Check the entire video out after the break.
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I'm sure most of you noticed this crazy 3D style effect in the most recent episode. It definitely seems to pop out of the screen. The guy that did the Pinkie Pie walking animation segment from "Smile Smile Smile" has done a full analysis, to explain exactly how our normally flat flash Fluttershy somehow pulled this off!
Check the entire video out after the break.
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100 comments:
ah, the wonders of flash animation.
ReplyDeleteThat scene was awesome!
ReplyDeleteNeat! I never care to learn to animate, but these are still fun to watch
ReplyDeleteAdobe Flash can sometimes just wow everyone.
ReplyDeleteI was like whoa. Just whoa at that part.
ReplyDeleteLearning with my ponies?
ReplyDeleteThis is good.
Oh yeah, cause everyone can watch this video in one minute and then comment on it.
ReplyDeleteTL;DW: It's a bit overhyped :D
ReplyDeleteThe show makes incredible shots like this all the time! It's just this one was especially prominent.
I really liked that Smile, Smile, Smile breakdown, and this looks totally cool. I'll be watching this once I'm not too busy.
ReplyDeleteFunny... I just recently did this for school project
ReplyDeleteHaven't watched it yet, just wanted to say that that scene was Amazing.
ReplyDeleteYeah.
Watching now.
Wait... Did he just give us the name of those two goats!
ReplyDeleteWilly and Nilly!?
KONY 2012
ReplyDeleteFunny... I just recently did this for school project
ReplyDeleteNow canon the goats are Willy and Nilly.
ReplyDeleteIts official, the goats' names are Willy and Nilly!
ReplyDeleteIt always amazes me how much effort they put into making this show look so good. Props to you, animators!
ReplyDeleteEven though computers have really simplified things, it's amazing how detailed and complex animation is.
ReplyDeleteWow I had no idea how they did that.
ReplyDeleteImpressive. Really liked the breakdown of "Smile, Smile, Smile," and this one was well done as well. Seems fairly simple once it's broken down, but doesn't take away from how impressive it is when it's used the way it was in the show.
ReplyDeleteYES! Another animation video. This and Pinkie's walk cycle were both done great. MORE LIKE THIS!
ReplyDeleteI went back and watched this scene probably 5 times in the episode. It was incredible.
ReplyDeleteIt's not even a very complex effect. But it was done beautifully.
If (when) we get a movie, I'm looking forward to this caliber of animation for the entire thing!
@RavensDagger They are now called Willy and Nilly.
ReplyDeleteI liked this, and I liked the one he did on the Smile song. Hoping to see more of these!
I'm really enjoying the animation breakdowns videos this guy does. Very informative and gives me a better appreciation of this show.
ReplyDeleteUnlike some people I know. Was talking to a non-brony friend of mine and he asked me "Is the new my little pony series the one with the paper mario style design?". Me, "If by paper mario style you mean the contours of the line are smoother and bigger than most cartoons now then yes".
And just like that the goats have names.
ReplyDeleteGenius. Frigging genius.
Anyway, that was an interesting video. When I was a kid I always wondered how Looney Tunes pulled that stuff off. Once I got a bit older and realized they were doing it all with multiple layers moving around in front of a camera... well, my admiration doubled.
And even after learning how to do tweens myself in Flash, I always find it awe-inspiring when a cartoon does it that smoothly.
That shot blew me away the first time I watched it. Same thing with the Spike looking on at Celestia and Twilight shot. The animation in this show constantly surprises me with how good it can be. It's gotten to the point where I watch other animated TV shows and all I can see is how flawed the animation is. Older hand-animated shows have those episodes where you can tell that they cheeped out on animation to save the budget for other episodes, and Flash animation generally looks like crap everywhere else.
ReplyDeleteReply "I" to this comment if you believe the official names for the goats should be Willy and Nilly
ReplyDeleteThis should signal the death of "But it's done in flash!" as a valid complaint levied against MLP:FiM.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely turning into a good series. I hope he continues to put out these videos.
ReplyDeleteAwesome. I love learning this kind of stuff
ReplyDeleteWe should definitely name the goats Willy and Nilly. I wish I could do stuff like this :/
ReplyDeleteCool video man and nice work on that scene as well. Very interesting to see how it's done.
ReplyDelete@Jimperator If anything, this is one of the highlights of the animation team. Taking a well known program and taking it to a whole new level with animation like this. Definitely shows what can be done with any program when put in the right hands.
ReplyDeleteThat guy does brilliantly clear and easy to understand explanations. My thanks for a fascinating study!
ReplyDeleteWilly and Nilly the Billy goats!
ReplyDeleteHave to admit this scene was cool. I think it's cool that he makes these animation breakdowns for us. I also wanted to say that I love the new banner!
ReplyDeleteI'm really starting to like this guy. He makes me feel like I could actually learn animation someday.
ReplyDeleteWilly and Nilly are now those goats' names. 'Cause, why not?
Also, was that bg music from epic Mickey?
@JD
ReplyDeleteOh! Hey JD!
i am learning so much from this guy
ReplyDeleteThese are SO cool - I love learning how the show works!
ReplyDelete(Totally my third comment. Don't judge me)
ReplyDeleteJust thought others might find it interesting that he did a third breakdown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbCWkXNIP1g&feature=channel I'm just about to watch it myself.
I actually saw this before it hit EQD, and I've seen his breakdown of AJ's hay bale throwing/scene transition
ReplyDelete@CityFlyer502
ReplyDeleteExactly. I've heard people complain that flash is automatically to be considered low quality. But it's just a tool, and in the right hands, any tool can create a masterpiece.
I tried that once...ugh how I hate tweens
ReplyDelete@khandaniel13
ReplyDeleteHow odd, I was told by a friend to look that up, I just got back from watching the video.
KONY 2012, guys, is a worthy cause.
This guy sure is talented. He should get hired to do this professionally.
ReplyDeleteI watched the other two "animation analysis" videos, and damn, those analysis makes me love and appreciated the show even more! And oh, good job of using MLP:FiM background music from the three YouTube users (MrNewbyNewb, infinitydash, and Senn555) who provided those. I'll look forward to upcoming videos. :)
ReplyDeleteVally girl ponys!
ReplyDeleteDun Dun DUNNNNNNNN!
@MizuTakishima
ReplyDeleteAhh no, I'm (admittedly poorly) summarizing the video for those who reacted that way.
Willy and Nilly sound good to me. Also, Fluttershed.
ReplyDeleteYou think you would know of this things if you worked with animations before, but they are just awesome every time they come up.
ReplyDeleteHipster glasses firmly on: I saw this before it hit EQD.
ReplyDelete@DashieBro I!!!
ReplyDeleteThe 3D effect is so well done, it almost looks like it was a 3D model
ReplyDeleteOk. I'm stupid and now need to really see the new episode. Also, this made Fluttershy 20% cuter.
ReplyDeleteI think that the extra detail that went into making Fluttershy's facial features move as if a camera were actually panning around her were what set this over the top. Particularly in the way her eyes moved and scaled.
ReplyDeleteAha! I was wondering how they did that! I've actually done something similar before in after effects. I wonder if it would be possible to make a program that would design 3D objects to look 2D, so you could make head turns like this in an interactive environment (like a video game). How awesome would it be to play a video game that looked like a 2D cartoon, but still took place in 3 dimensions?
ReplyDeleteKing 2012
ReplyDeleteLooks like I've learned a bit more from this... that's pretty awesome! (Yay for being an animator)
ReplyDeleteKony 2012
ReplyDeleteI remember there being a similar scene at the end of Lesson Zero and being blown away at how smooth and realistic it looked when I first seen it. Details like this are part of the reason why this show is a notch above most other cartoons.
ReplyDeleteI feel humbled by both this analysis, and by the amazing team that put this episode together.
ReplyDeleteThat was cool... But why does Shed want to play next? O_o
ReplyDeleteWho the hell cares? Jeez this nitpicking analysis is worse than any Star Trek nerd stuff I've ever seen.
ReplyDelete@DashieBro
ReplyDeletei
@Mr. Fancy Trousers
ReplyDeletewhats krony 2012?
@Matt Sullivan
ReplyDeleteInb4 stupid response to this post
... wait...
I'm thinking bout learning animation stuff. If only to have a barrel rolling dash on my screen :)
ReplyDeleteThat was a pretty good break down. It's always nice to see Flash being put to intelligent use. It's a very powerful program that's not often brought to its full potential.
ReplyDeleteAlright, I'm off to bed for tonight. Night guys.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThat's one thing about producing something that gains a large following of older and intelligent fans. They're able to pick your work apart much more effectively. lol Pretty nice. He certainly knows some of his stuff. These are fun to watch even if I may already know all that fun little stuff. :)
ReplyDelete@Octavia
ReplyDeleteHonestly, i hang around with a bunch of math/sciencey types and it really pisses me off how much smack they talk about artists. As a game programmer, im sort of obligeted to like artists, but theres defnitley a lack of appretiation for what they do. Videos like this show that there's definitley a more rigerous process than most people think.
Course, im sort of preaching to the choir with this crowd...
I really liked the way Fluttershy's eyes were handled in that shot. I prefer that the ponies' eyes be placed on their faces in such a way that they emphasize the shape of the head, with the eyes a proper distance apart and drawn to suggest perspective. It really jars me when a pony is drawn with its face looking directly at you and the eyes are placed too close together. It ruins the charm of the design somehow.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, nice video. It's always awesome to see how animation is done. :)
He did another analysis of Applejack throwing a bushel of hay, too. It's all really interesting, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteIt's always interesting to see how animation is done for the show, thanks for the video!
ReplyDeleteThat was gorgeous. They should shade characters more often! It adds so much depth, and it just looks awesome. That was pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Willy and Nilly are the goat's official names now. Nice one bro.
ReplyDeleteIt's because of things like this that I think we're entering a new golden age of animation. When I was the age of the target audience of MLP animation was budgeted to the audience: if a show was aimed at six-year-olds the budget would be enough to turn out something that was in every respect barely good enough for six-year-olds. Very little animation was created for audiences older than that anyway. Now it seems that studios are being allowed to spend a little bit more time and money on their work, to go beyond mere necessity and add the detail and subtlety that makes modern animation worth a second, third or fourth look. These are great days for animation as an artistic choice.
ReplyDeleteI really like these breakdowns of the animation but I find this one hard to sit through. It's too much to bear to see Fluttershy that sad for that long.
ReplyDeleteWish could even pull of an animation like that
ReplyDeleteVALLEY GIRL PONIES GGRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's always cool to see how animations are made.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw that animation bit, I was like... 'Whoa'. They really can show off Flash-animations capabilities.
ReplyDeleteTotally didn't notice the overall effect when I first watched the episode. I noticed the panning, racking, and shadows each separately during the first run through, but the 3D effect somehow got lost during the same run through. Ooooh the fun things you can do with animation and technology.
ReplyDeleteI love how these videos are becoming a regular thing.
ReplyDeleteThe guy who makes these videos has some neat insights about animation!
ReplyDeleteI guess I wish I took more art classes now.
That's movie quality.
ReplyDeleteI want a fim movie so hard right now.
Ooh, I really hope he continues to make more of these breakdowns.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED watching this! Fluttershy is beautiful... I mean, the animation is beautiful!
ReplyDelete...Any Fluttershy. :P
You always have the best analysis! Gives me a solid appreciation for animators, that's for sure!
ReplyDeleteYou always have the best analysis! Gives me a solid appreciation for animators, that's for sure!
ReplyDeleteIt just goes to show you that the right tools in talented hands can produce amazing art. This show is easily the best use of Flash since it was developed. The animation (with exception, Dash duck-face etc.) shows care and real thought which speaks to a team which genuinely cares about what it produces and wants it to be as best as possible.
ReplyDeleteAlso, ending on smiling Fluttershy was sooooo cuuuute. <3
Bravo! Simply bravo! All my respect to the animation team putting so much effort and dedication into this show we love so much! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteTypical overreaction from the community.
ReplyDeleteNoticed? I almost broke my jaw when it hit the flor.
ReplyDeleteVery nice effect. I hope in season 3 show will be have even better animation quality.
ReplyDeleteNew Fluttershy is Best Pony.
ReplyDelete*Superfriends announcer voice*
ReplyDeleteMEANWHILE, SEVII CONTINUES TO WONDER WHICH EPISODE THAT SHOT OF SPIKE EAVESDROPPING ON TWILIGHT AND PRINCESS 'TIA WAS IN!
WILL HE EVER FIND OUT? maybe. You'll just have to stay tuned!
thanks for the vid really appreciate it! I also hope animation makes new leaps and bounds (and maybe bring back some more characters!)
ReplyDeleteI'm really surprised nopony has mentioned the interview Jayson Thiessen gave EqD pre-season 2, in which he was asked (by Sethisto I think?) what would he do with the show if he had unlimited time and budget. His response was that he'd do a full length MLP movie in 3d CGI but with the the same style it has now.
ReplyDeleteHe also said it is possible, he knows how he'd do it and that it would look awesome. What I wonder is if that scene right there wasn't an experiment in just what Jayson wants to do for a Pony movie?