Bridging the gap between animation mediums in 'Wait.'

Abstract

In 1985, Disney’s ‘The Black Cauldron’, animated by Barry Cook, introduced the first experiments with combining three-dimensional (3D) with two-dimensional (2D) in a feature film. A year later in Disney’s ‘The Great Mouse Detective’, its distinguished ‘Clock tower scene’ encompassed sophisticated 3D animated clock gears with a 2D background environment. Ever since the appearances of these movies, artists have been finding inventive ways to combine both animation media. Fad decisions in the past are occasionally made based on the newness of the technique and medium. However, there are factors to determine why one medium is preferred over another—Line mileage, visual and technical complexity, skills of the production team, production schedule, physical assets and budget. Our short film ‘Wait.’ was produced to explore boundaries of integrating between 2D and 3D assets. This paper covers the art inspiration and technical experiments essential in creating ‘Wait.’, while taking into consideration the aforementioned factors, as well as outlining the challenges and solutions found to create a visually appealing ‘hybrid animation’.