Super Animation Catalogue 2.0

[Metalwario64]

I absolutely hate this drawing of Goku. It looks like Toriyama was trying to make him look so much like Luffy, because his build and facial structure look straight out of One Piece.

Some of his modern stuff is tolerable, and even his work way back on the Kanzenban covers was decent, but I don't like the extremely lean builds he gives all of the characters these days, and they always have this awkward extremely stiff posture.

This image showcases that:

In the manga shot, Freeza looks like he's actually standing there naturally, but in the RoF drawing, he looks like he's slightly leaning forward, and he's very stiff.

[nite_jay]

This image showcases that:

In the manga shot, Freeza looks like he's actually standing there naturally, but in the RoF drawing, he looks like he's slightly leaning forward, and he's very stiff.

That image just looks like just a mash of of some random character designs from the new movies. I wouldn't really take anything in that seriously at all.

[Ajay]

I hate that 1991 vs 2015 image. One was drawn to be presented like that, the other is a fan-creation cobbled together from random drawings.

Moreover, that Freeza image has his feet redrawn in an attempt to match the 90s image. The original image looks just fine for what it is: a simple character design for Yamamuro to turn into a version for the movie.



No, it's not perfect, but I think it's important to consider the context.

I think Toriyama absolutely did go through a phase where his Dragon Ball art was super iffy, but I really enjoyed the actual look of DB Minus, even if the story was utter tripe. I also loved the character designs for Resurrection 'F':



They have far more character than the final anime-version.

[ekrolo2]

Toriyama's art has been consistently worse and worse ever since Namek, it only stands to reason it would get down right bad at some point. The only reason the anime version of the Boo Saga doesn't look as shitty as the manga does is actually good artists working on that version.

[Nejishiki]

That's because it is. Somebody edited the standalone character designs to compare it with a manga page constructed as a cover. Nevermind that the expressions don't match as the original intent for both were different.

EDIT: Beaten by Ajay.

[Avok]

What I was getting at with the Frieza image was the difference in shapes, lines, shapes and proportions. The characters in the back are irrelevant.
The character designs of Goku and Vegeta for RoF do look better (especially the shading) but Toriyama seems to struggle with the way he draws the body and limbs. The feet too stand out for being round and big.

About his art in general, I think it peaked in SandLand.

[cuartas]

Toriyama current designs looks like something that is trying to be in a DB parody.
As anybody else said, I can't take those guys seriously nor expect something epic if they were drawn that way.

In other words, they're perfect for a < 10 kids show

[kinisking]

What I was getting at with the Frieza image was the difference in shapes, lines, shapes and proportions. The characters in the back are irrelevant.
The character designs of Goku and Vegeta for RoF do look better (especially the shading) but Toriyama seems to struggle with the way he draws the body and limbs. The feet too stand out for being round and big.

About his art in general, I think it peaked in SandLand.

I wouldn't say it peaked at all. It looked great, but not better than a lot of dragonball. Although he did draw it himself, as far as I know.

[Bansho64]

Personally, I'm of the opinion that Toriyama's DB work specifically was at it's best during the Saiyan-Namek arcs. Specifically the Saiyan arc but I feel that both arcs had some of the most beautiful character designs in the series.

[nite_jay]

I think Dragonball's art peaked from Piccolo Daimao-23rd Budokai. The Daimao arc had some of the most detailed and beautiful backgrounds in the entire manga. The Namak arc was ok but he got really sloppy sometimes.

[kinisking]

I think Cell/boo had the best art style. Yes, it was sloppy at times. But when it was good, it was really good.

[ErikB]

Again that "newer" one is a fan edit that i requested, lol

Yes, I saw that earlier in the thread. Isn't the only difference the one eye though? Even without that edit, it's still a better drawing than the original from Z.

[Alee9977]

My only problem with Akira's new style is the big head and the thin bodies, then everything is fine, I love how he draws Goku's hair.
Also, since 2013 his style changed a little, the heads aren't that big anymore but there still are thin bodies, his most recent works that I can recall are Future Trunks and Black:

[Ajay]

Can we try and loop this back around to animation somehow?

Like, what designs are more fun/viable to animate, for example?

Toriyama's progression/regression as an artist is an entirely different thread in itself, so by all means create one dedicated to that!

I wanna keep things mostly on-topic here. I appreciate it's a slow week.

[nite_jay]

Can we try and loop this back around to animation somehow?

Like, what designs are more fun/viable to animate, for example?

Toriyama's progression/regression as an artist is an entirely different thread in itself, so by all means create one dedicated to that!

I wanna keep things mostly on-topic here. I appreciate it's a slow week.

When I mentioned Toriyama's art I was trying to get at saying that his newer art would be interesting to see animated. I would love to see something like Mob Psycho's soft shadows and thick expressive lineart in something like Dragonball; and I think his Kanzenban art with a few tweaks could be a great place to start. Even if it's not as bouncy or exaggerated as Mob Psycho I would still love to see something like it in DB.

[Nejishiki]

It would be a large departure from what everyone is used to, but I would like to see the series emulate Toriyama's current designs in something. I'm not asking for it to be perfectly on-model or anything. I think it would benefit the backgrounds to complement those colorful designs and could turn out to be a visual treat. It doesn't hurt that it lends itself to fluidity, which I'm a fan of. Additionally, it gives Dragon Ball Super its own distinct look as we've been stuck with the same designs for quite the while. The other three anime adaptions were able to evolve, so why not? The way I'm envisioning it, the new look would enhance some of the dynamic moments we've already had.

[cuartas]

Can we try and loop this back around to animation somehow?

Like, what designs are more fun/viable to animate, for example?

Toriyama's progression/regression as an artist is an entirely different thread in itself, so by all means create one dedicated to that!

I wanna keep things mostly on-topic here. I appreciate it's a slow week.

Huh, wasn't animation as a whole a balance between art and it's movement?
So, if we speak about a square moving all over the screen while the camera is following it that's animation right? (Just like the DVD's screensavers).

I really didn't know art wasn't never taking part of all the animation process, my bad

[Alee9977]

If Pokemon is having a new style, why can't DB? I'd love to see Toriyama's actual designs somewhere sometime. It will be difficult in the beginning but we'll be able to get used to that style.

[A Man named RJ]

If Pokemon is having a new style, why can't DB? I'd love to see Toriyama's actual designs somewhere sometime. It will be difficult in the beginning but we'll be able to get used to that style.

Funny story about Pokemon. In the comment section (third comment) of the ANN article there lies a quote that says

Oh God what is this ugly animation you can tell toei animation really doesn't care about the pokemon anime.

This right here is my quote of the day
Gotta love the anime community!

_______________________

as for using Toriyama's newer designs in Super

They would have to do a bit of streamlining with Toriyama's current designs, but a Mob Psycho, OPM-Esque miniseries or OVA would be much appreciated to test the market, GRANTED Toei themselves played a HUGE part in popularizing odd-ball styles of animation, with talents like Hosoda and later tate so them using it would be no biggy, but still.

I nominate Naoki Tate to be the Character designer

[Alee9977]

If Pokemon is having a new style, why can't DB? I'd love to see Toriyama's actual designs somewhere sometime. It will be difficult in the beginning but we'll be able to get used to that style.

Funny story about Pokemon. In the comment section (third comment) of the ANN article there lies a quote that says

Oh God what is this ugly animation you can tell toei animation really doesn't care about the pokemon anime.

This right here is my quote of the day
Gotta love the anime community!

_______________________

as for using Toriyama's newer designs in Super

They would have to do a bit of streamlining with Toriyama's current designs, but a Mob Psycho, OPM-Esque miniseries or OVA would be much appreciated to test the market, GRANTED Toei themselves played a HUGE part in popularizing odd-ball styles of animation, with talents like Hosoda and later tate so them using it would be no biggy, but still.

I nominate Naoki Tate to be the Character designer

Well, they have reasons to blame Toei for bad animation.
I'd love to see Karasawa Yuichi as a character designer, or Masahiro Shimanuki, but my favourite option for a character designer is Iseki.