If I had to analyze Steven universe’s style and say one thing I don’t like about it, it has to be how sort of flat it is/gotten.
The problem with this though is like, it’s hard to critique? It’s not a flaw of the artists, and definitely not something I think I can pinpoint with a cause.
I mean, looking at Rebecca’s old work, she uses many shapes that are strong and 3d. Joe Johnston’s work isn’t lacking in it either. In fact. Most of the crew has definite shape sense being animators, cause that’s basically required for the job.
Even the old pilot style was very shapely and felt 3d, not on a flat plane. Which is ironic cause many people compare it to adventure time, which is one of the flattest shows I’ve seen in terms of style (and before you complain- flatness is not a bad thing! Just for SU, there’s something uncanny about it)
Clearly, seeing the insane shift in styles from pilot to premiere shows CN had a lot of issues with it, and we are 6 seasons in now (style and models change per season usually) so they’ve been probably tweaking it too. It’s just a conundrum for me I suppose, unable to figure out the root of it
Ah, that would make sense! I could see being on the studio side and avoiding complex shapes and odd angles to save time and quality. I think I read something about lack of communication, but until I find it, I can’t say for sure 😦
And yeah. Loose models are definitely to make it easier to rush, for the sacrifice of quality.
@critical-greg
1. Literally I said this right there. The crewniverse aren’t lazy, and they never had a promise to be consistent, which while unfortunate, means you can’t use that against them in criticism for much more than a “I wish this happened, and here’s how.”
Plus there are numerous factors that go into a shows quality, and the majority of them have to do with the network. I will not accept baseless and needless negativity and insults to real people on my posts, over a cartoon
2. Star vs and Gravity falls are flat styled shows. And they’re Disney shows. Disney mostly does “flash animation”(not sure if you can call it that anymore), which more often than not benefits from flat designs to puppet. Even the rapunzel cartoon, wonder of yonder, and the rest had this attribute. They’re all flat, so it’s not a pitfall for them because it’s meant to be. Tl,dr: it’s not comparable.
1. Then how did the show go from pretty well animated to barely above Flash? Where did all the amazing back grounds and action shots go? Why aren’t the characters as expressive? Simple; they aren’t trying anymore and simply going along for a paycheck. They even had to go so far as to hire fanartists with no training with disastrous results.
2. They are very much comparable. Gravity Falls is not Flash animated but is much better animated than SU. Even the Flash shows are better animated than SU; look at any shot of WoY or Star Vs. Once again, it’s almost like the crews of those shows actually put effort into their craft.
The backgrounds are still amazing, and the characters are definitely expressive? And why would they be going along for the paycheck when half of them come and go from the show? You do realize they hire more storyboarders to keep the show from becoming too expensive right? Because the longer a boarder is on the show the more they get paid for their work
And they aren’t comparable, because again, they are meant for flatter animation. Steven Universe is not. Why are you upset about a post I made that actually had a complaint in it??
Cadet-For-Your-SpaceRescue 