage vs advantage for Digital Anime. Personal things I have noted is the world is more vivid to the point that sometimes it feels too colorful but the buildings look more detailed. But on the same note smaller details like ears and eyes seem to lose their definition and shape. But than as an advantage is the 3D look and feel to the world where their is more depth to the larger objects. I'm sure their is more to advantages and disadvantages that I haven't noticed yet but Slayers really brought my attention to just how much more depth Digital can be. Advantages 1. Depth of the world (almost 3D) 2. Vivid Colors 3. Faster Production 4. Building detail seems more realistic Disadvantages 1. Depth of smaller detail like ears look quite flat 2. Shading 3. Colors tend to be too vivid that the world feels a bit more unrealistic 4. Textures are quite flat many times like faces almost like plastic too smooth

2008-07-06, 08:56	Link #3
Slice of Life eyewitness Join Date: Jan 2007	What Jiyuu said. When it comes to CGI less is more. CGI is great as long as you don't see that it's there. Exceptions are some rare cases where is has artistic appeal. However a two-colored face of pink (in the sun) and brownish-pink (in the shadow) next to, say, a pole of a thousand shades of steel-gray will always look cheap in my eyes. __________________ - Any ideas how to fill this space?

2008-07-06, 08:29	Link #2
Jiyuu Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Rehovot,Israel Age: 36	by digital do you mean computer generated or computer colored/recorded? cause today almost all anime is colored in the computer.. in general i think its more a matter of how experienced the studio is with CGI the most important cause good CGI can blend to the normal 2D drawings perfectly if done the right way, so its all about each specific case.. thou in a couple of years the time will come when computer power grows and computer programs become better so that even low level studios will be able to use that..

2008-07-06, 09:28	Link #4
molitar Senior Member Join Date: May 2004	Well I noticed the trend moving away from CELLS to fully Digital in some aspects it's better in the 3 Dimensional look and feel of the world almost like watching a 3D movie. In other aspects it loses out in like the blending of the colors it's almost like watching a computer game right now with so few shading the clothes, armor, ect all have maybe two or three different colors to indicate a shade but not real shading. While I notice some companies are trying to use it to speed up the background but still draw the characters by cell to keep the cell than do a slight blur to blend it in more like the old CELL style done completely by hand and this seems to work pretty well. I'm sure as time moves on they will improve on how they do digital but right now you can definitely notice a loss of details and lines that are done by hand. But I guess another good aspect of this will be we shouldn't see quality of anime drop because an animator got sick or such and they had to hire another animator to do an episode or two. I just thought it would be nice to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Digital vs Cell and what the anime fans think of the changes it brings.

2008-07-06, 10:03	Link #5
Jiyuu Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Rehovot,Israel Age: 36	eh? moving from cells? i'm pretty sure that in the last 3-4 years every anime released was fully digital, that is no cells were used in its making. using cells has nothing to do with finer detail, using cells might mean less consistant colors or something like that but if at all anime companies cant allow themselves to put too much detail into every shot cause that assload more work then what it is today.. and back then they couldnt really fix fuckups like they can today.. also simple things like moving an object from one side of the screen to the other had to be done by hand thus creating even more inconsistencies.. if at all in todays digital age studios can use things such as computer generated gradients and textures so things can actually have more details then in the past..

2008-07-06, 10:35	Link #7
Jiyuu Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Rehovot,Israel Age: 36	you seem to think they can add more details by hand, you don't seem to take into consideration the fact that when using cells the number of colors availble is really small, moreover a lot of them don't transfer too well when the cells are being filmed. and more then that when coloring cells they use Marker pens not brushes or even pencil, they can't create anymore then that small verity that are more then the exact color of that specific marker.. if you think there are less details in digital anime that means that if whatever studio that did what you are seeing would have had invested the same amount of work on analog production the end result would have had looked about 30 times worse.. either that or you credit the noise created by the analog production with the title "detail".. in other words its not the fact that its digital thats causing it to have less detail. its the studio spending less time on it.