Is This the End of Hand-drawn Cell Animation?

By Sarah Clark
sarah.clark@theanimationschooldirectory.com
Animation School Directory Columnist

Computer-generated imagery is used in a majority of animated films today. "Toy Story" ushered in the era of CGI, leaving behind traditional hand-drawn cell animation practiced by legendary animators like Joe Grant and Hayao Miyazaki. Should you still get formal animation training in this quickly fading art?

In a rare interview, Hayao Miyazaki spoke to Xan Brooks of the London Guardian about his career as a hand-drawn cell animator and his latest animated film, "Howl's Moving Castle".

The Value of CGI

As someone who has practiced the art of hand-drawn cell animation over a 40-year career, Miyazaki initially shunned the use of CGI in animated film. Now he seems finally to have come to terms with the new technology, conceding that it has some merit. He is quoted by Brooks as saying "actually I think CGI has the potential to equal or even surpass what the human hand can do." Though, Miyazaki offered no indication that he would abandon his traditional art in favor of the new technology, suggesting that is was too late in his career to engage in CGI training.

The Art of Hand-Drawn Cell Animation

Holding fast to his increasingly antiquated but admirable gifts, Miyazaki still uses hand-drawn cell animation to create 90 percent of his films. This laborious process requires the dedication of scores of animators, who work long days over weeks - sometimes months - at a stretch to produce a hand-drawn image for each scene of a feature-length film. Miyazaki employs CGI in only about 10 percent of his films.

He holds on to the all-but-extinct animation method, likening it to a high art that eventually meets its end like the careers of fresco painters or landscape architects, he explained to Brooks.

Animation Training

Animation training in the old-school method of hand-drawn cell animation is still available. In fact, being a capable illustrator is still considered an important skill for the aspiring animator to master. During an animation career you'll likely use computers more than your hand throughout much of the production process, but the creativity and humanity that emerges from a simple hand-drawn sketch will likely never grow entirely obsolete.

Sources:

The London Guardian

About the Author

Sarah Clark is a freelance writer based in Arlington, Virginia.