We take sophisticated, high-end computer animation for granted these days. Even smaller movie studios are putting out stunning, high-definition 3D animation. It wasn’t always like this.
A mini clip from 2023’s Elemental, showing the amazing CG graphics of the 2020s.
Obviously, modern computer animation had to start somewhere.
That somewhere includes a number of primitive and simplistic animated computer graphics, dating back to the early 1960s. These studies were some of the very first bitmap graphics ever put onscreen, back when computers filled entire rooms, and their combined compute power was nothing compared to today’s technology.
Sketchpad (1963) 3 of 3 – 3D Graphics
VintageCG is a great YouTube channel that features dozens of early computer graphics, from research labs to creative endeavors.
It’s fascinating to see some of the technical and artistic progressions that happened during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. It wasn’t until the early 1990s that the era of CG animation really started to take off. Even then, it was rudimentary by today’s standard.
From Frontiers in Computer Graphics, 1966.
“Eurythmy Motion Studies” , made in 1985, shows promise of the technology, including some full color motion. We like the boxy animal running, which shows structural elements.
Below we see a bizarre CG animation for the cigarette brand Benson & Hedges from 1987, maybe to showcase their creative prowess?
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