Integrating 2D and 3D assets for Traditional Animation

Here are some shots from a recently completed (Fall 2015) AAU thesis film, “Old Man Aero”  by online student London Parker (MFA , Traditional Animation) .  London did his hand-drawn character animation in TVPaint Animation, with several shots combining vehicles animated in Maya and rendered with a “cel-shaded” look ,  then loaded into TVPaint so the hand-drawn characters and hand-drawn effects animation could be matched to the CG animation .   This is a good example of successfully integrating traditional hand-drawn animation with CG assets.  The first video is a breakdown showing his shot progression.   His inspiration was the Studio Ghibli films of Hayao Miyazaki, such as “Porco Rosso” and “Laputa: Castle in the Sky” .

The following are excerpts from several of the finished shots in ‘Old Man Aero’ by London Parker.

Old Man Aero’s flying machine and the Locomotive were animated in Maya and imported in TVPaint.

The locomotive smoke and the explosion are traditional hand-drawn effects . The animated BG elements are referenced from a 3D layout in Maya, but meticulously retraced and painted by hand.

Copyright by London Parker.  Used by permission .