Whether CG or traditional, animation isn't just about the big Hollywood movies. It's a discipline in demand across a range of media channels, from apps to advertising, websites to music videos and beyond.Plus the distinction between live action and animation is narrowing all the time, as shown in two of the biggest hits of the year, Guardians of the Galaxy and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which depended as much on the believability of their animated/motion captured characters as much as the 'real actors'.In this article, I'll look back at some of the most notable developments of the past year and the animation trends that are most likely to continue into 2015...So what trends can we identify in 2014's output that can show us what's ahead for 2015? Let's start by looking at Disney/Pixar and their latest feature, Big Hero 6.Based on the Marvel Comic about a Japanese Super Hero team, the film concentrates on the relationship between Hiro Hamada and the robot he creates, Baymax.The film has been well received by cinemagoers in the US, and with its mix of western and eastern stylistic influences is receiving plaudits for its visual originality.
With an entire generation of Western animators influenced by the likes of Hayao Miyazaki now coming to the fore, we can expect this cross-continental mix to grow more and more important on both sides of the Pacific.If a mixture of styles is becoming much more prevalent throughout the world of animation, so is an increasing reliance on NPR (Non-Photorealistic Rendering). This is where, rather than a CG animator striving to create a realistic world, the 3D software is instead used to create impressionistic animation that's much more like hand-drawn media.As an example, Psyop's latest piece for AirBnb, Walls and Chains, is evocatively analogue, but throughout you can see where CGI has aided this beautiful piece.A lot of this kind of work is run through specialist software such as CelAction, which can be used to create an illustrative style which can be then animated more easily than in applications such as After Effects.Part of the reason for this trend is that the animation tools have become so advanced that photoreal CGI is now more straightforward to acquire thanks to advances in render engines such as Arnold.To my mind the greatest achievement in 2014 was the
work by Animal Logic for The Lego Movie where every single brick was CGI, but with a desire from CG team to create a look as if the Lego was being shot for real, hence Depth of Field equivalent to a macro lens and glorious scratches and wear on the minifigs and bricks.Another thing to note in both the Psyop's AirBnb and Lego Movie is that the animation befits the medium the story is told in. This ability to mimic organic media, ranging from film to watercolour, is not just about capturing a 'look'; it's about understanding the properties of the medium in question.Girl Hub by Man vs Magnet is an excellent example of this, where motion graphics meld with traditional stylised animation to create a truly memorable piece.Another good example of this is Riot Games' The Harrowing from Elastic, famous for their Game of Thrones title.The Harrowing is an brilliant execution of using CG animation to create 'realistic' objects (in this case, string puppets) but in an environment that would be costly or just impractical to build using traditonial set building techniques.
Now here's an example in completely the opposite direction. Instead of using CG for the creation process, The Outside Collective worked with production company Brain London to mix traditional media (in the form of spray paint and a empty warehouse) with advanced post production techniques, to quickly turnaround this viral for the new Little Big Planet PS4 game.The trend for mixing CG and traditional effects reached its zenith this year with the release of Laika Studio's Boxtrolls.While a stop motion film, using traditional photography, CG and VFX tech was used extensively throughout the production pipeline from VFX either as standalone graphics to create set extensions and more complex animation, or to augment existing practical elements. It's a trend many other animators are likely to draw inspiration from in 2015.The Boxtrolls is also notable for its use of 3D printing to build the practical models – something has finally come mainstream in a huge variety of creative disciplines.Laika were able to utilise the latest in technology to augment their already excellent traditional skills, and you can read more about how they went about here.
Here's hoping that in 2015 we will see more of this kind of analogue and digital mash-up to create truly unique visions!Mike Griggs is a freelance 3D, VFX, mograph artist and technical writer. Voice Director: JB BlancUS Release: Sep 27, 2015Europe Release: Sep 29, 2015Game Developer: Traveller's Tales 66th All Time, 41st This WeekFranchise: LEGOCharacters on BTVA: 43 Characters / Voice Actors | Batman / Bruce Wayne Superman / Clark Kent / Kal-El Wonder Woman / Diana Wicked Witch of the West Harley Quinn / Harleen Quinzel Robin / Dick Grayson Riddler / Edward Nigma Faved by 12 BTVA Members - Choose a Character - Batman / Bruce WayneWyldstyle / LucyGandalfLord VortechKaiSuperman / Clark Kent / Kal-ElWonder Woman / DianaJokerWicked Witch of the WestDoc BrownThe DoctorClara OswaldThe MasterDalekCybermenGLADOSWheatleyX-POMarty McFlyHarley Quinn / Harleen QuinzelEmmetUnikittyBennyScooby-DooShaggy RogersOwen GradyClaire DearingSimon MasraniGray MitchellZach MitchellSamRobin / Dick GraysonRiddler / Edward NigmaGeneral ZodDorothyMaster ChenFred JonesDaphne BlakeVelma DinkleyMad Dog TannenSaruman the WhiteSauronGollum / Smeagol
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Forget spirits that represent the present and future. Retailers these days are haunted by the Ghost of Christmas Past. I’m referring to the holiday merchandise, specifically popular gift categories like consumer electronics and toys. The most exciting thing to come out of Best Buy and Target this season is the rerelease of the Nintendo gaming console that was released in North America in 1985. Nordstrom’s website sold out of an $85 pet rock in a leather pouch. Among Amazon’s top selling toys this year: Rubik’s cubes and the Simon electronic memory game.A Teddy Ruxpin revival? “There’s this weird nostalgia craze going on,” said Brian Kilcourse, co-founder and managing partner at RSR Research consulting firm. “People are longing for a nonexistent simpler time.” The constant rehashing of past hits signals a deeper malaise in U.S. retail: the lack of new products to excite shoppers (with the bizarre exception of Hatchimals, a toy in which a stuffed animal emerges from a high-tech egg).
The holiday season, the most important period for retailers, appears to be a wash. The National Retail Federation forecasts holiday sales will hit $935 per person, a 1.7 percent drop from 2015 and the first such decline since 2009, when the Great Recession officially ended. Of course, there have been a few hit products over the years: Apple’s iPhone and iPad come to mind. But let’s face it, the Cupertino company has not come up with anything that has caught fire in a while. Despite much fanfare, the Apple Watch has not matched the popularity of its other devices, and the company does not even bother to disclose Apple Watch sales. In truth, consumer spending has never really recovered from the recession, the worst economic crisis in the United States since the Depression. Middle-class incomes have stagnated, which means that people are much more careful about what they choose to buy. To get shoppers to pull the trigger, retailers must offer a really big discount or something so compelling that they have no choice but to fork over their cash.
Unlike apparel makers, who have been suffering from a lack of creativity, there has been no shortage of stuff coming from tech: virtual reality, apps, drones, wearables, smart devices. And perhaps that’s the problem: Consumers are just so inundated with hype and noise over the Internet that they have learned to tune it out, said author and retail consultant Doug Stephens. “We have access to so much information,” Stephens said. “So many things are coming to the market so fast that it’s hard to be original, to break through.” In other words, people are tired of hearing about how (fill in blank) device or software is going to change their lives forever. “People are optioned out with all of these things you can do,” Kilcourse said. EMarketer recently slashed its forecast for the wearables category. The research firm now expects 39.5 million U.S. adults will use a wearable device (with Internet connectivity) at least once a month, down considerably from its original estimate of 63.7 million people.
“Wearable devices like Apple Watches and Fitbits may not be on many holiday wish lists this year,” the eMarketer report said. “The still-young category showed early promise, but usage has not expanded beyond early adopters.” Retailers should carry much of the blame, since they are supposed to be the ones convincing people to buy this merchandise, Kilcourse said. “Retailers create the demand, not just supply the demand,” Kilcourse said. However, retailers are not willing to take chances during the holiday shopping season, which accounts for as much as 30 percent of annual sales. Thanks to low-cost outlets like Walmart and Amazon, the holiday shopping season has essentially descended into a zero-sum price war, where retailers care more about capturing market share through discounts than innovative merchandising. “Retailers have become so risk averse that they would rather sell pet rocks,” Stephens said. “Merchants are not going to take chances with the holiday season.”
Target took a chance a few years ago, but got burned. In 2012, it teamed up with Neiman Marcus to create a design collection of holiday merchandise, featuring 50 products from 24 prominent designers, including Tory Burch, Prabal Gurung and Thom Browne. Target’s limited-edition design partnerships are the retailer’s most potent weapon, and the company hoped they would move shoppers away from the manic discounts that normally dominate the holiday season. But the Neiman Marcus collection fell flat, and Target was forced to sell many products at a discount. In many ways, retail has become like Hollywood. Companies would rather recycle proven properties like “Star Wars” and Nintendo, even though plenty of people are creating new stuff. However, “times are a changin,’” according to a report by EKN Research. “The march of technology has brought with it a new-age consumerism that is upending traditional retail wisdom. And the same deeply rooted, merchant gut-driven, product-centric culture and business processes are now in need of a fundamental overhaul.”