1 month left until school is out. it's always this time of the year flash takes a complete halt as i spend day and night finishing final projects. my main one is a 30-second 3D short i've been working on... i won't be plauging newgrounds with it for two reasons, one because i don't think 3D (generated outside of flash) really belongs, here and i don't think it's going to be that great.
the 3D pipeline is really something else. instead of having complete control of your canvas - like in 2D - you're completely bounded by what you know about the software. you could be the best animator in the world but become entirely handicapped in 3D software. and to make matters worse you're usually troubleshooting/debugging half the time, and half of those issues come from renders which you have to wait around for.
it's frustrating because i recently saw 'horton hears a who', and they're really starting to break the barrier between 2D and 3D. the movie had a very seussian atmosphere, which in its essence is very unlike a 3D environment. a world made out of polygons vs a world made out of noodles and limbless contraptions. but in the movie, everything came to life like it should have. it really was incredible. but i can't imagine how much work their team of animators and artists put into that film.
still, i think with the same budget a 2D seuss film would look more incredible and lively. the reason why studios like Blue Sky and Pixar are successful is because all their employees come from a strong 2D background. that's the mistake disney made - they literally fired all of their traditional artists and animators and replaced them with people who were only familiar with the software. and what did you get? horrible films that nobody saw or will remember. it's funny that they had to literally purchase the pixar name just to stay alive.
no matter how far 3D pushes the envelope, i will always pursue and try to keep 2D alive. there were two very short (but sweet) 2D segments in the horton movie, it made me really happy. there's a charm to a hand-drawn piece of work that something artificially sculpted will never have. i can't put my finger on it and i can't describe it in words, but there is life in a 2D image that a 3D one can never replace. you've got so many people today obsessed with realism and pixel-perfect high definition images. but we're getting to the point now where i'm looking at trailers for new games and movies and wondering how much more realistic can we get? it's not all that exciting anymore, and the box office can no longer rely on the audience being oohed and ahhed by CG because we've seen all there is to see.
realism in animation really inhibits the imagination. and i think the reason why is because it goes against everything animation is about - making visual comments about the real world through abstract ideas. you exaggerate things to make them stand out in your own style. and if everyone's doing photorealistic rendering work, how does that make you any different from the person sitting at the computer next to you? it's so mechanical, i really can't stand it.
anyway i think you get my point. it's probably a matter of taste to most people, but to me i see a lot more charm and thoughtfulness in the simplest sketch than the most detailed and realistic rendering of what have you.
that being said, here's a horrible render of my 3d thing. when it's done i'll probably shove it on my website if anyone actually wants to see it, then get right back to my best friend flash.
Frolikyn
Good luck with the 3D project!
rtil
thank you