Paperman Breakdown by John Kahrs -- via itsartmag

Absolutely zero ownernship rights claimed, all of this footage belongs to Disney Enterprises, Inc.; I had some loading issues on the site and hope sharing the file here will achieve more wide-spread distribution and enthusiasm for the short film. Source below: www.itsartmag.c...

[@coobcakes]

Wow, I can't believe that it creates inbetweens automatically... That's crazy! The final product looks beautiful.

[@writeforanimation]

I consider watching the movie just because of the short.

[@R0llR0undInTheT0ilet]

I shudder to imagine how you will pass solid waste.

[@AtomAppleOMGizzle]

Be aspiring 3d animator "ohhh this will be interesting" ... "dammit, I still don't know what any of this means"

[@artsyomni]

I'm not so sure how easily this specific techniques can be applied to an entirely 2D video. From what I can tell, the motion vector points that guide the distortions of the hand-drawn line art are generated from the vertices of the 3D models. without that 3D model information, the software doesn't know how to distort the hand-drawn line art because there isn't a clear reference point.

[@TheRealSnapfoo]

Amen!

[@CuteWallflowergirl]

um.........wreck it ralph? the movie that just came out made by the same people who did paperman? yeah......

[@sephirotic87]

Nice and all but high tier traditional hand drawn japanese animation is still superior.

[@KevCraven]

This is just amazing technology. I would still say it's mostly 3D, since the 2D brush strokes are still being rendered onto a 3D model - but the end result is stunning!

[@juhbev]

Oh My Disney! kk

[@MissJazzDaFunk]

I used to think that Disney was boasting about combining 2D and 3D like... 2D characters in 3D backgrounds like always, and I thought it was no big deal. But now seeing this, I see what they mean about combining them. And this is just a BEAUTIFUL technique. I take back what I said about Paperman; can't wait to see it. PS. I'll see it because of Glen Keane's involvement and because the guy character looks like Jim Halpert from the Office. XD

[@BlakeBeat]

Wow. This is just amazing. I wasn't sure how this would end up looking like at all, but JEEZ. It looks spectacular. I love that I can see both styles at once-literally. I can tell it's CGI and traditional in the same frame.

[@IanMage]

I don't think you understood me correctly. I'm talking about a full length film with Paperman's style. Everyone knows that Wreck-It Ralph does not share the same animation style... :P

[@tanantish]

I'd say that the 3D side is pretty important still, I'm betting a lot of that advanced tweening is enabled by data calculated from 3D-land (in particular, motion vectors) to hint properly.

[@neviche]

If you go to tumblr, and search Paperman, you'll see an audio of it somewhere. I'd give you a direct link, but youtube doesn't allow links.

[@KyleKozmikDeLuxO]

Rumor has it that the next Disney film directed by Ron Clements and John Musker will be done in this style. Here's hoping that happens.

[@IanMage]

Disney needs to make a full length film with this animation sytle. It's brilliant, like nothing I've ever seen before.

[@MissJazzDaFunk]

I would use this technique for my personal project I call "The Passage"... Yeah... Kudos to Glen Keane.

[@anooska]

it wont be 2d animation, it'll be 3D animation disguised to look like 2D animation... big deal

[@KappyBabble]

The effects achieved within Tangled still honour the 2D elements they intended to bring into the film. You can watch that movie frame by frame and see exactly what elements they took from the traditional animation - which is why they brought the old classics on board to develop it. Tangled is still beautifully done, even without the 2D filters.

[@clenchport]

"Computers" are doing the work of the animator eh? Umm no... it's the opposite actually. "The computer" is merely a tool. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't do the animation for you or make animation quicker. You can't just "push a button and it's there". You still have to... you know... ANIMATE. It's not an automated process.

[@TheOnlyMerlin]

From what I understand many companies start with a core program (Maya, 3D Studio, or even something in-house) and then extend it's capabilities with additional technology (ie plug-ins, extensions, & modifications). Some of what you see is likely in-house technologies that you can't get your hands on. If you want similar technologies, they will have to be bought (if available), or built. Time to become an elite programmer?

[@HNIC_Neochilds]

My thing with some comments is that I hope you are all looking at what other outside sources are doing beside the American companies who gave up on 2d as it was a slower process plus not many artist are skilled 2d animators. I have seen countless animation from Japan and france which seem to push the boundaries beyond what Disney has done while doing blends of this fashion or even doing things other would thing is impossible. Lets see what Disney will claim as their own now.

[@HNIC_Neochilds]

I see where you are going but overall that alone does not impress me as I have seen Japanese animation and games which use similar tech or even go further with Toon shading and blending. Companies like Bandai, studios like studio Bones, Studio 4C and studio Ghibli. I know right now they are showcasing the tech so lets see what they can do as in the end new tech open possibilities for more things to be done cheaper.. and possible make crappier art as seen by many modern day 2d animation

[@PrepEnforcer]

The final product is a bit more complex than simple cel-shading. Most evident @4:31. Hair moves and deforms in 3D but has a 2D look. It is possible to hand draw the effect or rig the hair to do it, but the techniques they use is a hybrid and seems to be more efficient than using either one alone; a la automatic tweens!!! Is there a specific film or game you are referring to? It's like James Cameron's Avatar. The final product wasn't nearly as interesting as the actual development process.

[@EvilAnimator1138]

You're not entirely wrong and you're not entirely right. It's both. It's tech that was evolved from what was used by Glenn Keane for Tangled. Using vector graphics and 3D animation, animators can apply hand drawn fundamentals in manipulating the CG models. Animating with a computer has always been referred to as animating with boxing gloves on. This technology essentially removes the gloves and puts a pencil, or pressure sensitive stylus in this case, into the hands of the animators.

[@matthewbrookeart]

looks cool but i cant help but think it wouldve just looked nicer and probably been easyer to just draw and paint it by hand (i meen could still be painted in photoshop or another program) but for me personaly still lacks the charm of hand drawn animation, still nice to see them pushing boundrys a bit i can stil tell its cg movement tho it dosent feel like a painting of thats what they r going for....

[@Sanischan]

Ehh Im not sure, this works with the motion vectors recorded from the 3D animation. in order for this advanced tweening to work you'd have to place these motion vectors on it yourself. So you might as well use frame by frame drawn animations in that case. The first part of the video is at least as important to show you how much works goes into preparing this advanced tweening. I am very doubtful that this would work in 2D at all.

[@rs.matr1x]

I've been hoping someone would do this eventually. Does this speed up the process of 2D animation in any way, or just makes it easier to do high quality 2D animation faster, and most will stick to what they currently use (ie flash, anything that uses traditional key frame/tweening) It'll be interesting to see the USA return to dominance of 2D animation after dominating 3D for so long.

[@CaptainOblivion]

The second portion of the video is showing advanced 2d tweening techniques. The fact that they're drawn over 3d video is incidental; those techniques could easily be applied to an entirely-2d video, to greatly speed up production time while maintaining quality of animation. In theory, this could bring back commercial interest in making 2d animations the way 3d printing has bolstered stop-motion lately.

[@sammisays]

There's another lovely interview on KZbin with Kahrs and the producer (Kristina Reed) I recommend to those interested that discusses Ed Catmull's influence in that arena. Can't seem to link to it, unfortunately, but worth a watch. My greatest hope is that this short film proves to Disney the enthusiasm and love people still have for traditional animation -- when done well. This can only invigorate the medium if used with good taste.

[@HulktySSJ2]

How much longer until this short is available to watch on KZbin!?

[@Sanischan]

I think this comment really really really doesnt do it justice. The comment is generally used at horrible love stories, which despite being horrible, -still- are a better love story than twilight. Putting this piece among those is almost like saying it's bad, because crossing that bar requires hardly any effort whatsoever.

[@YRUreal]

This was a really good and though out short, however, I think the ending was a bit rushed. I don't think the ending of it was really all that strong. Don't really like how the paper planes came to life. Would have hoped for a more realistic approach, as it in the direction they first were going from the beginning of the film. But, over all, super good!

[@timidemerald]

yes, but it's still catering to the growing demand for 2D animated movies, indicating that people REALLY want it back and studios are gradually becoming more willing to accomodate that demand. Even though there's a risk of this kind of hybrid animation replacing 2D altogether, it's a big step and shows that there's an effort to keep 2D animation from going extinct.

[@HNIC_Neochilds]

hmm Japanese animation have been doing this for some time, with toon shaders,Even some Japanese games use this technology on a high level. Not entirely impressed as yet. Lets see how they use their tools. I am more interested in the story,now that they have John they should not mess up.

[@Hiddencamela]

I hope this technology/software gets streamlined enough to bridge the workflow gap between traditional 2D and 3D..... Don't get me wrong, there's lots of good work in 3D, and amazing things are coming out of it, but there's just a life and quality in 2D that is lost in the transition to 3D....

[@sachikoaichan]

Not really. You still have to know art and the principles of animation to do digital animation. There's no magic animate button or anything like that. You still need skills, knowledge and time to animate. BTW traditional art also has a ton of shortcuts too.

[@sachikoaichan]

You do know that the difference between digital and traditional art is the medium, they both take skill and knowledge to actually make it. It's not cheating it's a different technique, and it still takes just as much skill to complete it.

[@NecronomiPod]

This technology is absolutely stunning. It combines the aesthetics of traditional animation with the smoothness of CGI. It's a best of both worlds scenario. I look forward to seeing the implications this will have on the industry.

[@Flixsl]

Go look at the incredibles again.. The way they did hair in that was groundbreaking and is what allowed other companies (including blizzard) to figure it out.. Pixar/disney has always been on the forefront of ground breaking tech and ideas..

[@TheBaldr]

No you don't. I'm not even a fan of this. It feels almost bad in cheating at animation as rotoscope. I have mad respect for old school animators, they could bring something to life one drawing at a time. It a dying art.

[@Silver77cyn]

I just saw this a few hours ago with my family,we all loved it! (Especially my dad...) I find it kind of weird that 3-D models are needed to make a 2-D short, I just don't know how animation works :/ But I love it!!

[@ryanh206]

CG novice here (wouldn't even call me novice) Does anyone know what software they are using - It's not Maya is it? Crazy the way it blends all the hand drawn elements, it really wouldn't work as regular texture maps would it?

[@Jerberjer]

this is entirely different. You're confusing cel shading, (which renders a drawn outline over the model automatically) with meander (which lets you draw lines ON the model and touch up the finished animation)

[@sammisays]

This is the break down of the new technology behind Disney's most recent short film, Paperman. It will debut in front of Wreck-It Ralph on November 2nd. Essentially, it blends 2D and 3D tech. Does that help?

[@Angeliclily]

If every disney movie used this art style, I wouldn't mind them not using 2D. Cell shade is THE WAY TO GO. OAO

[@giblaz]

It's convenient for the animators... a lot of smart people had to come up with the math and algorithms to pull this stuff off. It's arguably way more difficult if you think of it like that.

[@doseiaisha]

it is a breathtaking leap forward in the art of animation, but at the same time, it is a little unsettling seeing another job that no longer requires a person. In betweeners are a thing of the past

[@HNIC_Neochilds]

I second that as tangled was awesome in production and give a nod to the 2d elements it derived from. That is what happens when you have heads that understand art and not just number crunchers.

[@Climrockz]

maybe i get downvoted into oblivion for saying this but....i think blizzard makes better 3d animations than disney and pixar together (not from the content, but from the effects and the animation designs)

[@TheFlowMind]

Yeah you do. if you want to draw something you have to have a 3d idea of what it looks like even if you're drawing with a pencil. This animation is enchanting and good as the old one...

[@eskimoshmo]

Amazing stuff. The aesthetic and grace of traditional animation in a fraction of the time. I hope more animation studios use similar techniques in the production of major feature films.

[@mysterben]

Saw this in full at Siggraph this year, absolutely stunning. There were quite a few people wiping away tears at the end, very funny and moving, can't wait to see it again. Bravo Disney!

[@ltn255]

They wanted to implement this technology for Tangled but I think they didn't have the resources at the time. But this looks breath-taking and I can't wait to see it finished!!

[@vinzalmena]

This will be the next step in disney animation tecnique!! I really hope that they could add so much of this technology in Frozen in comparison with the the subtle use in tangled!!

[@buddbasset]

hmm... CGI the whole picture and then draw over them, interesting... but whats that? 2D drawings reacting to 3D world... JUST. LIKE. THAT?! WITCH CRAFT! WITCH CRAFT!!!!

[@xectilus5530]

It's crazy how much behind-the-scenes trickery is required for an effect that looks so clean. But then more attractive animation always takes more effort by its very nature

[@TheRealSnapfoo]

Yep! Long hair in 3D was unheard of when they started the Incredibles. But they did it anyway. AND they put it through water, wind, and all kinds of other factors.

[@johanstone]

unbelievable... i didn´t think for a second that this was 3d... (i didn´t watch the entire short film yet). finally they made it, they emulated 2d perfectly

[@HarvestmanMan]

CGI in black and white just looks so stunning. In some ways, this was better than Wreck-It Ralph.

[@Unvomit]

I'm pretty sure I enjoyed this short more than I did the movie. Not that the movie was bad, but, this short was beautiful in every way that it could be.

[@RibbityJo]

WAY too many people think we have an auto-animate button on the keyboard, sigh. I've lost count how many times I explained that to family and friends.

[@T8fgzz]

Technically its all 3D, the software simply changes the look of the 3D. But its a welcome change. You could say the 2D is in the developmental stage.

[@sammisays]

I doubt and hope that will not be the case. To me, it seems this technology still requires the user to have a lot of skill -- and more control, not less.

[@simpsonsfreak23]

Wow, this is so complicated but really really incredible!

[@TheFanguy123]

017 CREEPY

[@zooMZooMlikeATyphOOn]

why do you list this as creative commons if disney owns all the copyrights? if someone uses this video they could be liable for a lawsuit.

[@aderose]

OH...MY...GOD!!!!! THIS IS FUCKING BEAUTIFUL!!!! IF THIS DOESN'T BRING BACK 2D ANIMATION THEN I WILL BE FUCKING PISSED OUT OF MY ASS!!!!

[@BrothaDoug]

Yeah, like NBA Street Vol. 2 & those Sly Cooper games.

[@v-22]

This won the Oscar? I just watched three animations on Vimeo that were better than this, but I guess they weren't made by DISNEY!

[@TheFanguy123]

lol (\

[@helloiamjt]

now one of my favorite disney shorts. perfect way to start a movie like Wreck-It Ralph

[@johndoe-we8ch]

WTF are you talking about? What they are doing is so fucking convenient compared to drawing a good old cartoon frame by frame.

[@matthewbrookeart]

also the auto inbetweening thing is crazy im sure the computer would mess it up sometimes but still O.O takin ppls jobs ! lol

[@iamtheV0RTEX]

I didn't understand what I was seeing until the smiley face on the hand. Then it clicked and I went HOLY SHIT THAT'S FANTASTIC

[@GriffGriffin]

No.

[@ivannamari]

For the person who doesn't know anything about processes of animation's creation this video looks absolutely weird x)

[@toGatherThinskin]

2:04 the part with "motion-pasting" blew me away.

[@StinkyScrublet]

This comment has less originality than Twilight.

[@alexeneka]

my brain demands to have its sense of awe fix'd, this thing OVERLOADED ME

[@bgyoshi]

lmao, it won't bring back 2D animation, it'll get more studios trying to emulate this 2D in 3D style.

[@MrFaronheit]

when will the full short be up online, and where? I wanna watch it again, but not Wreck it Ralph

[@theworldisflatable]

I didn't exactly understand everything that happened in the video but damn that looked pretty.

[@giblaz]

It's just a different way of approaching the goal of creating an experience. Get used to it.

[@SuperNEKO64]

I just came from wreck it ralph. Paperman was animation pronz!! oAo

[@nobodyalive777]

I´m afraid this could replace adobe flash to make cartoons, i don´t want that!! :(

[@T0mR0b1n]

You don't get it. Paperman is 3D animation with 2D rendering,

[@kennethelliott9248]

A-ma-zing. I want to see a feature length film done this way.

[@GriningLewdist]

I'll never accept fake 2d animation.

[@DrMecha]

I saw that short in a private screening of "Wreck-it Ralph". It's really good.

[@tibortresla]

The tech and softwares behind this are amazing. Goddamn they are so fantastic.

[@JozannaHanawalt487]

This short is proof that CG and hand drawn animation can co-exist together.

[@TDLBallistic]

whatever this movie is or is going to be I WANNA SEE IT

[@mikethe4th]

It's good to see Disney being innovative. This is what it's all about.

[@CartoonFranco]

I really hope so. Cause this video looks like the opposite for me...

[@polarity1]

This is done in 3D with 2D elements. Did you not watch the video?

[@bandoSquirrel]

2 people are too young to remember the awesome of 2D animation

[@TheBetterGamer]

Who has the actual short? I'd love to see it :P

[@IsabelGarcia-di7mv]

I just this short film before Wreck it Ralph! Great movie 3