How come TNBA and Batman Beyond had uniform animation
all throughout and this show was a mess?
shareIt was streamlined. The simpler, angular look made it easier to animate.
Can't stop the signal.
MovieChat Forums > Batman: The Animated Series (1992) Discussion > How come TNBA and Batman Beyond had unif...
This was hardly a mess, though quality varied throughout the first run (or so) of episodes. The simple fact of the matter is that line animation takes a long time to produce and episodes were farmed to different overseas animation houses. Tokyo Movie Shinsa was the best; but, the most expensive. they were only used through a few episodes. Others had quality control issues to work out. They were able to work out the issues and outright eliminate the worst studios, leading to greater consistency in quality. By the time of all of the later stuff, they had a firm handle on who did the best, most cost effective work and they were also able to refine the visuals.
Fortunately, Ah keep mah feathers numbered for just such an emergency!
Shouldn't that been avoided since the beginning? Seems really sloppy.
shareI can see you've never created an animated series.
Can't stop the signal.
No one had done a series of this scope on a tv animation budget. Compare it to the adventure series just before: GI Joe, Thundercats, Transformers, and He-Man. He-Man was typical Filmation, with lots of repeated sequences and "talking heads." GI Joe had great designs but horrible animation. It was very stiff. Same with Transformers. Thundercats, which was a Rankin-Bass show, with Japanese animation, was pretty good. This was something very different.
Warner had mostly been dealing with comedy cartoons, like Tiny Toons. This was an attempt at doing a serious show, one steeped in adventure. They couldn't necessarily farm out the animation to the same people who were doing Tiny Toons. It's a different skill set. Also, they were doing a throwback to the Fleischer Superman cartoons, with the art deco stylings and sleek design. The Japanese and Korean houses weren't used to doing that kind of stuff. Some, like TMS, adapted well. Others, like one or two of the Korean houses, didn't do so well. The Japanese companies were more expensive, which is why they used the Korean studios more (they had a finite budget, so they had to go that route). Those guys had a bigger learning curve.
The Simpsons went through similar teething issues. The first season episode with the babysitter bandit had to be moved to the end of the season, to get corrections done.
Fortunately, Ah keep mah feathers numbered for just such an emergency!
I never really liked the designs for TNBA. I thought they were a huge departure from the Animated Series' designs. Batman Beyond's I tolerated more since it was a change of pace for going into the future.
shareI agree.
shareThere were a few good ones. Scarescrow seems to be more well liked with his hangman motif. Bane also looks a little more menacing.
Can't stop the signal.
As previously stated, the reason they went with more stylized drawings is because it's easier to animate the characters in that style than it is in art that's closer to the comic look. The same reason why they used this style for Superman TAS, Justice League and the rest of the DCAU.
Its amazing how people hang around message boards of movies they dont like
The BTAS design was minimalist enough so your explanation doesn't hold up.
shareYes, it does. The redesigns were even simpler and more streamlined; hence, being more uniformed during animation.
Can't stop the signal.
^Exactly. The more realistic the designs are, the slower the actual animation is and the more time it takes to create a frame. I mean when you draw a comic book, you are drawing still images that don't have to move. You can add all the detail you want, as long as you meet your deadline. Animation however doesn't have that luxury. Thousands of cells go into animating a twenty-two minute production. It is a long and grueling process and the schedule is very tight. But if the art is more simplistic, the better the characters move.
I've seen so many statements made on animation and "today's technology" coming from people who don't seem to know what they're talking about and will call creators "lazy" because the characters aren't drawn like they were in 80s and early to mid 90s cartoons. It's not about being lazy. It's not about "dumbing animation" down. It's about producing the best animation they possibly can on a budget.
Its amazing how people hang around message boards of movies they dont like
The BTAS designs were not realistic and were very simple and easy to animate and it gave astonishing results as seen on episodes like On Leather Wings and Tyger Tyger. There is no excuse for every single episode not being animated this way, which of course they weren't.
shareThere is no excuse for every single episode not being animated this way, which of course they weren't.
Get a job in animation, and you'll see how difficult that really is.
Can't stop the signal. share
I do not need to work on animation to understand animation, and I certainly don't need to work in it to form an opinion. It's called having a brain. It was possible for every episode to look like On Leather Wings but it still didn't happened, it has nothing to do with the design of the show, which was incredibly simple.
shareI certainly don't need to work in it to form an opinion.
An uninformed opinion doesn't count.
It's called having a brain.
You should definitely get it looked at. Several people have explained it to you throughout this thread but you keep trolling. It's cute, though, I'll give you that.
it has nothing to do with the design of the show, which was incredibly simple.
You just don't get it, do you?
Can't stop the signal. share
Actually, I think it's much easier to animate nowadays with all the computer tech we have instead of just drawing on paper and making multiple cells. With computers, you can be meticulous with the character designs while maintaining a good flow of animation.
shareCan't stop the signal.
shareNice Serenity reference. LOL!
But seriously, if you've seen cartoons like Superjail!, then you now know that computers can achieve a lot for animation.
http://www.adultswim.com/videos/superjail/season-two-behind-the-scenes/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfvwW7WMCZ8
Oh crap. Apparently, I meant to write something but ended up just hitting reply and all that posted was my signature.
Can't stop the signal.
No worries. We all make mistakes time to time.
shareI absolutely agree that computers have made things easier in animation. However, BTAS didn't have that option. Hence why several episodes were off-model or not as high quality.
Cake doesn't seem to be able to understand that.
Can't stop the signal.
The BTAS designs were not realistic
Umm..they were much more realistic than the TNBA designs and resembled the comic look more.
Once again the character designs for TNBA were just cleaner and sleeker and work better for design and animation. It was easier for the crew to stay on model, unlike TAS where you could see significant differences in Batman's appearance from one episode to another. The animation was actually better thanks to emerging digital technology and sleeker designs. Such as the boat chase scene in Over the Edge. But that being said, TAS still had better episodes altogether.
Plus it didn't have as big as a budget and Bruce Timm wanted to do something new and make it like Superman.
Its amazing how people hang around message boards of movies they dont like share
Oh really?? If that is so then how come the Fleischer cartoons looked exactly the same in every single episode? Or any other cartoon for that matter? Stop making excuses.
shareIf that is so then how come the Fleischer cartoons looked exactly the same in every single episode?
Because they were shorter and released theatrically several months apart, not weekly.
Or any other cartoon for that matter?
Haven't watched many cartoons I see.
Can't stop the signal. share