HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Cel shading or toon shading is a type of
non-photorealistic rendering Non-photorealistic rendering (NPR) is an area of computer graphics that focuses on enabling a wide variety of expressive style (visual arts), styles for digital art, in contrast to traditional computer graphics, which focuses on photorealism. NPR ...
designed to make 3-D
computer graphics Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great de ...
appear to be flat by using less shading color instead of a shade gradient or
tints and shades In color theory, a tint is a mixture of a color with white, which increases lightness, while a shade is a mixture with black, which increases darkness. Both processes affect the resulting color mixture's relative saturation. A tone is produc ...
. A cel
shader In computer graphics, a shader is a computer program that calculates the appropriate levels of light, darkness, and color during the rendering of a 3D scene - a process known as ''shading''. Shaders have evolved to perform a variety of speci ...
is often used to mimic the style of a
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
or
cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of imag ...
and/or give the render a characteristic paper-like texture. There are similar techniques that can make an image look like a sketch, an
oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest ...
or an ink painting. The name comes from ''cels'' (short for
celluloid Celluloids are a class of materials produced by mixing nitrocellulose and camphor, often with added dyes and other agents. Once much more common for its use as photographic film before the advent of safer methods, celluloid's common contemporary ...
), clear sheets of
acetate An acetate is a salt formed by the combination of acetic acid with a base (e.g. alkaline, earthy, metallic, nonmetallic or radical base). "Acetate" also describes the conjugate base or ion (specifically, the negatively charged ion called ...
which were painted on for use in traditional 2D animation.


Basic process

The cel-shading process starts with a typical
3D model In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical coordinate-based representation of any surface of an object (inanimate or living) in three dimensions via specialized software by manipulating edges, vertices, an ...
. Where cel-shading differs from conventional rendering is in its non-photorealistic
illumination model {{Short description, none This article lists common shading algorithms used in computer graphics. Interpolation techniques These techniques can be combined with any illumination model: * Flat shading * Gouraud shading * Phong shading Illuminatio ...
. Conventional smooth lighting values are calculated for each pixel and then quantized to a small number of discrete shades to create the characteristic "flat look", where the shadows and highlights appear as blocks of color rather than being smoothly mixed in a gradient.


Outlines


Wireframe method

Black ink
outlines Outline or outlining may refer to: * Outline (list), a document summary, in hierarchical list format * Code folding, a method of hiding or collapsing code or text to see content in outline form * Outline drawing, a sketch depicting the outer edg ...
and
contour line A contour line (also isoline, isopleth, or isarithm) of a function of two variables is a curve along which the function has a constant value, so that the curve joins points of equal value. It is a plane section of the three-dimensional gr ...
s can be created using a variety of methods. One popular method is to first render a black outline, slightly larger than the object itself.
Back-face culling In computer graphics, back-face culling determines whether a polygon of a graphical object is drawn. It is a step in the graphical pipeline that tests whether the points in the polygon appear in clockwise or counter-clockwise order when projected ...
is inverted and the back-facing triangles are drawn in black. To dilate the
silhouette A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...
, these back-faces may be drawn in wireframe multiple times with slight changes in translation. Alternatively, back-faces may be rendered solid-filled, with their vertices translated along their
vertex normal In the geometry of computer graphics, a vertex normal at a vertex of a polyhedron is a directional vector associated with a vertex, intended as a replacement to the true geometric normal of the surface. Commonly, it is computed as the normalized ...
s in a
vertex shader In computer graphics, a shader is a computer program that calculates the appropriate levels of light, darkness, and color during the rendering of a 3D scene - a process known as ''shading''. Shaders have evolved to perform a variety of speci ...
. After drawing the outline, back-face culling is set back to normal to draw the shading and optional textures of the object. Finally, the image is composited via
Z-buffering A depth buffer, also known as a z-buffer, is a type of data buffer used in computer graphics to represent depth information of objects in 3D space from a particular perspective. Depth buffers are an aid to rendering a scene to ensure that the ...
, as the back-faces always lie deeper in the scene than the front-faces. The result is that the object is drawn with a black outline and interior contour lines. The term "cel-shading" is popularly used to refer to the application of this "ink" outlining process in animation and games, although originally the term referred to the flat shading technique regardless of whether the outline was applied. The
Utah teapot The Utah teapot, or the Newell teapot, is a 3D test model that has become a standard reference object and an in-joke within the computer graphics community. It is a mathematical model of an ordinary Melitta-brand teapot that appears solid w ...
rendered using cel shading: # The back faces are drawn with thick lines # The object faces are drawn using a single color # Shading is applied Steps 2 and 3 can be combined using multitexturing (part of texture mapping).


Edge-detection method


In video games

The
Sega Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nint ...
title ''
Jet Set Radio (originally released in North America as ''Jet Grind Radio'') is a 2000 action game developed by Smilebit and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. The player controls a member of a youth gang, the GGs, as they use inline skates to traverse Tok ...
'', which was revealed at the 1999
Tokyo Game Show , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. T ...
, drew media attention for its cel-shaded style. It used cel-shading for its characters and its vibrant visual style has had a lasting influence on the use of cel-shading in video games. The
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a di ...
title ''
Fear Effect ''Fear Effect'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Kronos Digital Entertainment and published by Eidos Interactive for the PlayStation. A prequel was released one year later entitled '' Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix''. A remake, ''Fear E ...
'' also had character models that are cel-shaded, and was released in February 2000, several months before ''Jet Set Radio'' officially released in mid-2000. Since the early 2000s, many notable video games have made use of this style, such as '' The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker'' (2002) and ''
Ōkami is an action-adventure video game developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom. It was released for PlayStation 2 in 2006 in Japan and North America, and in 2007 in Europe and Australia. After the closure of Clover Studio a few months ...
'' (2006). Cel shading, in contrast to other visual styles such as photorealism, is often used to lend a more artistic or fantastical element to a video game's environment. In developing ''Ōkami'', director
Hideki Kamiya is a Japanese video game designer and director who is the vice-president of PlatinumGames. He began his career in 1994 with Capcom, where he directed '' Resident Evil 2'' (1998), ''Devil May Cry'' (2001), '' Viewtiful Joe'' (2003), and ''Ō ...
described his vision for the game's graphics: "I wanted to create a game with the natural beauty of the Japanese countryside... to make a world that was glistening and beautiful." Producer Atsushi Inaba recalls in a 2004 interview that Clover Studios had "abandoned the realistic style" for ''Ōkami'' as they became inspired by traditional Japanese art. Game studios might choose a style such as cel shading in their development for reasons beyond artistic vision. Cel shaded graphics are usually simple in visual information, which can be useful in some applications. In the case of ''The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker'', developer Satoru Takizawa states that using this style allowed to “represent the mechanisms and objects for puzzles n ''The Wind Waker''in a more easy-to-understand way”. Takizawa also argues that photorealistic graphics, in contrast, would have “had the adverse effect of making information difficult to represent game-wise”.


Lists of cel-shaded media


Film

* ''
The Great Mouse Detective ''The Great Mouse Detective'' (also known as ''The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective'' for its 1992 theatrical re-release and ''Basil the Great Mouse Detective'' in some countries) is a 1986 American animated mystery adventure film produc ...
'', a 1986 American animated film based on "Basil of Baker Street" by Eve Titus and Paul Galdone * '' Technological Threat'', a 1988 American animated short made by Brian Jennings and Bill Kroyer and was produced by Kroyer Films. * ''
Help! I'm a Fish ''Help! I'm A Fish'' ( da, Hjælp, jeg er en fisk; also known as ''A Fish Tale'') is a 2000 Danish-German-Irish traditionally animated science fantasy musical film directed by Stefan Fjeldmark, Greg Manwaring and Michael Hegner, and written by S ...
'', a 2000 Danish-German-Irish traditionally animated science fantasy musical film. * '' The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle'' (2000) * ''
The Little Polar Bear ''The Little Polar Bear'' (in nl, Lars de kleine ijsbeer) is a franchise about a polar bear cub named Lars who first starred in a number of books written by Dutch author, Hans de Beer. The first of several animated adaptations of the books is a ...
'', a 2001 German animated film based on Hans de Beer books. * '' Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron'', a 2002 American animated Western film. * ''
Brother Bear ''Brother Bear'' is a 2003 American animated musical fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 44th Disney animated feature film, it was directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert ...
'', a 2003 American animated musical fantasy comedy-drama film. * '' Hot Wheels: World Race'', a 2003 computer-animated direct-to-video film. * '' Appleseed'', a 2004 Japanese animated film. * '' Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild'', a 2005 American computer-animated comedy film. * ''
A Scanner Darkly ''A Scanner Darkly'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick, published in 1977. The semi-autobiographical story is set in a dystopian Orange County, California, in the then-future of June 1994, and includes an extensive p ...
'', a 2006 film based on Philip K. Dick novel. * '' Horrid Henry: The Movie'', a 2011 British 3D children's film based on the fictional character Horrid Henry from the children's book series of the same name by
Francesca Simon Francesca Isabella Simon (born 23 February, 1955) is an American-born British author who resides in North London. She is most famous for writing the '' Horrid Henry'' series of children's books. She is the daughter of screenwriter and playwrigh ...
. * ''
Paperman ''Paperman'' is a 2012 American black-and-white computer-cel animated romantic comedy short film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Directed by John Kahrs, it blends traditional and computer animation, and features the voices of Kah ...
'', a 2012 American black-and-white computer-cel animated short film. * ''
Feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...
'', a 2014 American 2D animated romantic comedy short film. * ''
The Peanuts Movie ''The Peanuts Movie'' (known in some countries as ''Snoopy and Charlie Brown: A Peanuts Movie'') is a 2015 American computer-animated comedy film based on Charles M. Schulz's comic strip ''Peanuts'', produced by Blue Sky Studios and distributed ...
'' (2015) * '' Mutafukaz: Operation Blackhead'', a 2017 crime short film that became the basis for the comic book for the same name produced by Run. * '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'' (2018) * ''
Tom & Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...
'' (2021) * '' Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers'' (2022) * ''The Pink Panther'' directed by
Jeff Fowler Jeff Fowler is an American filmmaker, animator, and visual effects artist. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film as writer and director of the short animated film '' Gopher Broke'' (2004). He made his theatrical direc ...
(Upcoming Film)


Television

* '' Molly, Star-Racer'' - a 2001 French television pilot produced by Sparx Animation Studios * Spider-Man: The New Animated Series - a 2003 Canadian-American television series produced by Mainframe Studios, Marvel Enterprises,
Adelaide Productions Adelaide Productions is a television animation division of Sony Pictures Television that was founded on April 12, 1993, by Columbia Pictures Television.
, and
Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainme ...
* '' Boo!'' - a 2003 British television series produced by Tell-Tale Productions * ''
Dragon Booster ''Dragon Booster'' is a Canadian animated series created by Rob Travalino and Kevin Mowrer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that aired from October 23, 2004 to December 23, 2006. The first series produced by Nerd Corps Entertainment, th ...
'' - a 2004 Canadian television series produced by
Nerd Corps Entertainment Nerd Corps Entertainment was a Canadian 2D, 3D computer animation and flash animation studio located in Vancouver British Columbia. Founded by former Mainframe Entertainment producers Asaph Fipke and Chuck Johnson in 2002, the company was acquir ...
* ''
Handy Manny ''Handy Manny'' is a CGI-animated children's television series that premiered with its first two episodes consecutively on Saturday, September 16, 2006, originally as part of Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney block. On Valentine's Day 2011, t ...
'' - a 2006 American-Canadian children's television series produced by
Nelvana Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...
* ''
Z-Squad ''Z-Squad'' ( ko, 크리스탈요정 지스쿼드, ''The Fairies of Crystals Z-Squad'') is a computer-animated television series created by Enemes and Nelvana. Plot ''Z-Squad'' chronicles the adventures of three ordinary school girls turned super ...
'' - a 2006 South Korean-Canadian magical girl television series produced by Enemes, SBS,
CJ Entertainment CJ Entertainment (Hangul: CJ 엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean film production and distribution company under CJ ENM. The company operates as a film production company, film publishing house, investment and exhibition. History During early 1 ...
, and
Nelvana Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...
* '' Storm Hawks'' - a 2007 Canadian television series produced by Nerd Corps Entertainment * ''
League of Super Evil ''League of Super Evil'' (initialized as ''L.O.S.E.'' or ''LOSE'') is a Canadian animated comedy television series inspired by the sketch "Once Were Heroes" by Ryan Harper-Brown, co-created by Philippe Ivanusic-Vallee, Davila LeBlanc and Peter ...
'' - a 2009 Canadian television series produced by Nerd Corps Entertainment * ''
Bunny Maloney ''Bunny Maloney'' is a computer-animated television series created by Studio Tanuki and directed by Stéphane Stoll. The series is produced by MoonScoop Group, in co-production with France 2 and Telegael Teoranta. It was based on a Flash-animat ...
'' - a 2009 French television series produced by MoonScoop Group,
France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 A ...
, and Telegael * '' Iron Man: Armored Adventures'' - a 2009 French-American television series produced by Marvel Animation * ''
Hot Wheels Battle Force 5 ''Hot Wheels: Battle Force 5'' is a 3D CGI science fiction sports animated television series created by Mattel, Nelvana Limited, and Nerd Corps Entertainment, based on the Hot Wheels toy line by the American toy maker, Mattel which was introd ...
'' - a 2009 Canadian television series produced by Nerd Corps Entertainment and Nelvana * ''
Rated A for Awesome ''Rated A for Awesome'' is a Canadian animated television series created by Austin Petten.It premiered on YTV on September 3, 2011, and ended on February 25, 2012. Rated A for Awesome also aired on Disney XD in United States. The series was prod ...
'' - a 2011 Canadian television series produced by Nerd Corps Entertainment * ''
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' (often abridged as ''Last Week Tonight'') is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by comedian John Oliver. The half-hour-long show premiered in April 2014 on HBO. ''Last ...
'' - a 2014 American late-night talk and news satire television series produced by HBO - Episode 7: Immigration Reform * ''
Regal Academy ''Regal Academy'' is an Italian animated series co-created by Iginio Straffi and Joanne Lee. The series was produced by the Rainbow studio, which at the time was co-owned by Straffi and Viacom. Viacom's Nickelodeon channels broadcast the series ...
'' - a 2016 Italian television series produced by
Rainbow S.p.A. Rainbow S.p.A. is an Italian studio founded by Iginio Straffi. Viacom (now known as Paramount Global) became a co-owner of the studio in 2011. Rainbow has collaborated with Viacom/Paramount's other company, Nickelodeon, on multiple shows, includ ...
* ''
Star Wars Resistance ''Star Wars Resistance'' is an American 3D animated comic science fiction television series produced by Lucasfilm Animation. It follows Kazuda Xiono, a New Republic pilot who is recruited by the Resistance to spy on the growing threat of the ...
'' - a 2018 American television series produced by
Lucasfilm Animation Lucasfilm Animation Ltd. LLC is the animation division of Lucasfilm, established in 2003. Its first major productions were the feature film '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' and its associated television series, both of which debuted in 2008. In Se ...
* '' What If...?'' - a 2021
Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Ma ...
alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alte ...
television series set in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...


Video games


See also

*
2.5D 2.5D (two-and-a-half dimensional) perspective refers to gameplay or movement in a video game or virtual reality environment that is restricted to a two-dimensional (2D) plane with little to no access to a third dimension in a space that other ...
* Gooch shading *
Low poly Low poly is a polygon mesh in 3D computer graphics that has a relatively small number of polygons. Low poly meshes occur in real-time applications (e.g. games) as contrast with high-poly meshes in animated movies and special effects of the sam ...


References


External links


IGN: ''Jet Set Radio'' review
Retrieved August 4, 2005.
GameDev.net – Cel-Shading
Retrieved August 5, 2005 (
Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...
copy).
sunandblackcat.com – Cel-Shading
Retrieved August 7, 2014. {{Animation Animation techniques Computer animation Shading Video game graphics