Styles

Whenever computer animation is mentioned, the first thing that probably comes to mind for most people are the 3D stuff we have seen from Pixar, Disney and Dreamworks. And while that is not exactly a bad thing since numerous gorgeous 3D animated stuff have come out time and time again from those companies, it does make most think for just a moment that... that's it, that's the only style of 3D animation there is.

Time and time again however, 3D animation has proven to be just as diverse a platform as 2D when it comes to art styles... obviously the only style that they can't use is... each others'.

"Killer is Dead"

Cel shading can be used in numerous ways to make a 3D animation stand out, "Killer is Dead" was especially one of Suda51's most stylised and classy looking games with its contrasting shadows and light. It was pretty much a combination of "No More Heroes" style and "Shadows of the Damned's" own slick if not trippy visuals (The colours used actually reminded me of the ones used in Schumacher's "Batman" films), and while the other aspects of the game received mix reviews, there's no denying that the visuals for this game was pretty darn stylish.

"Telltale's The Walking Dead" 

Telltale Game's "The Walking Dead" has been pretty well known for its comic book cel-shaded art style (And of course painfully emotional narrative gameplay), seeing that the game was after all based on the original comic book series itself, it wasn't surprising to see them to take this direction when it came to the game's visuals.

And the same goes for "The Wolf Among Us", which was also based on the comic series "Fables". This isn't to say that that is the only style that the company uses, for the recent "Game of Thrones" game, they went back to a more realistic look, especially since characters from the show itself is featured within it.

"The Wolf Among Us"

"Tales from the Borderlands"

Gearbox's "Borderlands" series was originally going to have a more realistic art style, before deciding that the original, cel-shaded style that was simply used for the concept artwork would suit the game better than a more realistic, polished one. This method produces cartoon-like action visuals and also enables the landscape and weapons to be highly detailed, this direction in the art style was also inspired by the short film "Codehunters".

There probably wouldn't be as many cosplayers for this game either if they hadn't gone with this style, imitating the cel-shaded look is probably the most fun bit about cosplaying the series' characters.

Okay I will be fair and show one from "Borderlands 2" too.

"Okami"

Of course we can't forget "Okami" and its water colour and wood carving inspired art style, much like "Borderlands", it was originally going to have a more photorealistic 3D art style, before the studio decided that the more colourful sumi-e style allowed them to better convey the Amaterasu's association with nature and the task of restoring it.

That, and the other reason being the limitations the PS2 hardware had when it came to rendering the photorealistic 3D graphics... Which is still fine! Seeing as this change in style made "Okami" so much more memorable and well received.

"Tempus Fugit"

I was going to talk about "Limbo", but I'm not too sure whether the characters and creatures were actually modelling in 3D... do I will talk about this indie game instead, seeing that it also went for a monochromatic style in its visuals. This game was made under 48 hours for the Asylum Jam, a game jam set thaat takes place during the month of October, which focuses on showing that a great horror experience can still be created without using inaccurate stereotypes of those who suffer from mental illness, or the institutions that support them in diagnosis and recovery, which is a very common theme seen in a lot of horror games (And don't you blame "Silent Hill 2" for this).

Anyway back to the game itself, "Tempus Fugit" stands out with this choice of visual style as compared to so many indie horror games that typically import rusty and/or bloody walls and floors for their stage designs, there is something very cold and eerie about this abstract setting that makes you feel like you are the only one there and yet... still makes you feel like you are being watched by something as you wander aimlessly about.

"Hotel Transylvania"

It doesn't necessarily need to be a visual thing when it comes to the art direction, there is also the animation itself. Genndy Tartakovsky's "Hotel Transylvania" was animated in a manner that followed the energy, organicity and exaggeration of 2D animation (That resembled Tex Avery's own works), and presently it looks like the same treatement is being given for "Popeye", which will be released next year.

Speaking of different animation styles, this also reminds me of the civilian character in the "Fix-It Felix" game in "Wreck-It Ralph" (God those guys were jerks...), it's just so interesting and hilarious to see that they move so stiffly and abruptly as they do in the game, as compared to Ralph and Felix, who both move so darn normally in comparison.

It is interesting to see how many styles can come out of computer animation, especially in video games, ESPECIALLY when you consider the fact that some of the earliest 3D animations were done in 3D to match the style of the video game it was based on, such as "Donkey Kong Country"... think about that.