How is the animation for mecha anime done?
Moderator: Beowulf
How is the animation for mecha anime done?
I recently attempted to draw a relatively simple Gundam-type giant robot, and I wouldn't consider the result too pretty (though it could have been a lot worse...). I can't imagine how the animators for series such as Gundam manage to draw the mecha with the level of detail and accuracy that they do for thousands of slightly different frames. Does anyone know what their process is? I know that for modern series like SEED they've gone to CG, so I'm talking about while it was all done by hand. Did they trace photos of models, perhaps?
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VF5SS
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Sheer artistic talent really. Take famous animator Ichirou Itano for example. Much of the what you saw in such hits like Macross, Megazone 23, and the Gundam movies are all hand drawn by this man. These men worked long hours of blood, sweat, and tears just to bring the visions of mechanical designers to life.
プロジェクトゾハルとは何ですか？
ロボットが好き。
ロボットが好き。
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VF5SS
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I found some examples of cel work involving robots. From the Machine Robo OVA
Machine Robo stock footage
Animators are given model sheets like these to draw from. For most TV shows, the model sheets given to the animators tend to be simplified from the original design.
Machine Robo stock footage
Animators are given model sheets like these to draw from. For most TV shows, the model sheets given to the animators tend to be simplified from the original design.
プロジェクトゾハルとは何ですか？
ロボットが好き。
ロボットが好き。
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Spanky The Dolphin
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Because the animators know how to draw. 
Really though, it's nothing overall special whatsoever. It's done like every single other work of animation, even in this modern digital animation era.
From what I've seen of SEED though, it isn't CGI but still regular digital cell animation. CGI has been used for mecha in series like Macross Zero, though.
*Digital animation is not the same thing as computer animation. It's basically still regular cell animation that's drawn by hand, just done and coloured with computers. Virtually all cartoons produced since around 2000 have been digitally animated.
Really though, it's nothing overall special whatsoever. It's done like every single other work of animation, even in this modern digital animation era.
From what I've seen of SEED though, it isn't CGI but still regular digital cell animation. CGI has been used for mecha in series like Macross Zero, though.
*Digital animation is not the same thing as computer animation. It's basically still regular cell animation that's drawn by hand, just done and coloured with computers. Virtually all cartoons produced since around 2000 have been digitally animated.
Last edited by Spanky The Dolphin on 2006-12-21 10:24pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Animators have to be just that good, dude.
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The process is usually something like this:
Key animators draw keyframes, the big fancy poses and important parts. These are usually as nice and pretty as the ones on the model sheets, since the key animators are among the best drawing bunch and set the feel for the sequence.
Inbetweeners go in and draw all the rest of the frames, sometimes a bit sloppily. You should be able to draw the character in a matter of seconds, ideally, unless you really want to take a few hundred years to finish.
Cleanup guys go in and fix all of them so they stay on model, refine the lines, and make sure the frames are right. If it's digital, they need to make sure they trap the lines correctly or your color process might explode it all goofy.
Then it goes off to an inking process.
Key animators draw keyframes, the big fancy poses and important parts. These are usually as nice and pretty as the ones on the model sheets, since the key animators are among the best drawing bunch and set the feel for the sequence.
Inbetweeners go in and draw all the rest of the frames, sometimes a bit sloppily. You should be able to draw the character in a matter of seconds, ideally, unless you really want to take a few hundred years to finish.
Cleanup guys go in and fix all of them so they stay on model, refine the lines, and make sure the frames are right. If it's digital, they need to make sure they trap the lines correctly or your color process might explode it all goofy.
Then it goes off to an inking process.