Visual Effects then and now

Here's an image that has been spread around on FB alot these days.



1983... I wasn't even born yet! And now I'm a degree holder in Digital Animation.

Times have changed since the day of JAWS and even the classic King Kong!

Animatronics and Stop motion animation was THE defining tool back in pre-Digital Effects era. In fact one of the best case studies of the day is in fact King Kong past and present (and on a more updated note, TRON). I used to marvel at the awesomeness of Terminator 1 on Laser Disc! (And kids if you don't know what a laser disc is... go wiki).

At the time of the first generation of space invaders, people were blown away by the visuals and were literally Dodging bullets as they came by.

Yet now in my position of being able to create these 3D marvels, I look back and admire the art from the past. To some extent I always knew that the objects were "fake" yet I loved them all the same. It really wasn't purely the visuals but the experience of cinema and movie magic.

Reality on screen has taken a significant twist in terms of how you view it. Much like art. What is perceived to be real has now become hyper real.

My true moment of reckoning came when I was driving by the road one day. I took a look at the sky and was like

"Hey! What a beautiful day. And what beautiful clouds! Oh wait... Shouldn't those clouds have less of a back shadow and a slight feathering towards the trailing ends?"

Yup! That's me criticising mother nature itself! haha

At the end of the day, honestly, I guess I have a soft spot for the old school ways hahah.. It's my "I like to build things with my hands physically" side of me talking. You clearly know its a toy, but you marvel at how perfectly integrated it has been.

To all aspiring artists out there, some of the best quotes I have read in recent times came from 3DArtist Magazine.

"To teach art, you must learn it completely"

"If Leonardo Da Vinci was alive today he would be a computer programmer and an artist."

-Ryan Kingslien , the first product manager of zbrush.

Master your basics and use technology to enhance your workflow.

JJ