Cgi has been one of the biggest stepping stones in the history of cartoon animation is usually overlooked. According to Mark pickavance “It's assumed that the computer does most of the work and those involved simply take the accolades. But that thinking is naive, as computer graphics have evolved dramatically since the first CGI scenes were incorporated into movies and, in many ways, Pixar has always been at the bleeding edge of what was technically possible.” This essay will inform How cgi films have been impacted by past cgi creations. It talks about how There are several ways that cgi differs from other types of animation. How Cgi was inspired by both classic animation and stop motion and fought against several norms.
The following are ways how cgi films where impacted by past cgi creations. When cgi was first used it was not used to completely make movies out of it like how it is now a days. It started out with smaller things like small effects, cars or scenery. The first actual face or made with cgi animation was in 1974 in the university of Utah , the rapid advancement of computer processing power is primarily what served as a catalyst for the explosion of CGI animation(Dube 30),and it was just the face without a body, dialog, or any kind of story. It wasn’t until 1995 when the first full cgi animation film was first released. That film was Toy story according to (Kerlow 39). This film was the first to use cgi characters as well as scenery. Toy story was without a doubt one of the biggest leaps in the evolution of cgi animation. ”It's unfeasible not to acknowledge the importance of Toy Story in the history of CGI, as it was the point at which the impossible became possible... awarded the mastermind behind Pixar and the director of the movie, John Lasseter , a special Oscar in 1996”(Pickavance).There was movies and cartoons that used cgi before the creation of the toy story animated film, but not to the extreme of toy story. Some of the very first where in back to the future three, die hard two, and in animated features like Disney’s The rescuers down under according to (Kerlow 39).As time progressed more films and animated films started to incorporate cgi into their films and learn how to use it better in their films and animations. In 1998 a noticeable jump in the detail of the character design and scenery was made when “A Bug’s Life” was released. They chose to use hard exoskeleton bodied insects just like they chose hard exoskeleton’s for toy story to make the process a bit easier, but this time thanks to the extra computing power they where able to make some “soft body” characters for the first time.(pickavance) In 2001 another great leap in technology was made with the “monster’s inc” animated film. In the previous cgi animated films they tried to avoid hair at all cost due to the fact that it was too hard to move and to render, but in monster’s inc they used hair and took cgi to a whole new level. To prove they had mastered it they even made one of the two main protagonist have a full body of hair that looks good and real the entire time during the movie. Then in 2003 Finding Nemo was released witch took cgi to a new level. It created believable visuals underwater! It simulated the movement of bubbles and characters caught in currents while making it all look very realistic. In 2004 the incredibles was released witch was the first cgi film to use an all human cast and do it right with realistic looking hair, bodies, and fabric .In 2006 “cars” was released and brought new problems to overcome for cgi animating .The gloss paint on car surfaces and scratches took cgi even further by adding more detail to their films. The shots also have more characters in one shot than ever before. In 2007 the release of ratatouille entirely moved the quality of cgi up from previous animated films. It takes fur to another level and makes a great leap in allowing one model to cut or slice another without having the animator to
