Nowadays, computer-generated imagery is used literally everywhere. Everyone relies on CGI to produce animated content, from movies to video games to advertisements. CGI helps produce realistic and reliable-looking animations that are highly precise.
But even your favorite anime might be making use of CGI technology for the development of its animations. The anime industry is ever-expanding, and anime is in high demand; in a context like this, there is a lot of pressure on the industry to produce good quality animations at a fast pace. For this purpose, most anime nowadays make use of CGI. CGI in anime is primarily used to save time.
Hand-drawn and manually made animations take countless hours for very little pay; it is more cost-effective to use a computer-generated image because it is also much faster.
Want to know more about exactly how and why CGI is used in anime production? Read on.
What Is CGI Technology?
Before understanding how CGI is used in anime, let’s dive deeper into how CGI works.
CGI is the process of generating still or animated images using various techniques and with the aid of a computer. This technology uses 3D animations, algorithms, and 2D pixel-based image editors to produce different kinds of animations and images.
What Animation Style Does Anime Use?
It is a Japanese cartoon style in which animation uses a very specific and animated art form. The characters often look unrealistic with big eyes and exaggerated physical features. It is often in 2D, and the animations are a balance between reality and fiction.
Why Is CGI Used In Anime?
The use of CGI in the anime industry has become more popular lately.
There are some complications with it.
This video shows some of how CGI is mismanaged in anime production.
But despite that, many anime producers still want to adopt it for the reasons listed below.
CGI Is A Cost Effective Way Of Producing Anime
Animations and illustrations that are done manually take hours upon hours to produce. CGI gets the work done much faster, and there is less work to create one episode. The animators don’t have to be paid as much either, saving time and money.
It Helps Keep Up With The Growing Demand For Anime
Since the anime industry is expanding, there is a lot of demand and not enough anime illustrators in the market with the right skill set. To keep up with the demand and supply of anime quickly to the audience, CGI is used.
Is The Use Of CGI Suitable To The Anime Industry?
The anime industry has been using CGI since 1983 (Golgo 13). Initially, it was just used for editing and effect-enhancing purposes and not for the production of the entire animation. Anime-lovers typically don’t like the use of CGI because anime is generally a 2D form of animation and the 3D software takes away from that experience.
On top of this, CGI is supposed to make the animation look more realistic, which defeats the purpose of an anime for most.
The Conclusion
While CGI might not sound like the most suitable software for creating anime-style animations, it has its benefits and saves the industry a lot of time. As a result, the anime industry has lately started using it as its primary form of animation.
