Thank you for making this! I am new to Blender (2 months) but worked in the anime industry in Japan in the 90s, including at Production IG for Ghost in the Shell, Blood the Last Vampire, etc. Your video helps me think about using my new tools with my old skills and techniques together. When we first shifted to digital production, the worst problem was backlighting (all those glows). There was no tool for it and it took a good deal of work to get it close to what we could do in the camera room. Even then, in camera we had to shoot the scene, run it back, change the camera so it had a light under a frosted glass pane on the camera stand, then shot cels with everything blacked out but the light areas superimposed over the original scene. It was slow and expensive and there was no preview but looked so good. Things are so much better now! :) fwiw we used to shoot everything on camera with diffusion filters, ranging from very light to heavy, and the change to digital made everything a lot sharper. Adding in scratches and VHS glitches is funny to me because we worked so very hard to make that not happen. Thanks again for this video!

This feels like a part of a course that'd go for $249, incredible.

Couple words on framerate: Notice how on those old animations, different objects have different framerates! For example, the main character has 24-30 FPS, while the midground and surrounding junk might have 20 or 16. This is very important in that it points attention, highlights objects and helps to convey different materials properties.

Amazing. Btw if someone is wondering why the 12fps train at the end looks so choppy while traditional animation typically does not, it's because it's missing line strokes to convey sense of motion (i.e. it acts as some sort of motion blur, though it's not technically blur). These strokes are very common in manga to depict motion in still images. But they're also present in animations. Sometimes the shape gets deformed or the light leave a streak for a strong effect. The train at the end lacked those, thus the only way to know it's moving is by looking at the animation, and since that's the only reference, at 12 fps it looks choppy.

This one going straight in my best tutorials playlist, thank you for being a part of this community

90's japanese animation quality was the height of 2D animation that hasn't been seen again in 20 years. The animators during that time were masters.

Another thing that is game changer is ink bleed in strokes, mask/keyed to a grunge texture layer. You make a parallel node to the stroke, displace it a little bit and add a bit of outer glow to it and then put a grunge texture set to screen blending mode but with It masked to the Outer glow. It looks incredible, also a ortographic camera in some cases can really sell a 2d look

So I wasn't the only one seeing this 90's imagery aesthetic. Night cities are the best so far... glowing windows at the distance make me feel isolated and surreal. This is why I consider all the 90's titles I watched being highly psychodelic

Awesome video! Stuff like this is what makes me so pumped up and excited bout doing 3D

The moment I scream in fangirl. Can't say THANK YOU enough for sharing your talent.

This was so inspiring!

The interesting thing about comparing traditional and 3D animated workflows is that for traditional workflows, you end up with a pretty consistent amount of workload throughout the entirety of the production process, from the pre-production storyboarding and initial character reference sheets, through to the week-to-week animation workflows. With the 3D workflow, you have a larger initial time investment in creating character models and environments, adding skeletons for animating, and determining lighting, shaders, materials, etc. So you typically end up with more initial workload that you can do before the show starts airing, and then there's less that you need to actually make during the production, so you can focus more on just animating the existing resources instead of needing to redraw vast amounts of keyframes per episode, and potentially have to repaint entire background and environmental panels multiple times to cope with changing camera perspectives. I have a lot of nostalgia for 2D hand-drawn or hand-painted animation, because it has just so much unique character to it, but I do believe that 3D animation will reach a point in the near future where it will become almost indistinguishable from it if that is the desired art direction.

I love how trying to copy anothers art you fall upon techniques that end up giving it your own style. I bet the more you study in this way, the more you find what feels your own.

I have these discussions about old school 80s and 90s anime all the time so this video was extremely refreshing. Not only was your thought process and breakdown very thoughtful but you also kept the 90s aesthetic going for this actual youtube video as well. The stone/granite backgrounds with the thick bevels on the graphic/text portions of the video were a nice touch! Very detailed. Along with the music and everything of course. Dope video. So thoughtful!

Original 12FPS is very important, because pen and paper artists at that time would blend motion blur or other exaggerated deformations into each drawings(some studios did it using computers in post-production, but most old school ones like Studio Ghibli didn't) so some kind of motion downscaling/reverse interpolation would be closer to original intended art style..

Didn't even know you could recreate such a style with this blender. Really shows the potential of 3D anime. Keep up the great work.

I love how big the Blender community is. I am attracted to Blender for a dozen reasons, 2D animation being a major one. I am not generally a huge fan of 'anime" though the aesthetic techniques you display here have given me a new appreciation for the now nostalgic feeling I get from the olde original traditional cel animation stuff. You have brilliantly employed some very basic techniques to evoke different emotions and I really agree with your basic premise that the original medium's constraints forced a type of discipline that then became a hallmark of the style itself that requires careful consideration to re-create using modern 3D given that options are now so exponentially expanded . Regarding the framerate I feel it has a HUGE effect on my appreciation of what one would call"anime" The limitations and thus decisions to use as FEW frames as possible and still achieve a consistent look is key to the entire aesthetic for me. 12 fps stepped up to 24 is way preferable for me than anything too oozing silky smooth like 30ps. A main complaint I had about video vs film initially before I ever understood the effect of frame rate and the shutter speed relationship for motion was the overly creamy smoothness. 24fps is LOCKED into my skull as THE frame rate for motion picture story stuff. And the 12 fps stepped up to 24 is itself a huge part of the functional pleasing aesthetic of "anime" which, to me, has always just really meant "limited motion animation".

This is probably one of the best & comprehensive explanation/intro to emulating the classic anime style 👌

I never realized how much I needed to watch more random Blender tutorials until the last week. I've been just trying to do stuff and learn by doing, but watching tutorials makes me see that things can be way simpler if you know the goal you are trying to achieve. Thanks for this tutorial, it gave me a good slap to the back of my head, and now I am even more motivated to improve.

Wow. I’ve just found this channel and I’m blown away, really nice to see such sophisticated analysis of a medium and not just technical knob twiddling in swift ware for the sake of it!

honestly, this video is the best explanation of why generations of animation feel so different. it's a great video that even non-animators should watch to learn and appreciate the history of anime and more generally animation as a lot of the core philosophy carries over to American animation.

The Summer Night at the end was a pleasant surprise, especially pleased that the title was included in the description of the video. Thanks for sharing some interesting techniques!

Thankyou, this is soo good. The sheer versatility of blender is incredible...

been in a bit of a creative rut recently, this has just given me so much inspiration and got me excited to make things again so thank you

This is a really neat mix of Film/Art Analysis and Blender Tutorials on Neat Things to Try. (Some of my Favorite Things!)

Wow! That was unexpected! Great indepth look at not only blender process and thought process but an analysis of style I cherish so much to boot. Thank you!

One of the best tutorials I've seen so far in my time learning blender, well done ser!

this is the best video to date on this topic, beautiful breakdowns on the scenes and composition

Thank you so much for making this. I really appreciate that you went in depth into the stylistic aspects of the originals (and remakes) rather than just pure blender.

I opened this video with the intent of watching a few minutes and then saving it for later because it was late, but I ended up watching all of it because it was so well done. I love the style of 90s anime and have been always intrigued by the concept of mixing 3d and 2d animation. Also this video doesn't feel like other tutorials where they just tell you what to do step by step, but you actually explain your thought process as well as showing how you achieve the result you're looking for. To me it felt more like a course or a documentary rather than a simple tutorial. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and resources

This was not only beautiful and inspiring, it reinforced my love for the blender and animation communities. You guys are such awesome people. I recently started reading Framed Ink to further understand visual storytelling and you make some amazing points. I grew up on these films and absolutely loved seeing how you did this. I’m only half a year into learning blender and two years into studying 2D as a hobby. Even if I don’t make money from it, this stuff is so cool to try and make. Cheers.

Holy crap, the QUALITY here is astounding. I love the style and will definetly get back to this video atleast 6 times this next month. Amazing video, so much effort and really helpful❤️

Gee, the tech behind this is amazing, and so are your skills of actually using those features, like choosing the right triggers etc.

im so glad you address the thing about traditional inking and painting! its true, the classic asthetic is about the concious artistic decisions, not about whether theyre using real paint vs a computer. thank you very much

I am absolutely blown away by your work. Please keep it up! I especially like the fact, that you point out to use the modern tech scarcely as not to lose the original intent and mood of the scene. Three thumbs up (if I could)! You have got another subscriber to your channel!

thank you for this one!

This was literally the best video ever: informative, reminiscent, cool, funny, chill, creative. You truly know your stuff as well as how to present everything in a unique, understandable, and entertaining way. Thank you for this video🙏

Wow! This is amazing + I appreciate the depth, clarity, and pacing at which you showed us your process!

Mind-blowing. This is fulfilling my "Every frame a painting" gap. Lovely narration and detail for audiences with less experience. Subscribed. Thank you for going so in-depth and showing multiple examples of the technique. So much was learned from one tutorial.

Love the style. I'm amazed at how much the framerate impacts the "traditional anime" look and feel. Great content.

It's actually really interesting seeing how you build the set for your scenes because they're actually very very similar to how they would be constructed in a film soundstage or for a stage production! And I think recreating some of the constraints from that era helps invoke the feel of it. A lot of mediums have become iconic because of the limitations placed on the technology of the time and traditional animation is no different. Love this!

This is one of the greatest tutorials! Loved how you explain every thing.

These tips are gold. Thanks for sharing

16:45 this entire part blew my mind, the level of creativity and just how simple it really is is awesome.

Always appreciate a good artist.

Can't wait to try this, amazing work.

This is absolutely gorgeous and fit right in to my aesthetics. Your slow voice over, that silent hill 2 like music (intro sounds like White noiz), the sheer craftmanship of using blender in a more fun way and rare screen projection in digital art! I mean it seems this tutorial is made with everything I love and everything that inspires me. Thank you so much for this super cool tutorial. Subscribed!

Phenomenal video, I’ve been trying to nail down a stylized 3D feel and this is great

I just started learning blender and randomly clicked on this video and boy did i have fune! You're voice is soft and comfortable paired with the bg music and as an artist I leanred a lot about scenes and lighting and everything!

I've been looking for something like this for so long, this is amazing. Thank you so much for teaching us these tips and tricks

That was pretty badass. Especially since I was born in the 70s. I really got into those 80s and 90s anime masterpieces in my early 20s. I remember collecting fuzzy VHS copies from comic conventions that were copies of a copy of a copy, but still being blown away by the artistry of them so it's pretty awesome to see a super cleaned up version in Blender! Great work!

This is gold! Great information and explanation

uau amazing breakdown, loved it

Thank you so much for posting this. This will be integral for my short film when I’m done with the storyboards. Much appreciated as someone who loves the ‘90s era particularly when it comes to animation

Love your Tutorials broo

Thanks man, very inspirational. I really like the 12 fps frame rate value, since it really feels like an anime movie. There are some games like Guilty Gear that uses the same techniques to skip some frames for the animations.

That was a golden era. Unforgettable. Great stuff

this has blown my mind. stunning work and stunning video.

The quality of this video and the depth of your analysis is staggering. I'm not an illustrator or visual artist, but I found this gripping.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. This video itself is so well made with all the details of blender workflow, comparing two images and how changes effect the outcome. Thanks 🙏🏻

04:14 The Prince of Egypt did a wonderful job on that. And it has never been done since in that style.

I could listen to you for hours! Your work is amazing and your vision is beautiful! Great work 👍

24 minutes I did not regret spending. It is rare to find guides that are artistic as well as technical insightful

This video is very interesting, it feels more like a documentary than a tutorial, I'm an intermediate artist and I have thoughts of putting all more of my workflow in blender. Plus learned a lot about Art and some of your insight in studying old anime, camera movements are great but static cameras should not be forgotten, this give me another weapon to share my visions. Thanks for the video.

The level of thought and detail that went into how you presented this was absolutely incredible. Thank you for taking the time to genuinely talk about the reason for making style choices and not just throwing your node setup out there with no preamble or reasoning. This is super inspirational and really helped me get a better idea how to develop a style I've been chasing for the past 6 months.

Phenomenal tutorial, mixes techniques and concepts ridiculously well. The shader to rgb tip alone is worth a sub

This is just beautiful

Absolutely phenomenal work and info, and incredibly generous of you too. Thank you. I'm a painter of city scenes looking at stretching my legs into using Blender to recreate my visions in some way but I've been having trouble visualising something that would work within what I'm doing. Thank you for giving me a way in.

OMG, if someone makes a game that looks like a 90s anime, but really 2D while being 3D im gonna cry... Also the "Bloom Effect" on old Cell Animes is insanely good

This is super cool, especially the "simple" but very effective shader and post-process work you are doing. Thank you so much for sharing.

I feel so peaceful and relaxed watching you recreate much loved pieces of the past into modern day mediums.

1. This video is so unbelievably insightful and incredibly well made, thank you for this as someone who enjoys this sort of stuff 2. You have completely changed the way I though about how the camera can be used in a work of art 3. what is the ambient track played throughout most of the video, it really helps the entire vibe of the video.

music used in the video itself is "PATLABOR 2 OST 12：At Parting" Has such a great cyberpunk-ish vibe to it.

amazing work i never would have thought of making a 3d scene as a 2d overlay of old 💚

Hands down best tutorial I've seen all year. Thank you!

The technique of using layers is what used to be called a multi-planar camera shot. (Created -- or at least popularized -- by Disney for "Snow White", I believe.)

Figuring out how 2d games and animation used parallax to represent 3d camera movement as a kid was a really cool way to learn.

I loove this. So many simple but effective techniques, especially in your coloring section.

I love the look! well done mate

Wow. Absolutely love the look of the old anime. Would like to see more, even a small tutorial from start to finish would be amazing.

Being fairly new to blender, this video is an awesome treasure to be found... Any chance you'll consider making a whole series? Maybe including a video on materials or things like that?

Love how you provide context and history lesson. Really great narration 👍

I love the dedication your videos show!

I’m quite into 90’s anime recently and I know nothing about blender. However, the content of the video really inspires me to get into blender. Thanks for your informations.

Thank you so much for this. Hope you have a good day.

Incredible Tutorial! Thank you so much taking the time to put this together!

this video could’ve been a simple tutorial, but you went in depth about the style and explained it really well, i ended up learning more than what i expected

One thing that I feel could also be helpful when trying to replicate this style is the lens you choose to shoot the scene with. A lot of objects in 90s, especially the cars, aren't very forshortened. So using a more shallow lens like a 75 mm will help give the scene a more flat look

omg this is not supposed to be free, such a jewel

Thank you so much for this because it's so inspiring. I love this whole anime era esthetic alongside cell shading and want to come up with my whole unique style. So videos like this help a tone. Looking to check out more of your tutorials!

One of the best videos on blender/scene creation ever seen. U rock.

Fantastic video, I'm just now jumping into all that blender can do. It honestly blows my mind, just 20 years ago this kind of tech and education would have cost thousands... Hopefully, i can come to grips with the software, made my first doughnut yesterday so that's a start lol

You deserve so many more followers, great breakdown, i really loved the format and content, awesome work my dude. If I can ask a thing about the composition, in the last scene you realized you used the same circle road loop to make the road move, but from the perspective it doesn't look like a perfect circle, how did you manage to make it rotate and flatten the surface at the same time without making it look too round? Wish you a great day, thanks again for the awesome content mate.

All your videos are exactly what I'm looking for. Loving this channel 💎

That was the best blender video I’ve ever watched. Since you cover the why as well as the how. Please, more!

You could experiment with mixed framerates. Background mattes were often moved smoothly, while any movement in 3d was 12 fps max.

I'm brand new to Blender (got instantly obsessed with geometry nodes, haven't even made my first donut yet) and I've been trawling tutorials for cool stuff to eventually try. THIS IS THE COOLEST, no idea how it doesn't have a million views already. The presentation, exposition, and context/comparisons are all stellar, and your love for the style and artform shines through at every stage. Question: How does the computational/rendering load of this style compare to the more modern 3D-focused Blender content we usually see? I'm struggling along with a GTX1650S until RTX pricing insanity dies down, so being able to try new stuff without melting my PC would be a plus 😅

You sir ARE A GOD. Creating worlds. AMAZING!

That was amazing! Thanks for all the hardwork. Hope to see more of your videos!

Beautiful video