Category: Design for Animation, Narrative Structures & Film Language

Content

When we talk about 3D animation, most people think of big studios, big budgets, and very emotional characters. The Hollywood formula. It looks great. It sells well. But lately… it feels a little tired. And when a small studio from Latvia wins Oscar awards with Flow, we suddenly realize: maybe 3D animation doesn’t have to stay in the box.

Historically, 2D animation grew through experimentation. Early animators drew directly on film, broke rules, played with abstraction. 3D animation, however, was born when the rules were already written. It skipped the rebellious phase and went straight into professionalism. Efficient, yes. But also… cautious.

And caution is expensive.

A single person can make a 2D short film in a few months. But 3D animation requires modeling, texturing, rigging, animation, simulation, lighting, and rendering. Becoming a 3D generalist is like trying to learn five languages at the same time. So 3D production usually depends on teams. Teams depend on budgets. And budgets prefer safety.

That’s why artistic expression in 3D is often limited by commercial logic. Studios don’t ask, “Is this new?” They ask, “Will this sell?” The result is that many films look impressive, but feel predictable. They don’t always offer something that only 3D can do. And that leads to audience fatigue.

But now, something is changing.

Creators are beginning to use cinematic camera language. Shorter shots, stronger movement, more dramatic framing—thinking like filmmakers, not stage directors. Digital artists are entering the process, breaking models, using glitches, fragmentation, and mathematical motion to express emotion and abstract ideas. At the same time, 2D and 3D are merging. Hand-drawn lines, painted textures, flat compositions layered onto 3D forms. A new visual language is being invented.

And finally, the tools are becoming accessible—but this is more than a technical change. This is a structural shift.
With Blender, Unreal, and open resources, one person can now do what once required a studio. The industry is becoming decentralized. Small teams and individuals can follow their own aesthetic paths instead of safe mainstream styles. Assets can be shared, licensed, reused. Collaboration can happen through attribution, not employment. Creativity becomes modular. Art becomes networked.

So yes, 3D animation started in a box. A shiny, expensive, very safe box.
But now, the box is opening.
And what comes out of it… is where the future really begins.

Assets used

This week I wrote down the rough ideas of my thesis. I still need to read more books during the vacation to refine and revise it.

The main points are:

1. There is no experimental history behind 3D animation.
2. The technical and cost reasons that make 3D animation difficult to experiment with
3. Some preliminary experimental results of 3D animation at present
4. The reasons of technology and cost are gradually disappearing, and 3D animation can have new ways of being used.

At the same time, based on these arguments, I associated them with corresponding artworks, mainly those related to point 3, which are also the ones I prefer.

Works by Alberto Mielgo, director and producer

Death Stranding

Kanoguti

When I was trying to figure out how to introduce this topic, I encountered difficulties. Although these works all fall under the category of 3D animation, they basically do not belong to theatrical films and cannot be classified in the same category. Or they do not have the ability to prove the decline of mainstream works. At this point, I thought of the film “Flow” released in 2024. When I watched this film, I did so because it was a “3D animation that is not quite like traditional 3D animation”. After searching, I found that it outperformed many 3D films from major companies that year and won the 97th Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, which is a very good example.

During my reading, I discovered that Disney and Pixar represent the mainstream aesthetic of the 3D animation industry the most. So, I found some movies to rewatch and also got a new book, which is The Art of Pixar : The Complete Color Scripts and Select Art from 25 Years of Animation. It includes the color scripts of Pixar over the past 25 years. This allows me to understand the company’s early concepts. Since a lot of it is 2D content, including concept designs, illustrations, and storyboards, I can relax while comparing different mediums.

In addition, another book called “Animation” was found. This book is about animation production. It would be more beneficial to read it in conjunction with “The Alchemy of Animation: Making an Animated Film in the Modern Age”.

Based on the feedback from last week, I think I should focus on collecting literature in the following areas: the history of animation (which is a weak point for me), the animation production processes of 2D and 3D, and the animation industry.

For my study of animation history, I plan to read Stephen’s “The World History of Animation ” and also compare and read Scott’s work as a reference.

In the animation production process, apart from the 3DCA textbook “Survival Kit”, I plan to read “The Alchemy of Animation: Making an Animated Film in the Modern Age” to learn about 2D animation. This book was published in 2008, but it still maintains classic authority in the field of 2D animation and its content is still of reference value to this day. For 3D animation, I plan to read “Acting and Character Animation: The Art of Animated Films, Acting and Visualizing”, which covers a large amount of content related to 3D animation, including hand-drawn animation and motion capture animation, and it also has a set of aesthetic standards for these two types, which is of great significance for me to understand the mainstream aesthetics of 3D animation.

In the field of animation, I was recommended a book called “The Anime Machine: A Media Theory of Animation”. This is an analytical book about Japanese animation. However, after reading the summary and the table of contents, I realized that this book is not merely an introduction to the animation industry; instead, it purposefully analyzes why the Japanese animation industry has developed in a completely different form from those in Europe and America. What are its technical dependencies and what are its aesthetic foundations? The author also uses philosophical means to analyze the common cultural symbols in Japanese anime. Although this may not be directly addressed in the content this time, I believe the author’s analytical method is very interesting.

This week, I made an appointment with Nigel for his tutorial session and received feedback on my research direction.

1. The topic is suggested to be “Why 3D Animation Should Be More Experimental”. Compared to the other topic, this one is more academic and has greater research value.
2. Regarding the increased experimentation in 3D animation, Nigel believes that I should elaborate on the differences between the experimental aspect of 3D animation and the commercially-oriented 3D animation, as well as the 2D animation that is diverse and flourishing. These differences have led to distinct results in the presentation of the two types of animation.
3. Nigel also added some practical suggestions to this discussion, including the technical difficulty of 3D animation, the development history of 3D animation, and the shortage of talents.

I will reorganize my thoughts based on these feedbacks and search for relevant literature again.

This week, I drafted two research topics. One is about “Why 3D animation should become more experimental?”, and the other is “Why awkward emotions are crucial in 3D animation?”. 。 The former leans towards the industry and form of 3D animation, which will be of great help to my understanding of the 3D animation industry. The latter focuses on the content and film language of 3D animation, and this will be very beneficial for my animation content creation. I can’t decide which one I should write. I hope to receive some feedback, such as which topic is more valuable in terms of academia.

Introduction to the Two Topics

Keywords

Reference artworks

Documents that might be used

Analysis of the following scene

• Snow White (Disney Studios,1937)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB7O_JIxGuY

1.Settings & Props

Scene1

Setting: The witch is making poisoned apples in an old and messy pharmacy

Props: There are old wall bricks, iron chains on the wall, crucibles, green poison water, smoke, apples, and skulls.

Scene2

Setting: Snow White temporarily stays at a dwarf’s home and makes apple pies together with her little animal friends.

Props: tables and chairs, apple pies, wooden barrels, forest environment.

2. Costume, Hair & Make Up

The witch was old, with white hair, a hooked nose and a large mole, looking extremely ugly.

Hunched over, dressed in a black robe and a hat, she looked dark and evil. The witch’s eyes are also very big. When she opens them wide, they look very scary.

The crow also has big eyes and is all black, looking like a small clone of a witch.

3.Facial Expressions & Body Language

Scene1

Before making the apple, the witch showed an expectant smile. After success, she wore a smug expression. When she laughed, she closed one eye, looking sickly.

The crow sensed the toxicity of the apple and was so scared that it covered its eyes with its wings. But it was on the same side as the witch, so it couldn’t help peeping. The witch suddenly threw the apple in front of the crow. The crow flapped its wings in terror, intensifying the danger of the poison.

The witch held the apple tightly and talked non-stop as if giving a speech. Her grand plan kept her in high spirits.

Secne2

The witch’s smile was pretentious and insincere. She shook her head and swayed to show her friendliness to Snow White and persuaded her to take the apple.

Snow White was surprised and a little scared at the witch’s arrival. She awkwardly placed her hand on her dress and avoided her eyes. But then she showed kindness and talked to the witch about pies and apples.

The little animals were so frightened that they scattered from the edge of the table and poked their heads out of the bucket to show their curiosity.

The vulture stretches its neck, staring intently at the small animal at a lower position, making eye contact to decide to catch the bird.

The little bird was frightened by the vulture’s intention. It opened its eyes wide and flapped its wings. They all looked at each other and discussed. After confirming that the apple was not safe, it hurriedly flew up to persuade him.

4.Lighting and Colour

Scene1

Lighting: A dim room, where the only source of light comes from the poison in the crucible.

Color: brownish black, bright green (later darkened to set off apple red), and bright apple red.

Scene2

Lighting: Natural light from outside the room, but the witch blocked most of it.

Color: Rich in colors, including natural green, earthy brown, Snow White’s red and blue, and Witch’s black and white. The most eye-catching color is apple red.

5.Positioning of characters/objects within the frame

Secne1

The witch is in the center of the room and the crow is in the corner.

Scene2

The witch is outside the window, Snow White is inside the room, little animals are among the grass and leaves, and vultures are on the dry and tall branches.

6.What role does the shot choice (Cinematography) play in the scene.

Scene1

The Witch and the Crow

Scene2

Witch, Snow White, (herbivorous) little animal friend, (scavenging) vulture