Cel shading: Difference between revisions
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==Examples of digital cel-shading== |
==Examples of digital cel-shading== |
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===Video games=== |
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{{main|List of cel-shaded video games}} |
{{main|List of cel-shaded video games}} |
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* ''[[Dragon Quest Monsters Joker]]'' |
* ''[[Dragon Quest Monsters Joker]]'' |
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* ''[[Drift City]]'' |
* ''[[Drift City]]'' |
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* ''[[Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix]]'' |
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* ''[[Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance]]'' |
* ''[[Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance]]'' |
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* ''[[FreeSpace 2]] Open (the option is still a work-in-progress)'' |
* ''[[FreeSpace 2]] Open (the option is still a work-in-progress)'' |
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* ''[[Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner]]'' |
* ''[[Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner]]'' |
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===Film and television=== |
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In addition, many prominent movies, television programs, and commercials also use cel-shading: |
In addition, many prominent movies, television programs, and commercials also use cel-shading: |
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*''[[Appleseed (film)|Appleseed]]'' |
*''[[Appleseed (film)|Appleseed]]'' |
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*''[[Duck Dodgers]]'' |
*''[[Duck Dodgers]]'' |
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*''[[Fairly OddParents]]'' |
*''[[Fairly OddParents]]'' |
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*''[[Fantastic Four |
*''[[Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes]]'' |
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*''[[Freedom Project]]'' |
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*''[[Funky Cops]]'' |
*''[[Funky Cops]]'' |
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*''[[Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa]]'' |
*''[[Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa]]'' |
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*''[[Futurama]]'' |
*''[[Futurama]]'' |
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*''[[Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex]] |
*''[[Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex]]'' |
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*''[[Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG]]'' |
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*''[[G.I. Joe: Sigma 6]] |
*''[[G.I. Joe: Sigma 6]]'' |
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*''[[Handy Manny]]'' |
*''[[Handy Manny]]'' |
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*''[[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)|He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]]'' |
*''[[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)|He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]]'' |
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*''[[Lego Exo-Force]]'' |
*''[[Lego Exo-Force]]'' |
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*''[[Loonatics Unleashed]]'' |
*''[[Loonatics Unleashed]]'' |
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*''[[Macross Frontier]]'' |
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*''[[MegaMan NT Warrior]]'' |
*''[[MegaMan NT Warrior]]'' |
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*''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'' |
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*''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED]]'' |
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*''[[Monster House]]'' |
*''[[Monster House]]'' |
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*''[[Ōban Star-Racers]]'' |
*''[[Ōban Star-Racers]]'' |
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*''[[One Piece]]'' |
*''[[One Piece]]'' |
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*''[[Osmosis Jones]]'' |
*''[[Osmosis Jones]]'' |
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*''[[Paprika (2006 film)|Paprika]]'' |
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*''[[Pokemon Battle Frontier]]'' (Nosepass) |
*''[[Pokemon Battle Frontier]]'' (Nosepass) |
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*''[[Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys]]'' |
*''[[Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys]]'' |
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*''[[Pokémon: Jirachi Wishmaker]]'' |
*''[[Pokémon: Jirachi Wishmaker]]'' |
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*''[[Renaissance (film)|Renaissance]] |
*''[[Renaissance (film)|Renaissance]] |
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*''[[Rugrats Go Wild]]'' |
*''[[Rugrats Go Wild]]'' |
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*''[[Spider-Man: The New Animated Series|Spider-Man]]'' |
*''[[Spider-Man: The New Animated Series|Spider-Man]]'' |
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*''[[Star Wars: Clone Wars]]'' |
*''[[Star Wars: Clone Wars]]'' |
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*''[[Storm Hawks]]'' |
*''[[Storm Hawks]]'' |
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*''[[Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild]]'' |
*''[[Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild]]'' |
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*''[[The Iron Giant]]'' |
*''[[The Iron Giant]]'' |
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*''[[The Littlest Robo]]'' |
*''[[The Littlest Robo]]'' |
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*''[[The Simpsons]]''(season 19+) |
*''[[The Simpsons]]'' (season 19+) |
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*''[[The Simpsons Movie]]'' |
*''[[The Simpsons Movie]]'' |
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*''[[Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars]]'' |
*''[[Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars]]'' |
Revision as of 14:39, 5 May 2008
Cel-shaded animation (also called cel-shading or toon shading) is a type of non-photorealistic rendering designed to make computer graphics appear to be hand-drawn. Cel-shading is often used to mimic the style of a comic book or cartoon. It is a somewhat recent addition to computer graphics, most commonly turning up in console video games. Though the end result of cel-shading has a very simplistic feel like that of hand-drawn animation, the process is complex. The name comes from the clear sheets of acetate, called cels, that are painted on for use in traditional 2D animation, such as Disney classics.
Process
The cel-shading process starts with a typical 3D model. The difference occurs when a cel-shaded object is drawn on-screen. The rendering engine only selects a few shades of each color for the object, producing a flat look. This is not the same as using only a few shades of texture for an object, as lighting and other environmental factors would come into play and ruin the effect. Therefore, cel-shading is often implemented as an additional rendering pass after all other rendering operations are completed.
In order to draw black ink lines outlining an object's contours, the backface culling is inverted to draw back-faced triangles with black-colored vertices. The vertices must be drawn multiple times with a slight change in translation to make the lines "thick". This produces a black-shaded silhouette. The back-face culling is then set back to normal to draw the shading and optional textures of the object. Finally, the image is composited via Z-buffering, as the back-faces always lie deeper in the scene than the front-faces. The result is that the object is drawn with a black outline, and even contours that reside inside the object's surface in screen space.
The Utah teapot rendered using cel-shading:
- The back faces are drawn with thick lines
- The object is drawn with a basic texture
- Shading
Steps 2 and 3 can be combined using multi-texturing (see texture mapping).
History
Video games
The first 3D video game to feature true real-time cel-shading was Jet Grind Radio (2000) for the Sega Dreamcast. Another game, Fear Effect for the Sony PlayStation, was released in 2000 and was noted for its use of dramatic textures to give an anime appearance to its characters, but lacked outlines and dynamic light-sourcing. Games before Fear Effect have used textures in a similar fashion, but not as starkly apparent or stylized as the game. Wacky Races, released on Dreamcast a few months before Jet Set Radio, featured an outline effect often mistaken for cel-shading, but the game actually used traditional shading techniques. The are several other games, such as Megaman Legends, that used static cel-shaded textures (without real-time lighting) in the same vein as Fear Effect created before the previous examples, but the effect created was not as strongly noticeable as the previous examples.
In the years following Jet Set Radio, numerous other cel-shaded games were introduced during a minor fad involving cel-shaded graphics, yet only a few would fully match or surpass its mainstream appeal. The next games with cel-shading to capture the industry's attention in some form were 2002's Jet Set Radio Future and Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. Over time, more cel-shaded titles such as Dark Chronicle, Cel Damage, Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil, the Viewtiful Joe series, and XIII were released with positive feedback, though none were considered blockbusters in terms of sales figures. Originally the only cel-shaded games to receive both positive ratings and sales after Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus were The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Sly 2: Band of Thieves, and Tales of Symphonia.
Originally, The House of the Dead III (HotD3) for the Microsoft Xbox was cel-shaded. Early in HotD3’s development Sega released screenshots of the then current cel-shaded graphics to the gaming community. Shortly after those initial screenshots were released, Sega announced that they were dropping the cel-shaded graphics in favor of conventional graphic techniques. There are several suspected reasons for Sega's change of heart, the most popular and most likely is that the screenshots met much negative response from gamers who disliked the cel-shaded graphical style. Many gamers claimed the cel-shading was used purely as a gimmick in an attempt to sell more games. HotD3 was a bloody, gory and very violent light gun game which featured zombies and other mutated and deformed creatures. Many felt the cel-shaded look clashed greatly with the game's themes and content.
More recently, handheld consoles, previously not realistically powerful enough to render a fully 3D world, have made use of cel-shading. Most notable is the Tony Hawk series and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass on the Nintendo DS.
The use of cel-shading in video games has slowed somewhat since its inception, but the technique continues to be employed in the modern era. Recent examples include Dragon Quest VIII, Rogue Galaxy, Killer 7, Metal Gear Acid 2, and Ōkami.
Examples of digital cel-shading
Video games
Some of the more prominent games that have featured cel-shaded graphics:
- .hack//G.U. series
- Auto Modellista
- Bleach video games
- Bomberman Generation
- Bomberman Jetters
- Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
- Cel Damage
- Crackdown
- Crazyracing Kartrider
- Dark Cloud 2
- Dragon Ball Z Budokai series
- Dragon Quest VIII
- Dragon Quest IX
- Dragon Quest Monsters Joker
- Drift City
- Fear Effect
- Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix
- Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
- FreeSpace 2 Open (the option is still a work-in-progress)
- Gekitou Pro Yakyuu
- Gungrave series
- Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland
- Jackie Chan Adventures
- Jet Set Radio
- Jet Set Radio Future
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Whirlwind
- Killer7
- Klonoa 2
- The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
- Mega Man X7
- Mega Man X Command Mission
- Metal Gear Acid 2
- Monster Rancher 3
- Musashi: Samurai Legend
- Naruto video games
- No More Heroes
- Ōkami
- Power Rangers: Super Legends
- Untitled Prince of Persia game (in development)
- Robotech: Battlecry
- Rogue Galaxy
- Runaway: A Road Adventure
- Samurai Legend Musashi
- Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne
- Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga and Digital Devil Saga 2
- Silverfall
- Sly Cooper series
- Sonic Shuffle
- Street Fighter IV (in development)
- Ultimate Spider-Man
- Tales of Symphonia
- Team Fortress 2
- Tony Hawk's American Sk8land
- Viewtiful Joe series
- Wacky Races for Dreamcast
- War§ow
- Wild Arms 3
- XIII
- X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
- Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure
- Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
Film and television
In addition, many prominent movies, television programs, and commercials also use cel-shading:
- Appleseed
- Armitage Dual-Matrix
- Atomic Betty
- Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Bakugan Battle Brawlers
- Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix
- Canada's Worst Driver
- Class of the Titans
- Daily Planet (2005-2006 season)
- Delilah and Julius
- D.I.C.E.
- Digimon Savers
- Dinosaur King
- Doctor Who: The Infinite Quest
- Dragon Booster
- Duck Dodgers
- Fairly OddParents
- Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes
- Freedom Project
- Funky Cops
- Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa
- Futurama
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
- Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG
- G.I. Joe: Sigma 6
- Handy Manny
- He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
- Hey Arnold!: The Movie
- Hot Wheels Highway 35 World Race
- Idaten Jump
- Initial D: 4th Stage
- Invader Zim
- Iron Giant
- Justice League
- Kappa Mikey
- Kim Possible
- Kirby: Right Back at Ya!
- Legion of Super Heroes
- Lego Exo-Force
- Loonatics Unleashed
- Macross Frontier
- MegaMan NT Warrior
- Mobile Suit Gundam 00
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
- Monster House
- Ōban Star-Racers
- One Piece
- Osmosis Jones
- Paprika
- Pokemon Battle Frontier (Nosepass)
- Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys
- Pokémon: Jirachi Wishmaker
- Renaissance
- Rugrats Go Wild
- Silver Surfer
- Skyland
- Sonic X
- Spider-Man
- Star Wars: Clone Wars
- Steamboy
- Storm Hawks
- Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild
- Superior Defender Gundam Force
- Superman: Doomsday
- Team Galaxy
- The Iron Giant
- The Littlest Robo
- The Simpsons (season 19+)
- The Simpsons Movie
- Tom and Jerry: Blast Off to Mars
- Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry
- Transformers Cybertron
- Transformers Energon
- Vexille
- Winx Club
- Zoids
Commercials
The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. |
- 2008 Scion xD Little Deviants
- 2009 Dodge Journey
- Boogie
- AREVA
- Blockbuster Total Access
- Commit mint lozenges
- Cartoon Network Master Control
- HSBC HSBCdirect.com
- Hewlett Packard xw8400 Workstation Titans of iron
- Mr. Clean
- Pampers Kandoo Flushable Toilet Wipes, Foaming Handsoap
- Post Cereals Fruity Pebbles cereal (Bowling for Fruity Pebbles ad)
- Lego Exo-Force
- L’Oréal Couleur Expert
- Lunchables Pizza (Atlantis Paradise Island promotion ad)
- McCain's Zwak Punch
- Neopets virtual prize code (Canadian Betty Crocker fruit-flavored snacks promotional ad)
- Oscar Mayer Lunchables Chicken Dunks (airhead mysteries ad)
- Sola/Nero/Vena/Olera/Zonte sparkling wine
- Toyo Tires Versado LX all-season touring tires (OK Tire promotional ad)
Similar technology
Interpolated rotoscoping can be used to create a similar effect, but the source material does not need to be computer generated. In addition, rotoscoping is applied to an existing image, whereas cel-shading is applied during the generation of the image.
See also
- Traditional animation
- Special effects animation
- Character animation
- Computer animation and 3D computer graphics
- Skeletal animation
- Non-photorealistic rendering
References
- CelShading.com. More information on 3D cel-shading including an image gallery.
- Celshader.com FAQ. Retrieved August 2, 2005.
- IGN: Jet Grind Radio Review. Retrieved August 4, 2005.
- GameDev.net - Cel-Shading. Retrieved August 5, 2005.