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We’re seeing more and more 3D animation, both in anime and in the West. The technology has been improving consistently since the humble days of ReBoot in the mid-90s, but it still has its limitations. We spoke to Christophe Ferreira, director of the Leviathan anime on Netflix, about working with 3D animation and how it is both better and worse than the more traditional 2D animation we’re used to.

“There’s actually a lot to say about the differences,” Ferreira told us when we interviewed him ahead of Leviathan’s release on Netflix in July. “The two techniques are fundamentally different. You’re not paying attention to the same things, and the limitations or freedoms you have vary drastically between 2D and CG. For instance, in 2D animation, if you want a character to put on a jacket or tie their shoes, it’s just a matter of drawing it – time-consuming, yes, but still feasible. In CG, a scene like that could be disproportionately expensive. Every added layer of interaction with clothing, or even new movements, might require specific rigging or simulation work, which adds up quickly. So you learn to avoid or rethink those kinds of scenes at the E-konte [storyboard] stage when possible.”

Ferreira explained that there was a scene in Leviathan where a character was meant to be getting out of bed. The problem was that they hadn’t created a model of the character without shoes on, so they had to draw the socks in each frame in the scene.

“On the other hand, one great advantage of CG – especially in a TV series context – is the ability to create long shots with characters moving in perspective or just walking around,” Ferreira countered. “That kind of shot would be a nightmare to handle in a 2D TV production. In CG, it’s much more achievable and can add a cinematic quality to the show.”

A lot of work in 3D animation is also frontloaded into the design process, as characters are designed and rendered earlier. “In 2D, if you need a new character, you can just draw it – sometimes even at the layout stage,” Christophe Ferriera told us. “But in CG, each new character has to be modeled, rigged, textured… so it’s a big investment. That means the number of characters in a show has to be carefully considered at the script stage, and you can’t improvise as easily. On the flip side, one of CG’s strongest advantages is consistency. Once a 3D character model is built, and Orange does their magic, it looks the same across the entire show. There’s no need to constantly correct drawings to maintain model consistency, which is often a big challenge in 2D. That frees up the team to focus on other creative elements, like composition, lighting, and layout.”

Each week, Popverse's resident anime expert Trent Cannon runs down the latest and, dare we say "greatest," in anime and manga in Popverse Jump. Some recent columns have included... 

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