2D Animation's Last Stand?
"Few Film Animators Manage to Stay in the Picture" is a somewhat depressing article on out-of-work 2D animators in the movie industry. The article chronicles the decline of hand-drawn animation through the eyes of animators who are now either out of work, moved on to different careers, or the few who have picked up new technical skills in an industry increasingly dominated by computers.
"Goral's animation job, the painstaking process of tightening or 'cleaning up' a rough drawing, giving it heft, depth and form, no longer exists in the old sense of the task -- in many cases the computer takes care of the final polish. But it isn't a simple question of learning the hot tool of his trade -- CGI animation. For Goral, who's 57, it's not just about skills but passion, a sense of connecting with the work. Unlike workers in other 'factories,' animators are artists; to be asked to learn a new medium, for some, is like asking Monet to ditch the pastels."
It sounds like the success of CGI movies like Toy Story, etc., has been a double-edged sword:
"Although the new technology created new jobs, they were neither numerous enough nor technically suited to the skills of established traditional animators. Ink and paint people are told that they can make the tech transition, but most in-town productions want animators with lots of experience."
Not exactly inspiring stuff, but the article shows that the animation industry has been a fairly cyclical one. Who's to say that, ten years from now, hand-drawn animation won't enjoy a renaissance?
