Why do 2D Cartoons use 3D Cars? #FamilyGuy #Futurama #Animation

[gingerfrog]

Also the reason why you rarely see mecha in 2D anymore

[ShyGuyXXL]

What makes them stand out so much is that they often move much smoother than any other thing on screen. I don't know if it's just the perfect 3D model or if they actually move at a higher framerate than the characters, but they rarely blend in well.

[feno]

Just reminded me that I need to watch Redline

[lorddeecee]

one of the reasons i love initial d, the contrast in animation lmaoo

[juanrodriguez]

I expected to see the living taxi from Who Framed Roger Rabbit as an example of a 2D car that could stretch and squash due to it being alive

[JeffreyThrash]

Good you're explaining this to cartoon fans. It's obvious why you would want to make less "stretchy" objects like cars and vehicles 3D models when working on your own animation, but it's definitely one of those things that the average layman complains about as "lazy" without being explained why this is done this way.

I personally miss the happy middle ground major animated movies like Dreamworks' Sinbad in the early 2000's (and more recent 2D movies like Klaus) with 2D and 3D, where it was basically, if it needed to squash and stretch, it was 2D, and if it needed to be consistent, it was 3D. That said, the effect was far less jarring before HD resolutions became the norm. Watching Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron on Netflix recently was weird because it is now super-obvious when they used CG background characters versus hand-drawn ones.

[catholiccontriversy]

Another thing is the dynamic motion as pieguy discussed years ago. If something is meant to move in 3 dimensions (like a door opening) it's easier to make a 3d model and move it as desired instead of drawing all the perspective of it moving in 3 dimensions.

[gabe_s_videos]

Major exception was Yellow Submarine. They just had a model sheet of the sub drawn from every angle which they referenced when necessary (though you still mostly only see it in profile for the whole movie).

[VandalCabbage]

Redline is a different beast. Truly legendary.

[SaekiM]

So THAT'S the reason why every artist ever refuses to draw mecha...

[samwill]

Can confirm, I know multiple artists and they all hate vehicles with a burning passion

[robertharris]

Drawing something that changes the way its facing the camera is also a lot more time intensive vs something like a character that faces the same direction for an entire scene.

[Drax]

Taxi has been crushing it with these shorts lately. Keep it up.

[LepidopteranLiliumoth]

All the people commenting about mecha reminds me of the hilariously off model Gundam in every 0079 episode.

[BugsyFoga]

Definitely always humorous to see a 3D car in a 2d environment.

[gabe_s_videos]

The "tracing a live model" process was also used in Pinocchio for the shot of Stromboli's wagon rolling past Geppetto in the rain. Don Bluth also used it in a couple of his movies.

[mechajay]

Redline, took 7 years to make, but the results speak for themselves 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[mmgchannel]

As an artist I know how frickn’ hard it is, one time I tried to design my own interpretation of Megatron. At first I tried to draw him realistically transformable with realistic proportions. Initially, my plan was to draw a series of Transformers designs that could realistically be translated into a toy while still being a distinct take on the characters. But the process was so tedious that I didn’t feel like designing the tank mode knowing it be a pain to translate what parts of the 2D image of Megatron would realistically go to in transformation. Right in the middle of drawing Optimist Prime next, I felt like trying to test out a revision of Megatron into more of a stylized cartoon look similar to Transformers Animated, as I was for used to drawing cartoons. And it ended up looking more interesting and more fun to make that I decided to switch plans and design other Transformers in this style instead.

[VexAcer]

Usually CG stuff sticks out like a sore thumb, but I think Motorcity makes it work still.

You can still tell the cars are 3D but it doesn't feel jarring since the show is full of dynamic angles and other digital effects on the 2D art that make it come across as a hybrid of both 2D/3D. That and the 3D is stylized and the 2D animates just as smoothly as the 3D stuff.

[TAGanimation]

One of the few moments i can recall is genuinely 2D animated car in a 2D movie is "Goofy Movie".