Animation Styles Guide Discussion

[JulieYBM]

I was initially going to post this in the old State of the Content Updates: July 2012 Edition! thread, but I was afraid of cluttering that thread up with talk of just one component of the site. What's more, having a separate thread for the Animation Styles Guide makes sense: it is a popular section of the site, so a new thread shouldn't go to waste. I also just wanted a more specific and spacier area to toss out ideas rather than buggin' the gang on Twitter. So, let's begin!

Animation Styles Guide

[JulieYBM]

Just some general thoughts from me:

I love the content of the guide, but I do have a bit of an issue with the set-up. I feel that the main page has a lot of content that would fit much better on separate pages for the multiple studios. I've poked Heath about this before, but the something like a kanzenshuu.com/animation-styles/studio-live or /last-house or /seigasha would work to give a more specifically general (?!) look at each studio and their role in the production of Dragon Ball animation.

I hate to sound like I'm complaning, because I really do love the content of the guide. It's awesome having a good source of information to link to. The comparison collages are awesome and make for good resources, although now I'm just repeating myself. I do think a Dragon Ball GT rotation chart would be useful, though.

[Son_Gohan]

I've harbored a thing like this before, but never really found the time to pursue it.

Honestly I was surprised that someone actually made this come to fruition, and appreciative as well... it does save me the task of tediously researching on my own in many ways.

Out of curiosity, how do you really confirm with certainty that a particular key animator/studio drew this particular frame? Does it primarily amount to conjecture with the animation credits of an episode on hand, or is there some other source that aids you in that regard?

[JulieYBM]

Yay, another Monday another new guide! I found a small error in the Uchiyama guide, though!

...meaning he was given the position of animation supervisor on numerous anime projects because of his age and not [b][for having][/b] superior work...

That makes a bit more sense.

Also, It's great seeing some examples of the work done for Dragon Ball GT...although it pretty much all sucks.

I hadn't known that Uchiyama was working on other series while working on Dragon Ball. That certainly goes to show just how little attention he was paying to detail on Dragon Ball.

[Tanooki Kuribo]

Last House? More like Last Resort House! Am I right folks?! ::complete silence::

I'll be here all week!

[Attitudefan]

Funny that Uchiyama's co-supervisor, Tai’ichirō Ohara, was a much better animator than him. His style and animation was much closer to Aoshima. Too bad Uchiyama was working over Tai’ichirō Ohara... I mean, we could of had much better animated episodes than what we did get.

I love this guide, while I knew the basic details of each animator and studio, this clears some details up.

[JulieYBM]

Shindou Mitsuo has been added to the guide! I was very surprised to learn Shindou was a juudou specialist. That had to have helped when coaching his animators on Dragon Ball. Speaking of which, Shindou was only a key animator for Dragon Ball episode #147. That's interesting, considering he is now acting as a key animator on One Piece and Toriko. I wonder, is Shindou Pro still in business? They're not credited on One Piece or Toriko so I'm wondering if Shindou closed shop and is now acting as a freelancer or contracted to Toei Animation.

EDIT: By the way, have you guys considered adding clips or .gifs of an animator's specific work? It'd probably require asking for outside help (like Kei, not that I'm trying to volunteer him) but it'd be another level on top of the screen caps.

[DBZAOTA482]

Last House? More like Last Resort House! Am I right folks?! ::complete silence::

I'll be here all week!

Not bad.

I said something similar to that once but on a serious note, they weren't THAT bad earlier on (to me, at least). Somewhere around the Android/Cell Saga (episode 151, I believe), that's where it started going to shit and thus the dreaded "Pale Cartoon" art work was born.

[Hujio]

I suppose it's time I get around to responding to some of these questions/statements...

I love the content of the guide, but I do have a bit of an issue with the set-up. I feel that the main page has a lot of content that would fit much better on separate pages for the multiple studios. I've poked Heath about this before, but something like a kanzenshuu.com/animation-styles/studio-live or /last-house or /seigasha would work to give a more specifically general (?!) look at each studio and their role in the production of Dragon Ball animation.

The set-up was done intentionally, so it most likely won't be changing anytime soon. The reason all of that info is presented on the main page is because I wanted to make sure people read that, and people are less likely to read it if they have to follow more links. Also, the guide is intended to focus more on the individual animators rather than the studios. I feel a page for each studio would be somewhat pointless because not every studio had its own distinct style, and for those that did it was more so because of an individual animator (i.e. Last House and Masayuki Uchiyama). This is why I included a table listing the studios and their animators.

I do think a Dragon Ball GT rotation chart would be useful, though.

There are numerous charts and whatnot I want to include in the guide, but I'm just not there yet. If I waited to post the guide until I had everything exactly the way I wanted it, it'd probably never go live. Things will get tweaked and updated over time.

Out of curiosity, how do you really confirm with certainty that a particular key animator/studio drew this particular frame? Does it primarily amount to conjecture with the animation credits of an episode on hand, or is there some other source that aids you in that regard?

I first look at the animation credits, which tells you who worked on that episode. From there it's a matter of recognizing an animators specific artistic style. Sometimes it's very hard to determine exactly who did a frame, which is why I've tried to avoid it as much as possible in the guide.

I love this guide, while I knew the basic details of each animator and studio, this clears some details up.

Thanks! I'm glad we could help, because that's really what this guide is for.

I wonder, is Shindou Pro still in business? They're not credited on One Piece or Toriko so I'm wondering if Shindou closed shop and is now acting as a freelancer or contracted to Toei Animation.

As far as I know they're still in business. The company's website was last updated in 2010 and lists that they're "currently" working on One Piece and Digimon.

By the way, have you guys considered adding clips or .gifs of an animator's specific work? It'd probably require asking for outside help (like Kei, not that I'm trying to volunteer him) but it'd be another level on top of the screen caps.

One step at a time Jacob.

[JulieYBM]

Thanks for replying. I do understand the position(s) you're in so I wasn't expecting any sort of major overhaul.

[JulieYBM]

Yay! Yamamuro is up! Typo:

In total, there were 21 key animators that worked under Yamamuro for 13 episode of Dragon Ball GT

Should be 'episodes'.

I'm a bit surprised that Yamamuro took over character designing on the TV series as early as the Majin Boo arc. I guess Nakatsuru was swamped with work, although he didn't exactly animate or supervise anymore at that point (barring GT #64).

[Attitudefan]

Honestly, I think Yamamuro strayed further and further away from Toriyama's style over the years. Today, it hardly resembles what we see Toriyama did in the past and what he does today, which is a problem.

Shinou had gotten really good before he departed. I think the angular style suited him better than the rounded style of early Dragon Ball.

[Zestanor]

I wonder who animated this episode?

[JulieYBM]

Studio Live, duh.


But no, holy poop is that awesome.

[Attitudefan]

God, Ebisawa should not have been around for DBZ. I can tolerate most of his work in Dragonball but his stuff in Z are just balls!!

Someone here on the forum had uploaded two pictures, one made by one of his key animators and his "corrected" version. It was piccolo's face and boy did Ebisawa turn the frame into a joke.

EDIT: These are great topics to visit:

/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=17736&hilit=keyframes
/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=17736&hilit=keyframes+in+between&start=40

[DHM211]

I wonder who animated this episode?

[Hujio]

I wonder who animated this episode?
*snipped image*

*snipped image*

I'm pretty sure he was being sarcastic, although I understand that's sometimes hard to pick up on the internet. Also, please use your words if you're going to respond, not the exact same image. Try adding a little something in addition to the picture to help progress the conversation further.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

I'm pretty sure he was being sarcastic

Look closer at the second image.

[Hujio]

Look closer at the second image.

Yes, I'm well aware that there's a green circle on the second picture, but that's not my issue with the post. My request to add something in addition to the picture to help progress the conversation further still stands as stated. Thanks.

[JulieYBM]

So, the Ebisawa guide is up. While his work did vary over the years, I think it he pretty solid over all. Certainly better at keeping characters on model (or at least pleasant-looking) than Uchiyama. Obviously Kan'no was better and Ebisawa was a stand up guy for basically leaving his work alone.

I wonder who animated this episode?

I just remembered this picture of Uchiyama Masayuki and friend:



Very suspicious...