Hand-Drawn vs. Flash

One debate topic that has been bouncing around in my head for the past week or so is the topic of which looks better: practical effects in filmmaking, or digital effects done in post production.  There are many examples to fuel each side of the debate;  like how you can empathize with puppet Yoda more so than with CGI Yoda, or how so many action films these days utilize so many CGI effects that it might as well be categorized as animation.  That shifted my thought to a topic that has been a debate since the inception of the "disease of the animation industry": Adobe Flash.

Before this piece of software existed the entire process was done with pencil and paper, and everyone was admiring the talented animators at Disney and Dreamworks for creating such beautifully hand-drawn animated work.  But then the more economical option of Adobe Flash came around and people noticed a big difference.  It's sort of become a running joke of the animation industry when we can tell that something was "made in flash," just because it looks completely computerized and "lazy."

And in some cases, they're right.  A few examples I can think of are some newer incarnations of the Tom & Jerry cartoon (One of my childhood favorites):  There's Tom and Jerry Tales that aired back in 2010 with shorts on Cartoon Network as well as other movie entries, which is a hand drawn animated cartoon:

And then there's the Tom and Jerry show, which aired back in 2014, which is made in Flash:

Notice a big difference between the two?  The second video looks lazy and lacking in heart.  Sure recycling drawings and using a squash and stretch effect for movement might be much easier to do, but why do it when it just doesn't look as good?  I'm sure animation companies are on a strict budget and they have to work with what they're given, but if it's unpleasant to the eye then I just won't watch it.

This happens with other cartoons too: older episodes of Johnny Test were hand-drawn, and the ones in newer seasons were made in Flash, and the newer episodes pale in comparison for the main reason that it feels stiff and lazy.

However, even though I side with the argument that entirely hand-drawn animation looks much better, that doesn't mean that everything made in Flash is horrible-looking.  Another one of my favorites, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is created in Flash. There are instances where it can be a little obvious, like how most of the characters are modeled the same way, constantly reused facial expressions and walk cycles, but then there are some scenes like this one here where the characters really come alive and look fantastic.  (I've also always wanted to create a sequence based on the character Discord):

I guess in the end it really all depends on what works best; whether you have the time and resources for a completely hand-drawn animation or if you just want to start in Flash for now, do whatever you think will look the best way it could possibly be.  Adobe did just update Flash into a more 'professional' application called Adobe Animate, (I still haven't had the chance to try it out), so maybe this new update will keep it from being the butt of every cartoon joke.

Homestar Runner - Trogdor

I think that it's safe to say that Trogdor the Burninator pretty much describes my childhood. My family and I still quote the video to this day. The website called Homestar Runner, which I'm sure most of you have heard of (I hope) is full of cartoons such as this one with a unique collection of characters.  The fact that the site was created in the year 2000 makes me feel very old!  You can still visit the website here, although it has not been updated since 2010.

Trogdor is an animation from the series "Strong Bad Email."  There are not only many more videos you can watch, but there are also games and ways to interact with the site.  It's very nostalgic, and I highly recommend taking a look at it.  It was one of the first websites I really appreciated as a kid.

Sita Sings the Blues

Sita Sings the Blues is a 2008 animated film by Nina Paley. It is unorthodox both in its animation and method of distribution. It tells the story of the Ramayana, an ancient Hindu text about a woman's love and loss.

The film uses several types of animation to tell its story, primarily using 2D computer graphics and Flash animation. The first type, used to tell the story of the Ramayana itself, is Flash based animation using heavy textures and vivid colors. The characters are often shown in profile to exaggerate their eyes and show where their attention is being focused.



The second type of animation is a digital mock-up of traditional shadow puppetry, which saw its first wide appearance in The Adventures of Prince Achmed, a German film made in 1926. In the case of Sita, these shadows are the narrators of the Ramayana who often discuss the story's characters which are represented by collage cutouts. The shadow figures used together with the mixed media characters creates a delightful image to watch, often placed in front of a background of rich tapestry.



The third style used in the film happens during the musical sequences! Songs by jazz singer Annette Hanshaw are sung by Sita to express her feelings or despair to the experiences she's having. These sequences are often done in bold vector graphics animation that seems much more digital than the other styles present. The style however allows for close vocal synchronization with the songs being synced.



The final style used in the film is present when the contemporary story is happening alongside the Ramayana. This is the story of filmmaker Nina Paley and how her own life ties in with the text. The style of animation used here is still digital, but hand drawn and with little solidity to the image. It is a more lighthearted counterpart to the other styles present.  



Upon the film's release, it ran into a number of copyright issues surrounding the use of the Annette Hanshaw music. Unable to pay the copyright fees demanded of her, Paley decided to release the work using a Creative Commons license, making the film free to distribute and use in ways desired by the viewer. Despite giving the film away for free, Paley considers it to be a financial success, due to donations given to her by various individuals and organizations, citing that it earned $132,000 from March 2009 to March 2010.



So that's the story of Sita Sings the Blues! I highly recommend taking the time to watch this entertaining and visually-exciting film. In fact, because of its distribution method, you can watch it in its entirety right here:

...and then came MAN

Hey everyone - so I recently was working on a promotional video for Hempstravaganza, which will be happening next week on campus. I created an intro title sequence and dabbled a bit into using Flash to make a hemp plant "grow" out of the corner of the screen. As I was thinking about Flash, I was curious about the extent to which it could benefit animations when used together with other software, such as After Effects. I came across this humorous, but somewhat pessimistic video that was created using both Flash and AE. It shows an entertaining, yet sobering perspective on the effects humans have on the planet. The artist, Steve Cutts, is a freelance animator from the UK that has produced work for brands like Coca-Cola, Bacardi, Reebok and Kellogg's.

Baman Piderman

As I chose to do the animation project for my final, I went and looked back at the videos I had favorited on my YouTube account. There were many that could give me ideas on which style to make the animation. It was then I found this video called "Baman Piderman". It's a series of videos parodying Batman and Spiderman, but they're best friends and do silly things. They are available on the MondoMedia YouTube channel.

This is the first episode of the series, only around 30 seconds or so. I want my animation to have a fun animated style, but not like this. This was made in 2009, if I made the animation like this, then it would look rushed and lazy. But you would know what I mean. Something FUN.

TomSka Animations - asdfmovie

YouTube user, TomSka, made a series of random shorts that could get you chuckling if you enjoy animated people doing silly things. The series I'm talking about is asdfmovie. The name is as odd as the 6 episodes he's produced so far. The episodes have been made in Flash, simple, yet it works.

Here's the first episode to check out:

Each video is around 1-2 minutes each and more crazier than the last. The ideas used in each episode shows what would happen if you think outside the box.

RoosterTeeth Animated Adventures

This is from a series of videos called "Rooster Teeth Animated Adventures". This is one of many videos that tells a story from a member of the team. This video features one of the members, Gus, as he deals with a rat on the roof of his house.

For those that don't know, RoosterTeeth is a group of people who make videos of members playing video games, doing podcasts and much more. I enjoy these videos as they are funny and that they live pretty interesting lives.

The animations looks very simple, like it could be done in a matter of hours. Flash animation would be my guess. In my opinion, you should check them out. They play games such as Halo, Minecraft, Left 4 Dead, and much more. 

They even played a game called "Farming Simulator 2013", and they made it look hilarious.

Some trippy animation - Blockhead

A couple years ago on new years eve in high school, all my friends were passed out around 4 in the morning and I was still wide awake. We had adult swim on and they were showing some pretty weird videos. The program was titled “Off-Air” so they were all pretty random. One of the videos that was shown was this music video for the artist Blockhead. This animation blew my mind at the time, but I had no idea what it was. Finally with a lot of searching on google, I found the video. One thing I really admire about this video is the animation goes with the beat of the song. It really bothers me when music videos don’t follow the beat, it throws me off for some reason. Anthony Schepperd did a great job of doing this, with his use of a variety of colors and shapes. He did this video in under 5 months and only used Flash. He has other amazing animated videos, check out his vimeo if you’re interested! 

NoPUNintendo

The video shown below is created by YouTube user, TerminalMontage. He creates a series of videos called "NoPUNintendo", from the saying, "No Pun Intended". My guess is that these videos were animated with Flash. The videos include characters from different Nintendo games, such as Mario, Donkey Kong, and more. If you play a lot of video games, I'm sure you'll get the references in these puns. 

Here's one of the videos:

Most of his videos contain punny humor.

The pun of the video above was that the monster was supposed to "Bow, sir". The monster's name is Bowser. Princess Peach sighs in the background, knowing it was lame.

I enjoyed these videos and they're great to watch again and again. 

Awesome Series : PokeAwesome - Just a Pokemon Battle

The creator of this video is Arin Hanson, also known as Egoraptor. This video is one of many in a series he calls the "Awesome Series". Egoraptor makes parodies of many memorable video games like Super Mario Bros., Dig Dug and more. He started in 2006 on Newgrounds.com and his videos are found on his YouTube account, Egoraptor, today. If you compare this video to another from a couple of years ago, his animation style has improved. I enjoy his videos for the animation and the humor. Especially this current video, "PokeAwesome", which involves one of my top favorite game series. This video was animated in Flash and it took him a few months to complete.  I hope to one day create animations with humor similar to his and an art style I can be comfortable with.

Note: This video contains some swearing... or more than some.

Waltz with Bashir

-->

The following two clips are from the 2008 animated documentary “Waltz with Bashir.” The film is about a man trying to piece together dreams he is having with memories of his past in the IDF during the Lebanon War. I saw this film in the theatres when it first came out and was absolutely blown away by the graphics. I LOVE the color palette in the film. It is so simplistic, which it gives it this dark and ominous quality especially seen in the opening sequence with the dogs. I think the graphics are also really well done. They are really stylized almost taking on this graphic novel quality. Originally I thought the film was rotoscoped but after doing some research I found out the animators used Flash MX. 

An interview with the Animation Director can be found here.

Skip to 0:45 for clip: