The news the other day that Laika, producers of the fantastic stop motion feature Coraline (see image) have laid off 65 CG animators to concentrate on stop motion features made me think about the old '2d animation is dead' arguments. Together with the news that Pixar are developing a 2d project, it proves that animation techniques swing in and out of fashion. 3d was meant to be the technique that would kill off all other forms of animation, and some short sighted studios closed down their entire 2d production arms, often because of one flop, only to reopen them again a few years later when it occured to them that audiences want good stories, and generally don't care the about the process. So what if a movies character has three trillion strands of hair on its nose if the story is boring!
The good thing is, there is still a demand for good animation, and the boundaries between what is a 2d film and what is a 3d film are getting smaller all the time....and I for one am glad. I'm rather bored of the argument anyway. As a 2d animator I have been out of fashion several times before, but who knows, by next year I could be really trendy again.
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