When it comes to CGI/3D animation some would say that CGI (Computer Generated Imagery), the more generic word, includes both dynamic visuals and static scenes, whereas 3D animation only refers to moving images. In essence, it is the digital equivalent of classic stop motion techniques. It creates moving images without the use of performers, expensive set pieces, or props by using 3D-created models.
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| Frozen 2D vs. 3D side by side comparison |
CGI is merely the creation of content digitally in a computer. It can be as simple as a wisp of smoke, or a light, or a marble rolling on the floor. It can be as complex as an entire movie being completely done in the computer.
The CGI animation studios Pixar has clearly mastered the art of creating memorable CGI.
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| Pixar and Disney's Toy Story 2 |
How does CGI and 3D hold up against a more traditional format known as 2D animation?
Well, 2D animation is animation of flat, two-dimensional images. Simply put.
Don Morgan, a storyboard artist born in 1938 and worked in animation as an art director for decades until his death in 2019, made some very educated remarks about hand-drawn animation versus animations done by computer during his involvement in helping create drawings for Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase.
3D animation works in a completely different way than traditional animation. Yet, they both require an understanding of the same principles of movement and composition, but the technical skill set is very different for each task. 3D animation is more similar to playing with puppets rather than drawing.
3D animation, also referred to as CGI, or just CG, is made by generating images using computers. That series of images are the frames of an animated shot.The animation techniques of 3D animation has a lot of similarities with stop-motion animation, as they both deal with animating and posing models, and still conforms to the frame-by-frame approach of 2D animation, but it is a lot more controllable since it’s in a digital work-space.
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| PBS Kids' CGI series Jay Jay The Jet Plane |
Instead of drawn or constructed with clay, characters in 3D animation are digitally modeled in the program, and then fitted with a ‘skeleton’ that allows animators to move the models.
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| Nickelodeon's 2D kids series Hey Arnold! |
Animation is done by posing the models on certain key frames, after which the computer will calculate and perform an interpolation between those frames to create movement.
The history of CGI goes back to the 1950s when mechanical computers were used to create patterns onto animation cels which were then included in a feature film. The first film which used CGI was Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958).
As for 2D, since motion picture cameras weren't invented until 1890s, the art of animation predates live-action filmmaking by nearly 60 years. With such a head start on motion pictures, it's incredible that it took until 1937 for animation to start getting the kind of attention it deserved in the form of Disney's first feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. That's especially shocking when you see the quality of animation that existed even before Disney made a big splash and launched their now iconic feature animation division.
