What will the future bring for animation

Over the past 3 decades, animation has seen huge innovations and the transition from 2D to 3D. Before the birth of 3D feature animations, such as Toy Story, pencil and paper was the only method and CGI was reserved for short scenes, due to the time it took to complete and cost. Now we not only get to see this on the big screen, but in TV shows and animated shorts as 3D animation becomes more accessible to studios, agencies, businesses and...well, anyone with a computer really.

As graphics cards become more powerful, we really are seeing a new golden age in animation as more and more developments and innovations are released. So what will the next few years of animation look like?

Living in a simulation

Animating smoke, water and particles were extremely difficult to achieve in 2D, but not so long ago, we just didn’t have the computing power to make it possible. It’s really only been in the past decade that this has been possible and it’s great to see big studios like Disney and Pixar try out these simulations in their feature films, to show off their muscle. Whether it’s water movement from Moana, snow physics in Frozen or cloth simulation in Soul, the margin between possible and impossible is becoming smaller and smaller.

The fantastic thing about the time we live in is that anyone with a computer can also achieve this. We’ve seen Nvidia and Blender continually release updates which allow more complex simulations in their software, so big effects like explosions can be achieved from the comfort of your own home. As we see computers become more powerful with complex simulation, we’ll see eye-popping effects on both the big and small screen.

No more flat screens

Watching shows on flat screens could be a thing of the past as virtual reality is becoming more mainstream. It’s already a common feature with video games and VR being possible with the latest generation of consoles and with animation, the transition is very simple. Rather than rendering a scene with a limited field of view, we can now render them in 360 degrees, so the end result allows the viewer to look all around them, not just in one direction.

So in the next decade, we could see a new type of cinema, where it shows VR movies. Perhaps big studios will start to release feature films in this format as more homes adopt the new technology.

More accessibility

The internet has given us unlimited access to information and open source software. Anyone can learn a new skill and use the tools required at no cost. The past decade has opened so many possibilities for the average person, where they can achieve their goals. This is especially true for anyone working with software on a daily basis. Blender3D is crowd sourced, meaning that they get income from sponsorships or donations, so it’s completely free to download and use. What’s more, the development team are constantly updating and patching, continually releasing updates.

Procedural and AI driven animation

Traditionally, animation is done through keyframes, where an animator would adjust the rig and pose of a character or object so it moves over time. However, as AI becomes more advanced, we’re seeing the implementation of procedural animation without the use of keyframing. Complex scenes benefit from this, such as characters playing instruments or crowds of people walking around, which would take animators days to complete. We’re also seeing procedural scenes being built, where structures and environments are created by AI, rather than a 3D modeller.

There’s no doubt that animation will become more complex and life-like, but can we maintain the distinction between what is real and what is created? The next challenge is to keep the balance of exaggeration and believability. Maybe a question for another article perhaps...