Comments on: Someday’s Photoshoppers (also Plagiarists)

By: Shiroi Hane

Shiroi Hane — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 01:08:43 +0000

There's something I've been meaning to mention but I forgot where I read this. What the pictures don't show is the animation. The plane in the foreground of that particular picture, for example, moves - which is something a mere filtered photo cannot.

By: Artefact

Artefact — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:29:03 +0000

I think the issue is less the mere fact of their using a photographic base, which as you point out is hardly abnormal, than simply the extent to which they have taken things; still, the backgrounds are undeniably beautiful, whatever one's taste is regarding the animation.

By: Seeb

Seeb — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:29:05 +0000

This sort of practice is not uncommon in anime....Lucky Star for instance, their backgrounds are virtually traced from well known sites in Japan. Yeah, i know they draw their backgrounds and alter them slightly but using photoshop to alter a image slightly is no different. Just because nearly everybody and their gran know how to use a little photoshop doesn't mean that there's no skill and professionalism involved.

By: hashihime

hashihime — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 04:29:12 +0000

I couldn't care less if the backgrounds are just Photoshopped. All I care is what they look like. And I think they look great.

But it is still an open question in my mind whether these were just filtered, or actually partially traced and then drawn. I look at roadside grasses in the OP and wonder if there is a filter that could produce that.

Using someone else's photos without permission should be actionable, especially if they are just Photoshopped and not redrawn. We'll see if anyone sues anyone. As far as I can see, we have only one example of a photo found elsewhere. We have to wait and see if there are any more.

Of course I agree that the figures stand out from the backgrounds, and that the figures are simplified. I don't agree that this looks bad, however. And I actually think the oversimplified figures are well animated.

In my opinion, this is so far a very promising anime that looks good and sounds better. Tastes differ.

By: Nemo_N

Nemo_N — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:53:58 +0000

Has anyone worked with digital imaging filters? It's not as simple as you guys seem to imply. Filtering a photo into the backgrounds shown in the show ends up, more often than not, in a mess. Moreso if the the picture they used was one with such a low resolution (such as the airport one shown here).

I don't know how much they worked on it, but saying that it's only filtering shows very little knowledge of how digital graphics editing works.

By: Artefact

Artefact — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:09:26 +0000

As I'll tell anyone who will listen, games are the future of anime now.
2D animation can't compete in the medium term with 3D animation (made to look 2D as appropriate), and if you have 3D animation systems they are only a step away from becoming a game at any time. Just look at how close the likes of Persona and Valkyria Chronicles come to anime...

By: AnimeRookie

AnimeRookie — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:45:08 +0000

either that, or japanese animators today are being payed sh1t3 wages and their bosses aint doing squat to improve their working conditions...

and sadly, not much new innovations in the industry. Though there are few animation houses that still make original anime, i believe they are too few of them in existence, and this problem might become endemic in the near future. I hope they dont stoop to that path.

Kinda depressing to see the industry like this, but the show must go on...

Guess were going to see much more of these in the near future.... *sigh*

By: Artefact

Artefact — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:58:37 +0000

They were trying to make out they had painstakingly reworked their photographic materials, but this is obviously a shameless lie.

By: Hinano

Hinano — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:54:36 +0000

LOL wasn't it obvious it was all photos?
I hope no one actually thought any of it was drawn.
Thats why this anime sucks