KIRIKOU ET LA SORCIÈR // KIRIKOU AND THE SORCERESS (1998) dir. MICHEL OCELOT

I love animation history and one of the things that always baffled me was how did animators draw the cars in 101 Dalmatians before the advent of computer graphics?

Originally posted by madeleineengland

Any rigid solid object is extremely challenging for 2D artists to animate because if one stray line isn’t kept perfectly in check, the object will seem to wobble and shift unnaturally.

Even as early as the mid 80’s Disney was using a technique where they would animate a 3D object and then apply a 2D filter to it. This practice could be applied to any solid object a character interacts with: from lanterns a character is holding, to a book (like in Atlantis), or in the most extreme cases Cybernetic parts (like in Treasure Planet).

But 101 Dalmatians was made WAY before the advent of this technology. So how did they do the Cruella car chase sequence at the end of the film?

The answer is so simple I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me sooner:

They just BUILT the models and painted them white with black outlines 🤣

That was the trick. They’re not actually 2D animated, they’re stop motion. They were physical models painted white and filmed on a white background. The black outlines become the lineart lines and they just xeroxed the frame onto an animation cel and painted it like any other 2D animated frame.

That’s how they did it! Isn’t that amazing? It’s such a simple low tech solution but it looks so cool in the final product.

Originally posted by madeleineengland

so I guess I more or less got the basics of animating with Krita down... of course I test it with something super annoying to both animate and line but man am I glad I doubled the frames

never posted these here but wanted to prop this up: a well directed sequence! some VERY strong and in your face parallels (especially that up angle of Popeye and Bluto throwing Olive onto the couch, establishing her as the helpless middleman), little nuances that support those parallels, and just a great helping of personality that is always so dominating of the Popeye cartoons. that the dominating music here is “Love thy Neighbor”—used with an acerbic irony—ties it all together.

the punches Popeye and Bluto throw at each other is my favorite part. Bluto only needs to throw one punch—it matches how big, imposing, and “whole” he is. Popeye throws multiple; they’re smaller, just as he is, but more spry and split the difference. likewise, Bluto throwing in that extra “runt” after his punch is a great reflection of his character—he resorts to violence AND petty insults, making him seem even more unlikable. Popeye gets back at him with the violence, but he doesn’t stoop to his level with the name-calling.

even how they react to Olive offering candy is indicative of their character. Bluto is indulgent, pleasure-seeking (even if it is from a mere chocolate), and seldom thinks before he acts. Popeye on the other hand is more courteous, polite, and doesn’t succumb to his instincts as easily. his “no thank you,” is more genuine than Bluto’s own coy expression of thanks

Dušan Vukotić, {1959} Piccolo

Mans is tweaking

24. Hyviä juhlapyhiä kaikille peikoille ja kaikenkarvaisille otuksille !

24. Happy holidays to all the trolls and all kinds of creatures !