Looking into the Animation Industry: Part 5 – The American Industry and 3D Animation

In today’s post, I’m going to take a look at what the animation looks like in America, arguably the biggest home of animation. When we think of the American industry, we think of the classic Disney Era, the works of Hanna and Barbara, we think of Dreamworks or Pixar. America is home to some of the biggest blockbuster studios and some of the largest animated works every year, and has a rich history from the 20th Century to the present.

The industry is home to a mix of 2D and 3D animation productions, classics like The Simpsons (which is ironically outsourced to South Korea’s Akom), Netflix’s Castlevania series by Powerhouse Studios, DuckTales 2017 by Disney Television Animation, Pixar’s Lightyear, Dreamworks’ The Bad Guys among others. I’ve highlighted a few 2D productions but most of the large-scale animation being produced in America are 3D productions. As highlighted by Rotoscoper, a former Disney veteran in 2015 gave the opinion that 2D productions have been phasing out in the American industry due to the amount of time it takes to produce a 2D feature. If you’re going hand-drawn frame-by-frame, naturally it’s going to take longer to animate. Thus, the American industry favours 3D technology to create films in a shorter time span, but also it’s easier to make adjustments and corrections closer to release date in 3D productions than hand-drawn productions. According to Penn Today, Linda Simensky, a professor of cinema studies, agrees with this notion, citing major movies are expected to be created in 3D by audiences as well as the increasing convenience of 3D technology.

I stumbled across this video essay by PhenomSage, which also reiterates the transition into CGI and cost-effective means of production in exchange for higher box office revenue (Finding Nemo, a CG production, outperforming Lilo and Stitch, a 2D production by nearly 4 times). PhenomSage breaks down multiple instances of comparison between the successes of 3D over 2D, and draws a conclusion that, at least for the Western animation industry, the market for 2D animation is diminishing. Disney’s few attempts at returning to 2D animation have been shut down by audiences paying more for their 3D productions, which coincides with Simensky’s point earlier of the audience’s expectations. America may not be where I want to grow as an animator currently, if only because of my interests in 2D animation over 3D animation.

In my post on the Japanese industry, I covered a breakdown of the 2D animation pipeline seeing as 2D was a major form in Japan. Since 3D is the major method in America, I think it’s worth taking a look at the 3D animation pipeline here. As outlined by Dream Farm Studios, the production stage looks very different from 2D productions:

• After pre-production (storyboards, character designs etc.), we have a stage called 3D layout. It’s the equivalent of a 2D animatic stage, containing the basics of a scene (character sizes, environment, basic animation in the form of shapes etc.). They provide an example below:

• What follows is 3D modelling – creating the character models, objects and environments to be used for the actual animation. The studio outlines several forms of modelling: Digital sculpting, Boolean modelling, Laser scanning etc. Programs used for this stage include Maya, 3Ds Max, Z Brush and Mudbox.
• 3D Texturing comes next, which is where colours and textures are applied to the model (if I’m completely honest, I thought texturing took place at the same time as modelling). This is the stage where models look more in-line with concept art. The three main properties applied here are material, light effects (reflection, refraction and the like) and tertiary details (details like wrinkles and creases).
• Following this is the 3D animation process, where the models are brought to life. Earlier in the year, I had a go at this using Maya. According to The Animation Mentor, the principles are the same between 2D and 3D animators, and there are 3 pathways 3D character animators can take: VFX, Feature Films or Game animation.
• VFX comes after, where FX elements and secondary actions such as hair, clothes etc. are animated. To animate a model AND animate secondary actions would be a huge task for 3D animators alone.
• Lighting follows, where atmosphere can be applied based on how characters and environments are lit together.
• Lastly, the models and environments are rendered into separate layers where in compositing, they’ll be added back together again. It’s the equivalent of exporting cels as PNGs in the modern day, or hand-painted/hand-drawn cels in the past.

Within this production pipeline, there are roles in the industry 3D animators can take on such as rigging, lighting, modelling, texture, shading and more that aren’t available for 2D animators.

Toniko Pantoja has documented his experiences moving to America and becoming an animator in America. A few points to highlight from the video:

• Los Angeles is perhaps the largest place to build a career in the industry, as a lot of resources gets poured in to produce the biggest animated features here. Companies like Disney, Dreamworks and Netflix get highlighted by Pantoja.
• You can get recruited anywhere in the world if you have good internet, but for the more senior positions, on-site is preferred.
• The video highlights Pantoja’s experiences with visa issues.
• Working in America can lead to networking with some of the most senior animation figures in the world, which can be very appealing if you’re looking to lead/direct animation someday in the future.

This brief overview paints America as a very 3D-focused animation industry. You still have pre-production roles like storyboard artists, character designers and whatnot for those interested in staying hand-drawn, but the main bulk of jobs is geared towards modern 3D animation techniques.