The hottest Animation Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Culture Topics

A rant about children’s movies

The Common Reader • 1240 implied HN points • 04 May 23
🎭️ Culture Film Animation
  1. Children's films are often created with adult perspectives in mind, leading to moral shortcomings.
  2. Studio Ghibli movies prioritize realistic challenges and creativity in a way that Disney films do not.
  3. Studio Ghibli movies set a better moral example by portraying a world where hard work, creativity, and real-life challenges are valued.

The Summer Pitch Bible Part 1

slow motion multitasking • 1081 implied HN points • 30 May 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Animation Character design Storytelling
  1. The idea for the show was born from homesickness and a desire to celebrate platonic friendship.
  2. The pitch bible creation process involved developing main characters like Oscar while maintaining personal attachment to original designs.
  3. The pitch bible layout included sections on show overview, characters, world-building, and episode ideas.

⬜ Studio Ghibli vibes vs. history

One Thing • 217 implied HN points • 19 Dec 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Animation History Film Literature Philosophy
  1. The film The Boy and the Heron by Studio Ghibli offers a fantastical, immersive experience for viewers of all ages.
  2. The movie carries historical depth, drawing inspiration from a 1937 novel addressed to counter militant nationalism in Japan.
  3. The director, Hayao Miyazaki, encapsulates profound themes through abstract storytelling and dreamlike elements, challenging conventional standards of ambition in art.
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What I have been so busy with

Basta’s Notes • 81 implied HN points • 08 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Coding Web Development Design Animation Video Editing
  1. The author built a website with a bold and animated design that may not please everyone, but aimed to excite their target audience of podcasters.
  2. The website underwent significant development, transitioning from a DOM-based approach to using Canvas for animations, like with a globe section featuring looping videos.
  3. Challenges were overcome by techniques such as using Perlin noise for wiggling animations and rendering inline SVG images via React for intricate visual elements.

So I built a figma clone

Binh’s Archive • 1 HN point • 28 Apr 24
🕹 Technology Web Development Design Frameworks Libraries Animation
  1. The author built a Figma clone called Bigma to showcase their portfolio in a unique and creative way.
  2. To stand out, the author focused on creating a 2D site with a unique twist that hadn't been done before, emphasizing the importance of originality.
  3. Bigma was built on NextJS, with the Infinite Canvas feature implemented using CSS, showcasing various frameworks and libraries used in the project.

Apple Animation Through the Ages: 2007

Jacob’s Tech Tavern • 192 implied HN points • 12 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Animation Frameworks Graphics Development
  1. In 2007, Apple introduced Core Animation, revolutionizing how animations were implemented on Mac OS X.
  2. Core Animation streamlined animation implementation by providing a declarative framework that leveraged the GPU for smooth transitions.
  3. Developers could easily create animations with Core Animation properties like frame, border, filters, and opacity.

TITAA #45: Haunted AI Houses Need Poets

Things I Think Are Awesome • 176 implied HN points • 01 Aug 23
🎨 Art & Illustration AI Art Poetry Animation Virtual reality Gaming
  1. AI-run haunted houses in literature often present intriguing narratives and questions about space and identity.
  2. Poets and writers can explore unreal architectures and dream-like spaces created by AI tools to tell unique and engaging stories.
  3. Exploring the intersection of AI, art, and poetry can lead to the creation of cosmic narratives within the digital labyrinth.

Bigtime Cutaway

NOW IS GOOD • 78 implied HN points • 29 Sep 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Animation Interview
  1. Bigtime Cutaway is a publication focused on interviewing interesting people, with a recent conversation with StrataCut animator David Daniels.
  2. StrataCut is a unique form of clay animation that involves slicing blocks of material to create animations, known for its intricate details.
  3. David Daniels discusses the evolution of his StrataCut technique, the challenges of showcasing his work in a changing technological landscape, and his exploration of augmented reality and virtual reality for future projects.

To the Other World

Political Currents by Ross Barkan • 7 implied HN points • 12 Mar 24
🎭️ Culture Anime Animation Fantasy Storytelling
  1. Dragon Ball Z, created by Akira Toriyama, was a hugely influential series that left a lasting impact on a generation with its complex characters and thrilling story arcs.
  2. Character development was a key strength of Dragon Ball Z, with characters like Vegeta undergoing significant transformations from villain to antihero to protector throughout the series.
  3. The unexpected twists and deep emotional moments in Dragon Ball Z set it apart, offering a level of pathos rarely seen in contemporary animation.

Emoji that Can Dance 🪩

Did Someone Say Emoji? • 166 implied HN points • 02 May 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Emoji Animation Design Internet Communication
  1. The latest Noto Emoji update includes 300 animations like a throbbing pink heart and a dancing G.O.A.T.
  2. Emoji serve as important elements in online communication, helping to convey emotions and build connections.
  3. Animated emoji should be designed carefully to maintain their original communicative functions and ensure consistency across platforms.

Logan Bruni: Heatmap

Do Not Research • 19 implied HN points • 18 Jan 24
🎨 Art & Illustration Animation Digital Art Online Culture Conspiracies
  1. The video features 3D scans of clay sculptures, digital art, and AI-generated content, with unique audio creation methods.
  2. The themes touched upon in the video include human subjectivity in digital space, online culture, and references to historical government involvement in digital infrastructures.
  3. The visual elements include a clay figure interacting with images, and a floating head narrating haikus and poetic monologues about digital culture.

Sprite Attack!

Dan’s MEGA65 Digest • 11 implied HN points • 16 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Graphics Gaming Programming Animation
  1. Sprites in computer graphics are dedicated to moving objects like spaceships or characters and were essential for video games and user interfaces on the Commodore 64.
  2. MEGA65 supports VIC-II hardware sprites and offers sprite-related BASIC commands to make it easy to use in programs, allowing for creating simple arcade games.
  3. Understanding sprite features like multicolor mode, double size options, collision detection, and managing sprite image data through tools like the Sprite Editor enhances game development on the MEGA65.

How I Spent my October

Fireside Chat Logs • 39 implied HN points • 31 Oct 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Animation Digital Art Visual Effects Graphic design Creativity
  1. The creator made a short animated video with heavy metal music for a D&D group that involved using Blender 3D program. Despite challenges, he managed to finish the video in time.
  2. After the initial creation, the creator took the time to improve the video by boosting render settings, animating textures, and enhancing particles, among other upgrades.
  3. The experience of revisiting and improving the video reminded the creator of his art school days, where he didn't always have time to polish his work. This inspired him to redo old school work and focus more on writing and creating content to share with friends and family.

Ex-Riot developers are making “Breath of the Wild with friends”

Updater, Shannon Liao's gaming newsletter • 117 implied HN points • 09 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Video Games Venture Capital Game Development Animation
  1. Former Riot developers are creating an open-world game similar to 'Breath of the Wild' with a focus on playing with friends
  2. The game studio secured $55 million in funding and aims to create a world characterized by optimism and worth fighting for
  3. The developers emphasize creating a rich player experience and aspire to build a media universe around the game, including an animated TV show

Can we digitally clone ourselves with AI?

Mythical AI • 98 implied HN points • 12 Jun 23
🕹 Technology AI Voice Cloning 3D Modeling Animation
  1. Creating a digital clone with AI involves capturing content, voice, likeness, and movement.
  2. Potential problems with AI clones include consent and ownership issues, problematic responses, and scams.
  3. There are tools available to create parts of an AI clone, but building a full AI clone is a complex process requiring integration of various technologies.

Two More AI Animation Videos

diabolical • 98 implied HN points • 23 Apr 23
🕹 Technology AI Animation
  1. The AI-animated videos are described as silly, but still remarkable and improving over time.
  2. Uploading custom audio files to D-ID for animation saves time and hassle compared to dubbing.
  3. The potential of having AI animate lip movements based on recorded audio could be a useful time-saving tool.

Falling Down The AI Rabbit Hole

diabolical • 78 implied HN points • 21 Apr 23
🕹 Technology AI Animation Software Art
  1. Artificial intelligence can be used for creating elaborate and emotional art pieces.
  2. AI technologies like animation and voice synthesis are being combined to create unique videos.
  3. There is a democratization of art and creation happening with AI tools, leading to a potential shift in the creative industry.

Forté #8

SJF • 58 implied HN points • 12 Jun 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Animation Illustration Books Inspiration
  1. Discover new inspirations from music, animations, and books.
  2. Appreciate the value of mindfulness in reading at places like the British Library.
  3. Improve personal growth and writing skills by practicing the art of noticing small details in everyday life.

Nightmaresforever.tv

Imagination Rabbit (Z) • 19 implied HN points • 14 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Streaming Animation Integration Software Development
  1. Nightmares Forever TV is a new project integrating procedural/endless cartoon system into a game called Nightmare Puppeteer.
  2. The project is the only one with full Twitch chat api integration allowing viewers to interact and control parts of the cartoons.
  3. The creator runs Nightmares Forever TV 24/7 from a laptop to provide viewers with absurd and berserk animated content.

Diffusing the Everyday & Latent Animation

Cybernetic Forests • 19 implied HN points • 07 May 23
🎨 Art & Illustration AI Animation Workshops Artistic Process Photography
  1. A workshop on AI x Design and SubLab covered topics like AI's 'dreaming' myth and transforming videos with Stable Diffusion.
  2. An upcoming workshop with artist Fabian Mosele will focus on creating animation styles consistent across frames, offering insights into generating characters in motion with AI.
  3. Attendees in Seoul can join the Adrenalin Prompt zine-crafting festival starting May 11 to explore prompt-generated images and texts.

Writing 'Teen Titans'

Animation Obsessive • 1 HN point • 26 Feb 24
🎨 Art & Illustration Animation Character design Comics Visual storytelling Illustration
  1. Writing for children's TV animation requires a delicate balance between engaging kids without talking down to them and appealing to a broader audience.
  2. The 'Teen Titans' series focused on creating iconic and relatable characters that were easily understood by a young audience.
  3. The show's success stemmed from storytelling that dealt with real-world themes in a relatable way, aiming to resonate emotionally with viewers of all ages.

Cat City

The 21st Century Proletarian • 19 implied HN points • 17 Sep 22
🎭️ Culture Animation Analysis Storytelling Humor Relationships
  1. Cat City is a short animation that tells a deep story about the human experience in just 181 seconds.
  2. The cat protagonist's journey reflects themes of alienation, loneliness, capitalism, and the desire for autonomy and connection.
  3. The animation explores complex emotions and relationships, making viewers reflect on their own feelings and judgments.