Predictions For The Future Of Animated Television, Part 3

If your new to this article series, don’t forget to check out part 1 and part 2.
I spoke about the feature quality CG animation in Netflix’s Troll Hunters. In this article I want to explore possible alternative art directions in CG animated TV.

All computer-generated animated feature films look the same: Photorealistic backgrounds, hyper-detailed hair and clothing with simplified faces and huge eyes. (Wait, that sounds exactly like the same problem as Anime). There’s no reason all CGI animation has to look homogeneous. Just look at the wide range of styles from this year’s video games.




Stylized “cell-shaded” CG breaks up the monotony of hyperrealism. Cell-shading is perfect for TV animation because there’s less detail to render without losing aesthetic quality. Check out some of these cell-shaded CG animated short films. Any one of these styles could make for a compelling animated show.

However, why stop at 3D graphics with 2D aesthetics? In my next article I’ll tackle the potential of mixed-media.