【Art & Design English-39】How "Spider-Verse" forced animation to evolve (蜘蛛人宇宙動畫的進化)

How "Spider-Verse" forced animation to evolve Pixar...the studio behind this, and this, and this, has mastered a sort of photo-surrealistic style where there's a sense of cartoonies, but most things look and feel like they could exist in the real world. Like these fibers on Mr. Incredible's shirt. And the tree stump and grass in this scene from "Up." Or the glimmering, out-of-focus bokeh behind Bo Peep. And it's not just Pixar. These movies look so similar you can barely tell they're from different animation studios. But when you look at these movies it's clear that something different is happening. These lights don't just illuminate; they reveal a texture. This tree in the background isn't out of focus. It's just got a simplified look. And this hair looks more like brush strokes than human hair. These films are part of a new trend that's steering animation away from replicating the real world and into somewhere new. Crafting beautiful animation in CG films requires a lot of dedicated artists to perform specialized tasks, like rendering. Rendering is the process by which a computer takes geometry, textures, lighting, camera inputs and does a bunch of math to apply that information into a final image, like this one. Most render engines, like the one I'm using here, are physically based, which essentially means that it tries to replicate the real world physics of light, shadow, reflection, and more. You can see this type of rendering all over Pixar's work, even going back to their first movie. Rex looks like he could exist in the real world. Every meeting we would have, everybody brought up like the Pixar look. The Pixar look was something that was very high quality, very successful at the box office, so everybody kind of wanted "the Pixar look." And my name is Christos Obrenetov. Christos is the CEO of Lollipop Shaders, a company that builds custom shaders and plugins for 3D software. He has worked on tons of films, including "Life of Pi", "A Christmas Carol," and the upcoming "Across the Spider-Verse." But before all that he worked on a bunch of films that tried to replicate that Pixar look. Because it was reliable, popular, and safe. Part of doing a feature film is, you know, a lot of money and a lot of time, so they were kind of chasing that Pixar dream of having that kind of a success. So to go and spend, you know, 100 million dollars or more. You know, the investors and what not they are probably saying: "It's got to look like Pixar or Disney, right?" That was the case for a long time, even when studios wanted to try something different. Disney would come up and interview for a movie that ended up being called "Bolt." They were showing us this really cool concept art and they're like, "Oh, it's going to be super stylized." "It's going to look like sort of like the concept art." And it was very exciting. I was like, "Oh, this is great." And then when the movie did come out, I mean, "Bolt" is fantastic, but they made it very, you know, that same look. Movies like "Monster House" and "A Christmas Carol" were intended to look stylized too, but ultimately they settled back into that tried-and-true physically based rendering look. There were glimmers of more stylized approaches in short film tests and small sequences like in Disney's Moana, but this stylized sequence is only about 30 seconds out of the hour and 43 minute-long film. A lot of studios have been playing with this for a long time. But to take that risk to do a full feature film that's very stylized in 3D, I think people were scared. And that fear kept studios from making bold choices. Until 2017 when the trailer for "Into the Spider-Verse" dropped. It had simplified graphic bursts that felt like comic book panels. There was no motion blur or depth of field and everything, from the characters to the environments, was full of texture. According to one of the animation supervisors for the project after a year and a half of work, the studio was still nervous that people were going to hate the visuals, because they felt like they were taking too many risks. Instead of leaning into the safe, physically based, rendering look, "Into the Spider-Verse" chose to use non-photorealistic rendering. To pull this off, they essentially had to break their physically-based renderer. Instead of inputting data from lights, camera, and materials and receiving a realistic looking render, they combined all that data with custom data passes that tweaked things like the focus plane or the way the light worked in an image. This combo allowed the renderer to produce stylized results. For example, in "Into the Spider-verse," out of focus elements aren't blurry. Instead, the colors split as if the screen printing on an actual comic book was done poorly. Lighting and shadow were approached in new ways, too. Light often reveals halftone dots, and shadows create sketchy hatch marks. But there's more than just shading magic happening here. Non-photorealistic renderings often use linework, 2D elements like speed lines and doubles, and variable frame rates to pull these frames further away from reality and often, closer to the concept art. Just two months after its release, "Into the Spider-Verse" became the highest grossing film Sony Pictures animation had ever made. It doesn't hold a candle to Pixar in terms of lifetime gross: "Incredibles 2" sits at the number one spot while Spider-verse doesn't even crack the top 50. But, much like Pixar did in the first wave of CG animated features, "Into the Spider-Verse" redefined the visual goals for animation studios. 2021's "The Mitchells V.S. the Machines" and 2022's "Puss in Boots" take non-photorealistic rendering in a different, more painterly direction where out-of-focus objects become simplified shapes. Emulating the way artists may use simplified marks in backgrounds, "In the Mitchells V.S. the Machines", shadows create different marker textures. "Puss in Boots" is simplified 2D cutaways mimic the graphic bursts of "Into the Spider-verse." People were like, "Oh, this looks really good and it's different." So now, like all like future projects at studios from DreamWorks and Imageworks and Pixar— you know, they're looking at the next whatever, five years or whatnot. It's all like very stylized. And that's really exciting, because non-photorealism allows animated movies to take advantage of the things that make them special. They can be anything the imagination allows.
References (optional) Links 【Art & Design English- 02】What is Art For? Discussion Questions (Art) How great is your interest in art? What’s the best art gallery you’ve been to? Do you like modern art? What do you think of installation art? Do you ever think a lot of art is not really art? Do you have a favorite artist? What kind of art do you like – paintings, sculpture, ceramics, etc.? What is art? Does art change the way you think or feel? Do you think anyone can be an artist or do you need a special talent? Do you think all children should study art at school? Do you think children should learn the history of art? Do you think a painting can really be worth a million (or more) dollars? Do you think today’s artists are as good as those from hundreds of years ago? What was the last painting/poster/piece of art you bought? Why did you buy it? Describe the pieces of artwork in your house. What kind of art is your country famous for? What kind of life do you think an artist’s is? Do you have any artistic talents? How would the world be different without artists? Discussion Questions (Design) How would you define design? How do you know if something is designed well? Do you think design is important? Why? Have you ever designed anything? What are some well-designed products? What are some poorly designed products? Are there any designers you admire? Have you done any interior design in your home? What are some examples of good design that you appreciate? Why? How does design influence our daily experiences and interactions with products and environments? Can you think of any iconic designs or designers that have made a significant impact on society? What are some key principles or elements of design? How does cultural and historical context influence design aesthetics? Can you describe a design project or process that you have been involved in or observed? How does user experience (UX) design contribute to the functionality and usability of products and services? What role does sustainability play in design? Share examples of environmentally conscious design practices. How can design be used to solve social and humanitarian challenges? What are some current trends in design that you find interesting? How does technology influence the field of design? Discuss the impact of digital tools and software. Can you think of any examples of design that have sparked controversy or provoked discussions? How can design be inclusive and accessible to people with diverse abilities and backgrounds? Can you share any examples of designs that evoke specific emotions or create a particular atmosphere? How does design differ across various disciplines, such as graphic design, industrial design, or interior design? What are some ethical considerations in design? Discuss the responsibility of designers towards users and society. Can you think of any design failures or instances where poor design affected the user experience? What lessons can be learned from them? How can design thinking be applied beyond traditional design fields to problem-solving and innovation? What skills and qualities do you think are essential for a successful career in design? How has technology influenced the field of graphic design in recent years? Can you think of any examples of design that successfully blend form and function? Explain why they are effective. How does cultural diversity influence design aesthetics and the portrayal of different cultures in design? What are some key considerations in designing user interfaces for mobile applications? Can you describe a design project that aims to address sustainability or environmental issues? How does typography contribute to the overall design and message of printed materials? What are some effective ways to gather user feedback during the design process? How can color psychology be utilized in design to evoke specific emotions or convey certain messages? Can you think of any examples where design played a crucial role in shaping a company’s brand identity? What are the main differences between designing for print media and designing for digital media? How can design be used to improve accessibility for individuals with disabilities? Can you describe a design trend that you find intriguing? Why do you think it has gained popularity? How does packaging design influence consumer perception and purchasing decisions? What ethical considerations should designers keep in mind when creating advertisements or marketing materials? How has social media influenced the field of design and the way designers showcase their work? Can you think of any innovative design solutions that have improved people’s lives in developing countries? What are some challenges in designing for virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) experiences? How does design impact the gaming industry, particularly in terms of user interface and user experience? Can you describe a famous architectural design that has become an iconic landmark? What makes it significant? How do cultural symbols and icons influence design choices, especially in international contexts? Discussion Questions (Art Culture) How often do you go to art museums? Do you consider yourself to be artistic? What do you think about modern art paintings? How many forms of art can you name? What is your favorite form of art? Is graffiti art? Why or why not? What is the most famous statue in your country? Who is your favorite artist? Why do you like them so much? Do you think that art is important to society? Why? Have you ever tried drawing, painting, sculpting, or something else artistic? What is the most famous painting in your country? What is traditional art like in your culture? What country do you think is the most creative? Why is art so expensive? Do you think it should be more, or less, expensive? Do you have any artistic friends? What kinds of art do they create?