Where are all the Traditional Hand Drawn Animated films ? (and why study traditional animation?)

When people make the claim: "There are no traditional animation jobs" or "2D is dead" you should realize that what they mostly mean is that the model of big-budget feature length 2D Animation that flourished for a time in the U.S. film industry from roughly 1985 - 1999 and then finally crashed and burned in the years between 2000 - 2003 (for a variety of reasons, both economic and artistic, too complicated to go into here) is no longer viable.

Yes, perhaps that particular model of traditional animation production is "dead" (or maybe "just resting, pining for the fjords") and is not likely to come back the way it was in the 1990's. There will continue to be hand-drawn animated features , but those will probably be for a niche market , smaller indie films, not necessarily major feature animated films like 'Beauty & the Beast' , 'Aladdin', 'The Lion King' , or even slightly smaller scale films like 'Lilo & Stitch'. It's possible that there could be a break-out hand drawn animated hit again on that scale , but it doesn't seem likely, at least not in the short run. (but never say never ... things couldn't have been much more "dead" than in 1985 - '86 when a couple of films came out that I think changed everything: The Great Mouse Detective and An American Tail . Momentum picked up after those , leading to Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid and beyond ...)

BUT that is not the only viable model of traditional hand-drawn animation production , and it never was the norm. Hand-drawn animation doesn't need to be "saved" or make a "comeback" , because it never really went away. I think there will continue to be smaller scale feature films like "The Secret of Kells" or "The Illusionist" , as well as more truly independent micro productions (one-person , creator driven features or features made by a very small crew) such as "My Dog Tulip" , "Sita Sings the Blues" , "Idiots & Angels" and Nick Cross's forthcoming "Black Sunrise"



There is so much hand-drawn animation still being done for advertisements , short films, games, and web applications (including iPhone/iPad and other tablet apps). And whether it's drawn with pencil on paper or using a Cintiq tablet in an app like TVP Animation , the traditional drawing-based skill sets are still essential to telling a story through images.

Here are a few projects I've seen recently which remind me of how hand-drawn animation is being used in the real world outside of mainstream "Hollywood" features:

Story Corps latest oral history animated piece , "Miss Devine" :



Clever animated advertisements animated by Jason Doll :







Music video animated by Anthony F. Schepperd for Blockhead's 'The Music Scene'.

"The Music Scene" from Anthony Francisco Schepperd on Vimeo.

TIJI Television Network "Colours" :



These are just a few randomly chosen examples from among many. IF you can think beyond "When I graduate I've got to go to work at a giant studio like Disney/Pixar/Dreamworks/BlueSky/CartoonNetwork/Nickelodeon " [not that there's anything wrong with that] you can find a world of opportunity out there for animation. (in particular the hand-drawn variety) .

CTN Expo - Behind the Scenes with Independent Filmmaker Mike Nguyen

Here is another inspiring video from a presentation given at the CTN Animation Expo .

If you haven't attended CTN Expo before it is highly recommended . CTN is only 3 years old , but has THE place to be for people interested in character animation.  This year's CTN Expo will be Nov. 18 - 20, in Burbank, CA.

Animator/director Mike Nguyen has been working on the independent animated feature film "My Little World" for many years now (working on it part-time between other jobs).  


Mike Nguyen primary interest is the hand-drawn animation film making medium and aims to reflect beautiful thoughts toward this life on Earth.

Mike received his BFA in Character Animation at the California Institute of the Arts in 1988. Since then, he has worked primarily in the feature animation industry as a Character Animator in various studios, including Walt Disney, Warner Bros., and DreamWorks Animation.

For more about Mike please visit : http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/mike-nguyen/


Mike's blog "Rainplace" is one of the best animation blogs on the web.   Mike discusses the "how to" of animation in great depth, but also the "why" of animation , with a very creative/spiritual emphasis, using examples from his own work.

As in this post on "Rough Pass as Thumbnailing" where he discusses taking animation from a first rough pass to a "tied down" version of the roughs :

All Images Copyright Mike Nguyen/July Films. Go to his blog , "Rainplace" to see many more examples like this. 

John Celestri animation blog

There's a new animation blog I want to recommend to you by a great animator, John Celestri.

John the Animator Guy

John started his animation career in his native New York City (working on the Richard Williams' feature film "Raggedy Ann & Andy", among other things)  then spent several years at the Nelvana studio in Toronto as a supervising animator on Nelvana's ambitious first feature film , "Rock & Rule", as well  the Nelvana television specials  such as "The Devil and Daniel Mouse",  "Intergalactic Thanksgiving" , "Easter Fever" (which he was also a Sequence Director on) , among others.     I don't think these Nelvana specials run on TV anymore , but I'll tell you as someone who was a teenager interested in getting into animation at that time:  in the vast wasteland that was television animation in the 1970's  these fully-animated specials by Nelvana were a bright standout , which inspired people like me with the thought that "hey, it is possible to still do full animation today, it's not just all in the past".

*ADD ON:  Thank you to the Anonymous commenter who posted this in the comments :

"On the old Animation Nation discussion board (which used to have many pros posting as members of the board) Dave Brewster (who is also a very fine animator) posted something about Celestri:

"He went off to pursue other things but he is one of the few animators I consider up there with James Baxter and Glen Keane. During Rock & Rule he did some of the best animation ever. Feature animation suffered a huge loss when he stepped out of the spotlight. More than just dwell on the past I pine for what could have been."

After a long stretch in the Hollywood animation industry John moved back east to work as a freelancer from his home studio.  He and his wife Cathie have also teamed up to write a series of mystery novels.   Currently John is the Directing Animator and VP of Grace Animation Studios in Danville, Kentucky .


On the blog John is sharing his thoughts on animation technique,  scriptwriting,  the relationship between art and commerce , among other topics.   




Check it out !

"Run Hamster Run!" - New Hand Drawn Animated iPhone Game

(story via CartoonBrew)

Character Concept art © Erin Humston.

Animation students pay attention:

Here's an inspiring example of an independent animator, Erin Humston, developing and selling his own work directly through the iTunes Store . I hope this is the sort of thing that many of our present day students will be thinking of doing (i.e. developing their OWN original properties) rather than just thinking their only option is "I'll graduate from school and then just go to work for Big X_______ corporate studio". Nothing wrong with that and it's a good way to learn the ropes in the business, but while you're paying your dues toiling away at Big Studio X always be working on developing your own ideas and characters , and thinking of ways to market your work so that it benefits you directly. (something that will support you , not just put more money into the coffers of Big Studio X.)

© Erin Humston.

No one knows for sure where hand drawn animation is headed - but one outlet seems to be thriving: mobile video games.

Here’s another for the list of intriguing new 2d-cartoon iPhone games: Run Hamster Run.

Erin Humiston did all the artwork and animation, and produced the game with a handful of people in Orlando, Florida. The animation is all hand-drawn.

It’s now available at the iTunes store. Here’s a sample:

"It's the Cat" by Mark Kausler

**NOTE: this film is unfortunately no longer available for download from the MyToons website as MyToons abruptly shut down recently.

The full pencil test of "It's the Cat" is still posted on Mark Kausler's site, so be sure to check that out .  Hopefully Mark will find a new home on the web for "It's the Cat" soon.






Good news , cartoon lovers : Mark Kausler's great short cartoon "It's The Cat" is once again available for download online on MyToons. (it was available on Cartoon Brew's short-lived "Cartoon Brew Films" last year , but now Cartoon Brew Films is no more.)

This film was a labor of love for Mark and his producer Greg Ford. It's all hand-drawn, hand-inked and painted on cels (that's right cels , not digital ink & paint) .

They're making another one called "There Must Be Another Cat" which Mark tells me is finished in pencil test, but is still being inked and painted as funds become available .

Help support independent animators like Mark Kausler and buy "It's the Cat" on Mark's MyToons page for the mere pittance of $1.99.   (as of 4/7/09 - NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE due to the abrupt shutdown of MyToons. )

Here's a short preview of the title sequence:



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UPDATE: Mark Kausler has posted a very illuminating answer to a question about how he approached animating to the music on his film "It's The Cat" . Check it out:

Mark Kausler on Animating to Music .



All images from "It's The Cat" copyright ©Mark Kausler.

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UPDATE #2 : Mark has posted the complete pencil test for "It's the Cat" on his site: It's the Cat Pencil Test --Click HERE --

I love watching pencil test animation . It's fun to compare the rough version to the finished film. View the pencil test and then buy the film on MyToons (only $1.99) .

Mark is also selling the original , one-of-a-kind hand inked & painted CELS from the film. These are not the fake "gallery cels" that many places sell to collectors , these are the actual production cels that passed under the camera and are on screen when viewing the film. If you buy a cel you also get the original pencil drawing and he's throwing in a DVD of the film with each purchase : It's the Cat - Original Hand-Inked Cels -- Click HERE --