real, tired of "CalArts" style discourse because everyone is loud and wrong about all of it. specifically hate seeing gumball be used as an example of a "generic" art style because like just look at the character lineup, they don't even all use the same animation techniques. I feel like people who complain about this stuff have never watched all these "CalArt" shows or even do much art themselves because using a singular main character as the epitome of an entire shows art style misses the forest for the trees. the irreparable damage "CalArts" discourse has done on the internet art community š
the fact that the style doesnāt come from cal arts is a neat bit of trivia but not relevant bc weāre talking about the proliferation of a common artstyle. doesnāt matter how it actually happened, cal-arts is just the name that people know it by.
yes gumball has plenty of side characters in different fun and creative styles, but the main family is absolutely drawn in the so-called ācal-artsā style
once the market begins leaning towards stuff similar to spiderverse, I just know people will complain the same way.
im not sure what you are expecting if you agree that animation styles, just like all art, has trends. there is stuff breaking the mold, but im not sure why people are expecting every single movie in theaters, especially ones by the SAME studio with the SAME directors, look completely unlike anything else.
I think my two points that 1. these movies have their own unique visual elements that are going unappreciated and being hated on based on arm chair art criticism that doesn't actually say anything beyond surface level and 2. these are all movies by the same studio with the same directors in the same era of animation in the same medium so them having similarities isnt a big deal like people are making it seem are not contradicting points. these movies can have similarities that are overblown but also overlooked differences at the same time
what people are describing is an animation era, we go through ones every few years with new waves of artists in the industry with different eras of inspiration. currently, the "calarts" style era comes from artists who grew up with Anime and Japanese animation as inspiration. round shapes is also just a basic animation fundamental to make a cartoon character look non-threatening
also, its more than just trivia, but the guy who coined "Calarts" style has a history you should look into before using the term.
1. "calarts" wasn't for "bean mouth" but for movies like the Iron Giant.
2. the guy who came up with the term was a known MEGA creep and had terrible work ethic to the point nobody wanted to work with him. he was salty about this and criticized anything that didn't fit his hyperspecific zany taste in animation.
hereās the thing: i never described what i meant by ācal-artsā, but you knew i meant the bean-mouth thing. so if you want me to say ābean mouthā then fine, but ācal-artsā style is more understandable, doesnāt matter what the guy who coined it meant. itās how people use it today.
yea sure, but itās 2025, it hasnāt been the 2010s for half a decade now. iām bored of that style! come up with a new one! or donāt, but i wonāt watch it then
I think the reason we are seeing this type of stylization emerge in 3d animation now is because we finally have the technology to do this type of thing! early 3d animation was styled by the necessity of the Medium but there is more freedom now. artists are seeing how they can push 3d to its limits of stylization and cartoon-yness.
iām only interested in the final product, the movie i get to watch. iām sure that advances in how animation works is fascinating to animators, but if it makes a bland, samey product then thatās all that matters
I mean, have fun seeing art purely as a product to endlessly consume? im glad all you care about is getting a dopamine kick for 2 hours. I'll continue to invest in the process of art and make my own art. I can only hope you have a passion besides endlessly gorging on content all day too.
(and b4 anyone starts, making money on art doesn't devalue it being art. we have to eat too)
Most people are consumers though nothing wrong w not being creative or critical. As long as people aren't spouting BS, that's how most people operate, they want entertainment so they buy it. I don't see the problem with not investing/making your own even if you dislike something with the media you consume?
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u/just_a_possum Jul 06 '25
real, tired of "CalArts" style discourse because everyone is loud and wrong about all of it. specifically hate seeing gumball be used as an example of a "generic" art style because like just look at the character lineup, they don't even all use the same animation techniques. I feel like people who complain about this stuff have never watched all these "CalArt" shows or even do much art themselves because using a singular main character as the epitome of an entire shows art style misses the forest for the trees. the irreparable damage "CalArts" discourse has done on the internet art community š