Which Animation Is Better? Traditional Vs. CGI
The field of video animation that we see today wasn’t always as polished or established. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong at all to mention that it had very humble beginnings, Initially starting out as cartoon strips for the amusem*nt of children in the late 1800s.
Animation has come a long way in today’s day and age in which it has conquered every medium possible. Whether it be tv shows, cinematic movies, video gaming, to even advertisem*nts, it has seen and done them all.
The very first form of animation was hand-drawn 2D animation,In which a single second of movement was drawn 12 times over and was then recorded by the camera, which resulted in the movement of characters and stories.
Whereas nowadays, we are more familiar with CGI 3D animation. The one which almost looks life-like. And it is so surreal that, for one example, out of countless more. Engineers use them for mapping every project out before they physically start working on them.
So the question right now that we have for us is which one is better: traditional 2D or modern CGI 3D? And to answer this question, we will go into the essential details of both styles of animation and after a comprehensive review, we will give our opinion on it.
So without further ado, let’s begin with the different types of animation. What makes them who they are, what are their pros, cons, and the causes that make them lose out to the other?
Traditional Vs. CGI
Traditional:
Let’s first discuss traditional animation in detail!
As stated above, they have been around for a long time. They are the 2D or two-dimensional kind, which can be described as hand-drawn in simple terms.
Their most prominent use has been in feature films, Television shows. They were the basis due to which television when launched, became so popular with children as it was traditional one that gave you all of your favorite childhood cartoons.
Walt Disney was able to create an all-conquering empire thanks to them. All of the world phenomena such as Mickey Mouse, Superman, Bugs Bunny, and countless more become cultural icons thanks to them.
Traditional animation still to this day commands a place in your life that modern CGI can never ever replace But the most significant reason why they were replaced in other fields such as ads etc., was that traditional one takes a lot of time to be made.
Every second of footage needs to be drawn 24 times to make the movement of 1 second and there were other factors as well, like every drawing needs to match. Their coloring needs to match, and many more technical details made traditional animation a long and tiring process.
CGI:
Due to the technical hurdles mentioned above, professionals are involved in this industry. Wanted a simpler solution because it now was no longer just a movie or tv ads business.
With the advancement of technology and the rise of the internet, even business and brand marketing was now being done through animation But they needed a solution that was not only a lot faster but a lot cheaper too.
So to fulfill this wish, CGI or 3D animation was created in the year of 1995. With Pixar studios, “Toy Story” was the first title of anything that utilized computer animation over hand-drawn one and you can say that it was this very moment that changed this industry forever and made it a mainstream industry.
Now cartoons in 3D animation were able to promote products that meant goldmines for brands. As a child, they believed mickey mouse telling them a lot more than sugary cereals were yummy for them than their parents telling them that they were not.
CGI was a lot cheaper and quicker to do than traditional animation. This is what made them become the preferred choice of advertisers, the gaming industry, and other professionals. Through them, they were able to release their output a lot quicker than they did with traditional.
Difference Between Them:
Following were the major differences between traditional hand-drawn 2D animation and CGI 3D animation. Go through them thoroughly so you can decide for yourself which animation is better than the other:
| Traditional | CGI |
| It took a long time to complete | It can be created in minutes |
| Extremely expensive to produce | Cheaper to Produce |
| Gives cartoonish feel | Nearly life-like feel |
| Utilized in Films, Tv cartoons | Used on every medium possible |
| Physical materials like pencils, paper are used to create them. | Virtual material in computers is used to create them. |
| They are 2D animation | They are 3D animation |
Reasons That Made Both Of Them Better Than The Other:
Now that we have discussed their different types and the major differences between them. So what we would like to highlight now are the reasons that made both of them better than the other so you can decide which is better than the other the following are them:
1) CGI Is Less Time Consuming So Work Output Is Quicker.
2) Traditional Still Feels Superior Quality.
3) CGI costs less money to produce.
4) Traditional is a literary work of art that stands the test of time.
5) CGI can be used in multiple mediums like Ads, Social Media, etc.
6) Traditional literature started animation.
