I found an article about Gonzo, talking about how they use 3D animation with traditional cel animation in their shows. The article included screencaps of the 3D app they used to model the models in Galaxy Force.
And it's Lightwave  


The original article can be found here .

 

And what program do you use Draven? [/Sarcasm]  

 

honestly, that kind of pisses me off, lol.

I mean, Draven, surely you can relate. The modelling, as good as it may be, doesn't outweigh the horrendous facial animations! We KNOW they can do better than that with Lightwave. Hell *I* have done better lip animation than that, and I'm not even a professional.

But it's always good to see Lightwave used more often. I heard it's the program of choice for NASA as well.

 

 

I can indeed relate, d00d. However, that's the only crit i can level at it. Plus, when was the last time you watched an anime series where the voices were properly synced? It VERY rarely happens; I strongly suspect it's for the exact REASON that it makes dubbing into other languages easier.

I've heard that too. Also, you just got the intention of my post; Lightwave often gets a crappy deal among artists; the old "it's so cheap it MUST be shit" excuse for spending a fuckton on Maya or 3DS or XSI, and then buying God knows how many extras, just to get it to do what LW does as STANDARD.
Incidentally, Cataraks; if you are a registered LW user, or you've pre-ordered LW9/bought the LW9 upgrade, do yourself a favour and get the LW9 Open Beta that is currently going on. It's SO good. (no other details; I had to agree to a non-disclosure agreement).

 

That's a kickass thing to find out. I was a Lightwave user back when it started out as an Amiga program. Hadn't had the opportunity to keep up with developments though.

 

NASA might, but a number of their more recent suppliers of outsourced animation studios use Max. How many that is, I can't say. Being a Max user, I only look at the software that interests or is relevant to me.

However, I think the lip-synching might also have something to do with the pace of animation in Japan... in the US and UK, animation seems to be done over a much longer period, whereas Japan seems to do it with very little lead time (to the point they can lip-sync AFTER the animation is completed, like dubbing).

Note I say "seems to" there quite a bit   I never really looked into the japanese animation industry in too much depth, but that appears to be how it is in the feel of things I have seen or read.

 

Actually, in anime (cell painted work in general too) the reason they do the simple mouth movement animation is mostly for speed. It's the same reason they do the slow pan across the face technique while they're talking, and shots where everyone stands there and just their hair flows is that it eats up time in the playback, has enough animation not to bore the watcher, and is a lot faster to do. They make maybe 4 or 5 different frames of animation for the mouth, and overlay it on top of a mouthless face cel. So an entire stream of dialogue can be done with just a few animation frames.

The reason Japan does this so much and the US does not really revolves around early animation. The animation industry in the US really revolved around the theaters for quite some time. The fact that they had longer to work on an animation meant that time consuming techniques could be used. If you look at modern movies like the lion king, or even Emperor's new groove, they'll rarely take those quick techniques.

Japan's animation industry was really kicked into gear because of television, and quick running cartoons. Remember, the japanese tend to be obsessed with cheap and fast when it comes to industry.

You'll also notice the same things show up in "american" shows. That's cause sometimes (okay, half the time or more) they hire out forien animation studios.

and if I wanted to work for Nasa animation, I wouldn't worry too much about getting hired by one of their outsourcers. Living in Houston and knowing a few people with connections helps that sort of stuff  

Oh, and Draven, I am so strapped for cash right now, I don't see myself getting 9 for at least a year o.o

 

That explains the "look"  

c.

 

Meaning?
(bear in mind when you answer that Lightwave was also used for Battlestar Galactica, which bears NO resemblance to Galaxy Force in any way, shape or form whatsoever)

 

*uses 3D max* bows his head in shame*

XP

 

Nothing wrong with Max, d00d. It's the artist, not the app.

 

i would say its half and half, depends how easy it is for the user to pick up all the features of the program.
I really need to get a 3D program and give it a go......ok i will fail....alot but i would be so happy if i got as good as some of the 3D figures i see here.
Thanks for the info Draven, nice to see how they do it, shame they dont really get the voice overs right, but i spose it was developed for a japanese script

 

What I mean is that high end 3D software doesn't have a look; it's the talent of the artist that creates that.

Practise, m8. That's a lot of it.

 

Nothing at all Draven, just playing with yaz : )... I actually started out with LW on a Dec alpha way back when and I'm more than aware of LW's contribution to 3D as a whole... (not in the least because of its kick ass rendering engine... It's been "re-done" right for the 9.0 stuff? Oh well, I remember the old BW "look" with the SI|3D Scanline render... man I loved that stuff...

C.

 

Due to the NDA on the LW9 Beta, I can neither confirm nor deny that. I'll just sit here and smile a lot.

 

To be honest, I'm dissapointed with Gonzo's work on GF/C. I loved Vandread, but it the animation in GF is just... off somewhat. But that's pretty cool that you figured that out. Now you can start making good episodes!