Butt-Ugly Martians: an all-CG show delivered on time and on budget. © 2001 Universal Worldwide Television, Inc., Just Group PLC, Mike Young Productions, Inc., DCDC Limited

TV animation is sometimes thought of as being the ultimate in disposable entertainment. It is mostly a 2D art form, but recently we've seen both some exciting, and not so exciting, forays into CGI animation for TV. The term 'tra-digital' comes to mind when I think of CGI productions that use 2D methodology and planning. Producers of TV animation, who only a few years ago were thrilled at the possibilities of CG production, now want to avoid what has become a cliché. CGI is now sometimes seen as an undependable and dangerous investment. A number (but not all) of CGI series have been delivered late, gone over budget and been difficult to control creatively. In general a feeling of overall predictability has eluded the producers who need to have control over what should be no more complicated than the 2D animation process. If CGI is to thrive as a commercial viability for television over the next few years, we must try to ensure that it will be as predictable as 2D animation production.

I have worked on most of the "all CG" animated TV shows that ever saw airtime and were produced in the United States. This gives you an idea about how small the CGI for television animation community is. Most recently I was CG animation director on Butt-Ugly Martians, which is currently airing, or is soon to air, in most territories worldwide. We completed 26 episodes of this all CG animated TV series on time and on budget. It was also my first experience working overseas, at DCDC, in Hong Kong. I have 10 years of production experience in the animation industry, and have signature approved close to 20,000 scenes as an animation supervisor. Having supervised two all CG animated TV series that were both completed on time (52 half-hour episodes), I would like to share with you my opinions; some of what I believe works for CGI television production and what does not.

Here are four areas of how some TV animation producers have gotten into trouble with CGI animation for TV and ended up in or close to that cartoon graveyard.

Stylized sets and characters were hallmarks of the late series Voltron: The Third Dimension, on which Josh Prikryl was a supervising animator. TM & © World Events Productions.

1. The Producer's insistence on extreme realism, rather than a stylization of the characters and sets.
This points to producers' preference for realism in CG television, and although the technology might arguably be available, it is not always practical to produce realistic CG TV animation at this time. Why not, you ask? There have been very few realistic CGI TV shows that have been produced on time, so there's some history to think about. Kids don't necessarily prefer it, and they are the intended audience. It's a burnout for your animation crew to produce overly realistic scenes while on a TV animation schedule. People complain about the "weird" look the characters sometimes have. If it doesn't make good financial and practical sense to produce a realistically animated 2D production for television (can you name one?), then it probably doesn't make sense in 3D production. To develop a realistic look that is maintainable is one thing, but when one combines this difficulty with some of the other pitfalls it becomes impossible.