Art is fairly resilient and all kinds of animation are still being created even by the younger generation. One reason is of course that it is just fun to do. Is it economically viable? I don’t know.
Why do people suddenly buy vinyl records? It’s hardly practical.
I read about a filmmaker the other day who wanted to make a film with what was available in the early seventies as that suited his subject. So that is what he did.
As a result of this thread, I have started experimenting a bit, and I have had some encouraging results. I will post about that in the showcase area. It is sort of an investigative endeavor: how can I make the AI tools work for me.
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As a result of this thread, I have started experimenting a bit, and I have had some encouraging results. I will post about that in the showcase area. It is sort of an investigative endeavor: how can I make the AI tools work for me.
IIRC, you like a more stylized look to your animations
You may want to have a look at this service that generates 360 degree AI environmental maps that you can use as environment in Iclone.
I hoarded about 100 of these 360 degree skyboxes over a year a ago for free before they locked downloads behind a rentwall
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I think the video examples shared by @AutoDidact look really cool, especially the stylized 360 turns, but also agree that for me there’s a difference between asking someone else (Generative AI) to create a piece of art versus creating the art myself. I’m a traditional artist (albeit not the greatest), but prefer to have complete control of the end product. I think where my artistic vision surpasses my talent is where I need to rely on tools that augment my skill, like an exoskeleton that allows me to carry more weight than one could imagine (if I were a superhero or something).
When it comes to 3D, I’m not quite there. I have made few videos with and prefer to just design characters, render models, and look at them as if they were in my GI Joe collection. I have that luxury as a hobbyist.
In any case, I think something is lost when moving from 2D to 3D, from 2D to AI-2D, and from 3D to AI-3D. It’s the human element that’s missing for me, no matter how good it looks. I’m still in awe watching short clips of Dragon’s Lair from Don Bluth, for example, versus watching a pixar/disney film. I think 3D has been trying to surpass that 4th wall, and getting close, and AI could help push it over that boundary. I don’t think AI or 3D can do it alone just yet.
Anyways, I think AI is fun to play with, but so far, it can’t tell a story without a lot of work, and remain consistent. It’s currently suited for youtube shorts or clips, eye-crack/candy. I’m interested to see how rendering based on 3D models improves like what Reallusion plugin achieves, but in real-time through better hardware and more efficient use of resources.
Anyways, I may have missed some points of the discussion, but is an interesting concept that’s been on my mind, and thought to share. No need to respond.
Thank you,
There is still a human element in 3D although it is different from 2D. It still involves work. I know, because I completed a feature-length 3D animation, which took quite some time. I’m older now, turning 76 by the end of the month, so some form of automation will be needed to complete my next film.
The way I see it, in general, is that animation can be created using different styles and approaches, all for the purpose of telling an engaging story. The audience doesn’t really care how much work went into it. Which is sad for the creator, but it’s a reality.
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The audience doesn’t really care how much work went into it. Which is sad for the creator, but it’s a reality.
And this is a fact that has been made abundantly clear in the current AI debate.
It seems that a lot of “traditional artists” seek validation of their “process” instead of the end result of that process.
They sit in myopic little mutual validation circles praising each other over how many hours they spent creating a mediocre or even bad drawing or an animation when in reality the audience is made up of laypersons who want to be entertained and care absolutely nothing about their process.
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yep @autodidact, that’s exactly what i used to try to explain to that soup guy - he’d be like, my edge loops are pure, they are perfect, but i was like , yeah but ya story boring, put your perfect edge loops chars in that story, and ya got a perfectly boring story, but did he listen ? -shrug- I tried so hard to help him!!
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I wonder what became of him…
I agree that audiences probably care more about the final result than the process behind it. I think AI may completely reshape how 3D assets are made for games. I can imagine generating complex games and movies from thin air in the next 20 years. I wouldn’t be surprised if we eventually reach the point where you could swap an actor in a movie at-will, replacing Tom Cruise with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Top Gun using your tv-remote. AI can already do deepfakes today but isn’t seamless yet.
The bigger point is that creators work for different reasons. Some love the craftsmanship, some care about the end product, and some enjoy both (like me). AI will simply give more options to everyone. But just as meme culture shows us today, many people with no artistic foundation or higher vision will flood the space with content that is base, derivative, and devolved. The sheer accessibility of AI will amplify this trend, creating an endless stream of low-effort outputs.
It’s the difference between a limerick and a masterpiece of classical music: both are technically “creations,” but one is quick, playful, and disposable, while the other demands vision, discipline, and resonates across generations. AI will produce plenty of limericks, but only true artists will use it to compose symphonies.
AI won’t erase artistry but will instead magnify the gap between shallow replication and meaningful creation. In a world where anyone can generate content instantly, the challenge won’t be making something look good; it will be making something endure.
(Admittedly used copilot to help frame my thoughts… - gotta get back to work…)
Yep, I hesitated to say that moving from 2D to 3D would take away the human element, because I didn’t intend to dismiss the human work that goes into that, which could out weight the effort put into 2D in some respects without going into details.
I think I wanted to touch on the end product mostly, based on how the eye perceives the content. I used the Don Bluth vs Pixar reference. I suppose for a comic book fan, it might be like looking at a Jack Kirby drawing versus a Jim Lee drawing. Jack Kirby could make a cartoonish drawing, but it would give you the sense of jumping off the page, almost in 3D, with a lot of action and suspense. I think Jim Lee is a phenomenal comic book artist, and have a number of his artbooks or artist edition comics. So much detail, and great character designs but doesn’t give me the same wow-factor that Jack Kirby does.
So, it could just be that my eyes are (bad) trained differently. I just wanted to respond that I meant no harm and would love to be able to create a 3D film if time allowed. Definitely humbled by the community here.
Thank you!
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This is quite possibly the best summation of A.I. being used in creative fields that I have ever read.
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Here is the problem I see with this guys hybrid approach.
He’s trying very hard to continue to justify. his current investment in UE5 and Metahumans and the accompanying hardware required to be productive with those tools.
The new AI generated approaches to animation, both 2D and 3D will not depend on anyone having invested thousands of dollars inexpensive legacy hardware and software to be productive with AI.
For example, a person with no prior history and traditional 3D programs or hardware can get into AI animation, and spend several years paying for a few monthly AI services before he even reaches the $2100-$2500 upfront cost of Nvidia 5090 GPU
And this excludes the cost of the actual PC(with sufficient RAM ),in which to install the 5090 GPU.
Also, what motion capture plug-in did that guy use for his example here?
Was it free?
As well as the time spent actually learning Unreal Engine.
In my opinion, he completely wasted his time modeling the background for UE5 for that podcast.
No one cares, and it didn’t actually add anything to the final version that he produced.
The next generation of AI, animated filmmakers and visual media producers are largely not going to come from the legacy ecosystems of UE5,BLENDER, MAYA ,C4D, Iclone IMHO.
Going forward the only major software skill you’re going to need is video editing and a PC capable of running the free base version of Davinci or similar because that’s where most final stories and narratives are created.
in the final editing room .
One of the members one of my AI animation user groups ,on Facebook ,created this fan animation, in four months, with zero knowledge of Blender,Maya,C4D, Iclone or Daz studio, he knows nothing about rigging, modeling, sculpting,
weight painting, graph editors ,dope sheets,FK,IK etc etc…
He is the target demographic of the new AI animation technology.
This is where we are headed.
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This is gorgeous. Amazing soung, music and narration. Visuals are stunning. And most importantly, the script and story and superb.
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I know this is just an AI “Eye candy” reel, but is this level of complexity even possible with UE5?
being creative with AI is, in it’s own right, an artform. The future will actually be about being an effective communicator. - making an animation like that , requires more than a focused rigging / animation skill - it requires a directors concept of flow, a cinematographers eye for telling a story with visuals, and a script writers ability to tell a compelling story - each of those skillz have their own disciplines and rules to follow.
The hardest thing with AI at the most basic level, is getting it to render “exactly” what you want, else it will fill in the blanks at face value simply because thinking in binary is their nature - they don’t know to ask, oh do you mean like this …or like that …or maybe like this other way that captures the emotion you are trying to convey…AI just says ok without that 2nd thought that motivates an artist to experiment for that perfect vibe.
Anyone who thinks, using AI is cheating, doesn’t really understand all the mechanisms that go behind making a good …film, book, painting, song…something that flows with meaning and conveys a focused message, AI seems like it’s not an art, until you actually try to make a reasonable movie with it, that’s when most will quit and say AI is not ready, expecting it to function like netflix after every prompt lol
to abstractly share what I’m trying to say with the title of this thread …
Using AI effectively to do precisely what you want IS a talent
This guy is from open AI and talks about the future of working with AI and it’s not about code, but about communication and connection.
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now, using this philosophy, if RL wanted to really capitalize on the future of AI - reallusions strong point that attracted me in the first place, was its ease of use. their set up was very educational. it allowed me to easily understand basic concepts and I was able to grow fast from there. They need to return to those roots imo and recapture that vibe, but this time not to teach the user, but to teach the ai what the user wants using their customizable templates style - RL products could easily position itself to communicate or act like a mediator between user and the AI - its like giving ai a pre-visual to render into a hollywood level render with precision. but this is more about concepts / principles / and communication, than it is something that can only be solved through coding - in this case, communicating with the ai. that would make iclone a must have in hollywood - where the AI is able to emulate a whole team of film making staff and the iclone software is directing teams of workers in ai helping the user tell a compelling story.
I got pretty good at AI with that lol - Grok supports me 
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I lately also jumped on the AI waggon…
I just think that AI shouldn’t be completely ignored. It will certainly be another tool for me to use.
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Well done!!
awesome Toy 
, which Higgsfield model did you use for the 1st video?