The cel-shading process starts with a typical 3D model. Where cel-shading differs from conventional rendering is in its non-photorealistic shading algorithm. 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.
Wireframe method
Black ink outlines and contour lines 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 is inverted and the back-facing triangles are drawn in black. To dilate the silhouette, 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 normals in a vertex shader. 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, 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.[3]
Finally, a Sobel filter or similar edge-detection filter is applied to the normal and depth textures to generate an edge texture. Texels on detected edges are black, while all other texels are white.
Finally, the edge texture and the color texture are composited to produce the final rendered image.
The Sega Dreamcast title Jet Set Radio, which was revealed at the 1999 Tokyo Game Show, drew media attention for its cel-shaded style.[4][5] 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. 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 (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 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."[6] 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.[6]
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 [in The Wind Waker] in a more easy-to-understand way."[7] Takizawa also argues that photorealistic graphics, in contrast, would have "had the adverse effect of making information difficult to represent game-wise."[7]
This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2021)
Felidae, a 1994 German adult animated mystery film directed by Michael Schaack, written by Martin Kluger, Stefaan Schieder and Akif Pirinçci, and based on Pirinçci's 1989 novel of the same name.
The Pink Panther directed by Jeff Fowler (Upcoming Film)
Television
TaleSpin - an American animated television series first aired in 1990 as a preview on Disney Channel and later that year as part of The Disney Afternoon. It features anthropomorphized versions of characters adapted from Disney's 1967 animated feature The Jungle Book, which was theatrically rereleased in the summer before this show premiered in the fall,[9] notably Baloo the Bear, Louie the orangutan, and Shere Khan the tiger, along with new characters created for the show. The name of the show is a play on "tailspin", the rapid descent of an aircraft in a steep spiral, and on the fact that tale is another word for "story".
The Land Before Time - a 2007 American animated television series, based on The Land Before Time film series created by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss
Storm Hawks - a 2007 Canadian television series produced by Nerd Corps Entertainment
League of Super Evil - a 2009 Canadian television series produced by Nerd Corps Entertainment
Slugterra a 2012 Canadian television series produced by Nerd Corps Entertainment
Sofia the First, a 2013 American animated fantasy children's television series created and developed by Craig Gerber for Disney Television Animation. The series follows a young peasant girl named Sofia, voiced by Ariel Winter, who becomes a princess after her mother marries the King of Enchancia. Episodes focus on her adventures and bonds with others, including her animal friends, with whom she communicates through an amulet that blesses and curses her based upon the goodness of her actions. When creating the series, Gerber aimed to employ relatable situations in a fantasy world; he stated Sofia's position as a child of a single mother allowed the team to explore themes of adaptation and connect to modern children. The series pilot premiered on November 18, 2012, on Disney Channel. The series itself ran from January 11, 2013, to September 8, 2018, on Disney Junior.
Max Steel a 2013 American-Canadian television series produced by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Mattel
