Go Tokyo Your Experience
Have you ever paid special attention to the perspective position on the screen when watching animations? Takashi Watanabe, a veteran director who has directed anime adaptations of popular light novels such as “The Witcher,” “Sharna the Eye,” and “Alia the Scarlet Bullet,” recently shared his observations on the changing perspectives in modern animation on social media.
He pointed out that modern animation often adopts a very high perspective, as if looking down from a ladder. This contrasts sharply with the common waist height perspective in the past, causing the floor to frequently appear in the picture. Next, let’s take a look at netizens’ interpretations of this phenomenon.
After browsing some modern animations for a while, I immediately noticed that they often use abnormally high perspectives, like standing on a ladder. In the past, animators were accustomed to keeping their gaze parallel to their waist. It seems that times have really changed! For me, this is a learning experience. In order not to be eliminated, I also need to update in a timely manner and keep up with the pace of the times
Senior Japanese animation director Takashi Watanabe recently shared on X platform that he noticed the phenomenon that “the visual perspective of modern animation is usually very high”, which has sparked heated discussions among netizens!
Many netizens also pointed out that as long as they watch animations frequently, they will find that modern works often display the floor on the screen, which means that the perspective is usually taken from a bird’s-eye view.
Japanese netizens have provided some visual examples of “being able to see the floor” to illustrate.
In addition, there are some examples of almost condescending perspectives
Some netizens have compiled various overhead shots that appeared in recent anime premieres.
Subsequently, Takashi Watanabe actively discussed with netizens to explore why modern animation so favors drawing floors and frequently uses a top-down perspective?
Due to his own lack of knowledge, the following are various explanations proposed by animation professionals and fans to see which one you prefer to believe
Because in the past, the perspective of animation often kept up with the height of children’s eyes, right
The movie Doraemon left a deep impression on me. Most of its shots adopt a lower perspective (even lower than Doraemon’s eye height), making the visuals very lively
Perhaps the popularity of the overhead perspective in comics has led to adapted animations being the same? Of course, this requires first studying the overview of the overhead perspective in comics
Manga artist Yuta said, “The causal relationship between them is uncertain, but online comics do use a more overhead perspective than traditional comics (the main image is a straight rectangle). Perhaps audiences are accustomed to this straight storyboard, which looks more natural to them
An animation editor once said that people who are accustomed to animation drawing rely heavily on a bird’s-eye view when drawing comic storyboards. Although this is beneficial for the beginning of the story, it makes the characters appear distant and less than ideal for readers
Anime producer Naoto Arakawa recalled:Thank You, Find Me in the Corner of the World “reminds me of observing the extensive use of overhead views in the promotion of the 2016 film. When I asked Director Tsuyoshi Katahara, the response I received was,” Because that’s how the original manga by Chiyoda Kono is. “This left me speechless
Some people believe that the reason is that perspective painting becomes difficult without floor assistance. In other words, few people can draw distant views, especially those who have worked as animators and storyboard artists. With the popularity of smartphone photography, this group of people is likely to increase
Senior animator Jiang Taihao shares:Since around 2000, I have been using convenient 3D tools to draw perspective of windows or columns, replacing the traditional hand drawn vanishing points. Nowadays, this has become the norm in the industry. I also frequently use 3DLO, although the benefits are significant, it inevitably comes with problems
He continued to preach:The biggest problem is that without 3DLO, many animators cannot draw on blank paper. Over time, even those who originally knew how to draw will regress, and those who don’t want to learn it don’t matter. But as long as you want to learn this skill, you must find a platform to use it
The animator exclaimed:Skilled talents are eagerly sought after by everyone, so there is no need to worry about not having a place to go. In addition to the floor, the overlooking angle can also showcase rich visual elements, enhancing the overall splendor