Author: Yang Liang - China Animation Research Institute

On October 28, 1892, Frenchman Emile Reynaud held a screening of novel Pantomimes Lumineuses at the Grevin Museum in Paris. In this screening, Renault painted images with slightly different movements on continuous gelatin sheets and geared them to a circular roller; he also used light to penetrate the transparent film to project the image onto a mirror for reflection and amplification, thus The graphic content is projected onto a curtain; it also features a live piano score by Gaston Paulin. When Renault turns the gear, the images pass by one after another, and the dynamic images gradually flow on the screen. From this, three original animated films were born: Un Bon Bock, Le Clown et Ses Chiens and Pauvre Pierrot.

In order to commemorate this epoch-making day and call on people around the world to celebrate the birthday of animation in different ways on the same day, the International Animation Society (ASIFA) designates October 28 every year as International Animation Day (World Animation Day).

In the history of animation development, changes in animation technology are the underlying motivation for the difference in animation aesthetics. Continuous advances in animation technology encourage artists to innovate and experiment. New technologies and tools enable artists to explore new audiovisual languages, animation effects and artistic styles; animation technology also gives artists the ability to create stunning visual miracles. From surreal fantasy worlds to sci-fi future scenes, animation technology breaks through physical limitations and creates audio-visual effects and aesthetic wonders that the audience has never heard of or seen; animation technology also enables animation art to convey various cultures and aesthetics, and animations from different countries and regions Artists use their own unique techniques and styles to spread diverse cultural elements around the world, enriching the artistic system and aesthetic ecology of animation, and bringing more diverse cultural experiences to people around the world.

Therefore, behind the history of the development of animation aesthetics is a history of the development of animation technology. To this end, this issue is specially titled “Iteration of Animation Technology to Enrich the Ecology of Animation Aesthetics” on World Animation Day, reviewing the history of the development of animated images where technology and art go hand in hand.

Figure 1. Reno screening “Poor Biello”

1 - Early imaging media and early animation forms

Before the invention of “movies”, animation had already occurred with the help of image media such as the Phenakistoscope, the Zoe-trope, the Praxinoscope and the Praxinoscope Theater. For example, the invention of the Phenacoscope, an optical toy and animation device, can be traced back to 1832, when the Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau first created this device, and later another A British inventor improved it in 1833 and it became popular. The original Phenaki mirror structure consisted of a rotatable disk fixed to a handle via a connecting shaft. A series of still images are painted on the outer edge of the disk in a clockwise direction and aligned with the central axis of the disk. The content is usually a sequence of actions of a person or object. When the viewer uses the Phenacciscope, one hand is required to place the disk on the rotating base and look at the image through the mirror or slit, while the other hand quickly turns the rotating disk. At this time, the principle of persistence of vision causes the instantaneous images to be stacked together in the human brain, and the images on the disk also become coherent due to the rapid rotation. From this, a dynamic image is generated.

Since the images of the Phenaki mirror are all drawn on a small disk, it can accommodate fewer drawings and usually consists of only a few or dozens of image sequences. These images rotate in a very coherent manner. rendering to create basic animation effects. Therefore, it emphasizes novelty more than storytelling, and can only be used as a juggling toy to express simple humorous scenes; at the same time, the animation content of Phenaki Mirror usually focuses on a certain classic action, such as the character’s dancing, The running of horses, the flight of birds, etc. These contents focus on a certain moment of the character, making it easy to present comical and conflicting large-scale scenes in a limited sequence of images. In terms of aesthetic effects, since the short-term image existence is not enough to support the audience to view the details of the image, the image content created by the Phenaki mirror tends to abstract objects and movements, and the image drawn on the disk will also simplify the shape and Outlines to make animations easier to create and understand. At the same time, given that the operating mechanism of the Phenacoscope is a disc that keeps rotating, the animated images it creates present a sense of loop, that is, after the animation sequence is played, it can be repeated infinitely. This sense of looping gives the animation a persistent and captivating quality. In recent years, some artists and animators have also used the principles of the Phenacoscope to create modern versions of animated images, using new technologies and creativity to give them more complexity and modernity.

The early imaging media represented by the Phenakiscope is regarded as an important breakthrough in early animation technology, which paved the way for subsequent animation development. Its principles also inspired the development of later filmmaking and broadcasting technologies, including animation photography and film projection. Although image media such as the Phenakiscope have become slightly outdated in modern times, it is still an important milestone in the history of film and animation, because it represents the origin of early animation and visual media and records mankind’s early exploration of moving images.

Figure 2. Phenacci mirror observing images through a mirror

2 - The invention of film media and the birth of animated films

The birth of film art was due to the invention of film media technology. Technical media and audio-visual forms together constitute the aesthetic foundation of film as a visual medium. Before the advent of motion picture film, and despite advances in photography technology, still photographs were unable to capture motion and the continuous flow of time. For example, photography at that time mainly used silver salt film and dry plate technology, which were very effective for shooting still images. However, due to the material limitations of the film base, it was not flexible enough to record continuous dynamic scenes, which hindered to a certain extent. The birth of the movie. The key breakthrough occurred in 1888, when George Eastman invented flexible roll film using cellulose nitrate. The material was similar in composition to gunpowder wool. Although it was flammable, it could be rolled continuously, allowing photographers to Capturing a series of images in succession, this invention marked the beginning of motion picture film. After that, Thomas Edison began to use flexible film to invent fragmentary moving image devices, such as the “Movie Owl” and the “Kinetoscope”, but such devices were bulky, expensive, and could only be viewed by one person at a time. In 1895, the Lumiere brothers were inspired by the technical principles of sewing machines and invented a hand-controlled movie projector based on Edison’s technology. The machine used flexible film to project moving images with less noise and the movement of the images on the screen appeared smoother. More importantly, the machine’s application of early projection technology allowed multiple viewers to watch the same movie together in public places such as cafes, thus turning movies into a form of mass entertainment. The short films such as “Exiting the Factory (1895)” and “The Waterer Watered” (1895) screened by the Lumiere brothers at that time marked the birth of cinema.

Figure 3. The Lumiere brothers and their movie camera

Therefore, the invention of technical media such as film and projectors was a key event in the history of film. Together they created a new art form, changed people’s entertainment habits, and shaped the modern film industry. Animated images that originally relied on media such as phenaki mirrors, horse racing machines, and kinetoscopes have also been re-mediated using movies as a medium. The invention of the film medium enables animated films to shoot and project continuous drawn images frame by frame, which provides directors with the opportunity to display storylines and character development in terms of narrative capacity and story space. An obvious example is that animated images based on film quickly broke away from the fragmentary image form of vaudeville, and reached the same level as live-action movies in terms of duration. Early cartoons such as “Humorous Phases of Funny Faces” (1906), “The Dachshund and the Sausage” (1910) and “Gertie the Dinosaur” (1914) not only It can already express a complete storyline and even create a virtual character with personality characteristics. At the same time, the invention of the film medium has provided more visual effects and expression techniques for animated images. In particular, the “frame-by-frame shooting method” and the “celluloid film layered shooting method” have allowed animation directors to explore various storylines and visual effects. Style provides technical possibilities and promotes the continuous innovation of animation artistic language, such as lens movement, depth photography, special effects, etc.

It is also worth noting that before the birth of color film, many animated short films were the first to show “color cartoons” using the “frame-by-frame coloring process”. For example, The Debut of Thomas Cat (1920) used brewster color technology to hand-color the film frame by frame to achieve a color effect. However, due to problems with the development process and formula, the wear of the film was too high, so it was not widely promoted.

Figure 4. Stills from “Gertie the Dinosaur”

3 - The enrichment of sound color technology and audio-visual aesthetics

Although the invention of film media technology has provided huge development space for the narrative form and aesthetic style of animated films. However, the limitations of material materials and audio-visual technology caused it to remain in the form of a “black-and-white silent film” for a long time after its birth. That is, the animated images shown have neither sound nor color. In order to make up for this shortcoming, the creative staff thought of various ways to break through the limitations of “sound”. For example, when an animated film is shown in a movie theater, the voice actor stands behind the scenes to speak and provides musical accompaniment during the film screening. This method was popular for nearly thirty years. However, these methods cannot fundamentally solve the problem of audience expectations for the sound of the film; in terms of color, in addition to the artificial coloring of the film frame by frame in the aforementioned “Thomas the Cat’s First Appearance”, China’s “The Princess with the Iron Fan” ( 1941) and others also used red, yellow, and blue glass to alternately shake in front of the projector during the film screening, so that the film could vividly present the color effect of the Flaming Mountains during the screening. It can be seen that, despite being limited by the level of technological development at the time, people’s artistic pursuit of audio-visual aesthetics and practical exploration of audio-visual technology have not stopped.

On August 27, 1910, Thomas Edison announced his latest invention: the talking film. A select audience was invited to Edison’s laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey, to see the movie machine that linked the sound of a phonograph to the images on a movie camera. This movie machine can record sound and images simultaneously. Sound was recorded by a wax roller on a gramophone drum, and images were composed of successive frames of film. The source of the sound played by the phonograph and the source of the video projector are actually separate, but Edison’s contribution was that he recorded and played the sound and the image at the same time. Thereafter, optical channel technology became widely used in the early 1920s. This technique records sound on dedicated channels on film stock, typically to the sides or below the image. This allows for more accurate synchronization between sound and images, allowing viewers to hear character dialogue and sound effects while watching the movie. The emergence of technologies such as flywheel synchronization and spiral synchronization pushed sound film technology into the era of classic movies. In these talkie techniques, sound recording was accomplished through a specialized sound recorder, which used a rotating flywheel to control the movement of the recording head. When playing a movie, both the projector and the recording equipment are connected to the same flywheel. The speed of the flywheel rotation is synchronized to ensure that each frame of image and sound plays at a constant speed. In this way, filmmakers can better manage the synchronization between sound and image, allowing viewers to have a smoother viewing experience. On May 3, 1927, Warner Production Company released “The Jazz Singer”, the first talkie in the history of world cinema, officially opening a new era in the development of talkies. Subsequently, Disney’s “Steamboat Willie” (1928) became a success as the earliest animation with synchronized sound and image. In the film, the steamship sails rhythmically on the water, accompanied by the sound of “chu, chu, chu, chu”. The two chimneys on the ship alternately blow air into the air. The sound and the picture are completely synchronized. Mickey is standing on the deck steering the ship, leisurely tapping his feet and whistling. This synchronized sound and image has now become a classic Disney clip.

Figure 5. Stills from “Steamboat Willie”

In terms of experimentation with color film, Kinemacolor was a key milestone in early color film. It is a two-color additive color method that uses red and green filters to alternately project black and white films. In 1908, the British film pioneer George Albert Smith produced a natural-color color experimental short film “Visit the Seaside” (A Visit to the Seaside) uses this method to achieve color effects. Later, in 1914, Technicolor was born, but the initial version of this technology did not appear in the form of color film, but by printing colors on film or using two projectors and passing through a prism. Create color. It was not until 1932 that dyeing and printing technology began to use the three-color dye transfer method in Disney’s short film “Flowers and Trees”, thus creating the most vivid colors in the history of film at that time. The production process of this technology can be roughly divided into three steps: (1) Shooting the original film: shooting with ordinary multi-layer color negative film. (2) Make a color-separated relief film: Use three high-contrast relief films containing light-blocking dyes, and add three primary color filters of blue, green, and red to the original base to expose from the back. After hard film development, the gelatin in the non-image areas is dissolved and the silver shadow is bleached away, forming a three-strip gelatin relief color separation mold. (3) Dye-printing positive film: Dip three strips of relief film into yellow, magenta, and cyan dyes and transfer them to a blank film to obtain a color positive image. This breakthrough significantly improved the quality and color saturation of color films, which were widely welcomed by audiences.

In 1937, the world’s first animated feature film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937) relied on relatively mature sound film technology and color film technology to advance the audio-visual aesthetics of animated images. To new heights. In terms of sound, the sound effects in the film are excellent, including the characters’ dialogue, animal sounds, and special effects. These sound effects enhance the audience’s immersion, drawing them deeper into the story. The film’s soundtrack was composed by Frank Churchill and Paul Smith and includes classic songs such as “Heigh-Ho” and “With a Smile and a Song). These songs have pleasant melodies and easy-to-remember lyrics, leaving a deep impression on the audience. In terms of color, every character and scene is filled with highly saturated colors, from Snow White’s skin to the clothing of the seven dwarfs, all of which are refreshing. The background of the movie is very exquisitely drawn, and the colorful colors present forests and castles with a fairy tale atmosphere. This not only adds to the story, but also creates a dreamy atmosphere. Therefore, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” achieved outstanding achievements in both sound aesthetics and color aesthetics. It not only ushered in a new era of animated films at the time, but also became an indispensable Disney classic that is still important today. Its historical and artistic value is due to the development of sound film technology and color film technology.

Figure 6. Stills from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”

4 - Iteration of digital technology and hyper-real animation aesthetics

Since the mid-20th century, with the rise of computer science and the gradual improvement of computer hardware, computer graphics technology has made significant progress. Early computer graphics technology was mainly used for scientific and engineering calculations. One of the earliest computer graphics systems was the Another Computer at MIT, which was developed in the early 1950s for displaying mathematical functions and drawing graphs. Subsequently, IBM’s graphics system began to appear, providing early computer users with the ability to display graphics. As computer drawing became more popular, drawing languages ​​and standards began to be developed to make it easier to create and display graphics. Among them, Sketchpad is an early computer drawing system developed by Ivan Sutherland in the 1960s. It allows users to draw interactively using a mouse or light pen, and is considered the foundation of computer-aided design (CAD), laying the foundation for future CGI (Computer-generated imagery) technology. In the early 1970s, Ed Catmull and Fred Parke developed early computer animation systems and began using raster graphics technology to create simple animations. The movie “Futureworld” used computer-generated graphics in 1976, setting a precedent for digital technology to enter the film field. However, the computer processing speed at that time was still limited, so the application scope of CGI technology was still insufficient.

In 1982, 3D Studio animation software was developed, one of the earliest 3D modeling and animation software. Subsequent versions of the software became 3ds Max. In the same year, the movie “Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back” also began to use computer-generated images, including spaceship flights and special effects scenes, marking the beginning of the widespread use of digital technology in movies application. But most of the film still relies on traditional special effects makeup, setting and shooting and editing techniques. In the 1990s, Alias ​​released Maya, a comprehensive 3D modeling and animation software that is widely used in film and television production. Subsequently, NewTek released LightWave 3D to further enhance the creative capabilities of digital technology in the fields of film and television special effects and animation. In 1995, Pixar’s “Toy Story” became the first fully computer-generated animated film, revolutionizing the way hand-drawn animation was produced in the film era. In “Toy Story,” all characters and scenes were created with 3D computer graphics software. In order to enable the characters to make various natural expressions and movements, the animators equipped the character models with operable virtual skeleton and muscle movement tools, and used the skeletal system to control the model movements like puppets, and let the characters speak according to the storyline. , jumping, running, etc. During the post-production process, “Toy Story” specially developed post-production software to repair the lenses, color correction and sound effects production, and used a rendering farm of hundreds of high-performance computers for large-scale calculation and rendering to improve the quality of the image. and production efficiency. But at the same time, animated images and real-life images based on digital technology have also begun to merge. For example, through motion capture and digital modeling, virtual characters in movies span movies and animations, and can present more realistic expressions and movements, changing the original way of character animation and character design. Gollum in The Lord of the Rings (2001) was created by actor Andy Serkis through early motion capture and post-production digital special effects synthesis.

Figure 7. Stills from “Toy Story”

In 2010, James Cameron’s Avatar became an iconic digital film. During the filming process, the production team went to various places to conduct on-site inspections and filming, and used 3D imaging technology to integrate these elements into the production of the film, presenting the virtual world to the audience in a three-dimensional form, giving the film a super-realistic feel. The visual effects make the audience feel like they are in the world of the movie. At the same time, motion capture and expression capture are two very important technical means for the film. Motion capture can transmit the actor’s real movement data to the computer to generate animation of the virtual character, making the movements of the virtual character realistic and natural. Expression capture technology uses special facial capture equipment to record the actor’s facial expressions and eyeball changes, making the virtual character’s expressions more vivid and real. At the same time, Cameron and his team created a powerful set of virtual production tools, including virtual cameras, scene editors and real-time rendering systems. These tools enable directors and production staff to preview and edit movie scenes in real-time in a virtual environment, accelerating the production process. In terms of rendering technology, in order to create the magnificent natural scenery on Pandora, “Avatar” mainly uses ray tracing rendering and high-performance computing rendering clusters to create visual effects. Ray tracing is an important algorithm in 3D technology. It assumes that the world inside the screen is real and the display is transparent glass. As long as the rays that can pass through the human eye are found and traced, a complete 3D picture can be constructed. In “Avatar,” each frame requires about 30 different rays per pixel to calculate shading, lighting, and various other special effects. In order to handle a large number of rendering tasks, Weta Studio, which is responsible for this part, adopted a high-performance computing rendering cluster, which consists of more than 4,000 HP BL2x220c blade servers. Therefore, “Avatar”, with its excellent 3D technology, high definition and vivid colors, allows the audience to immerse themselves in a new virtual world and experience an unprecedented visual impact and psychological feeling. This feeling is “knowingly” “It’s false but would rather be believed to be true”, shaping the hyper-real aesthetic feeling that Baudrillard said is “more real than real”.

Figure 8. Motion capture technology in “Avatar”

5 - The prototype of XR immersive imaging technology and full-sensory animation

From fragmentary vaudeville images to black-and-white silent films, and then from color with sound to today’s diversified expression methods such as VR, AR, MR, and XR, the progress of imaging technology has not only enriched human sensory experience, but also promoted the The development of art. Therefore, the development history of imaging technology is the history of artistic development that enriches human sensory experience. In the era of vaudeville images, people can only glimpse some fragmentary visual images, and the narrative duration, story space, character images, etc. are not fully displayed. In the era of black and white silent films, films mainly relied on monochromatic visual elements to convey emotions and information. The lack of auditory elements and color elements greatly reduced the expressiveness of the film. With the advancement of technology, the emergence of color films with sound solved this problem. The introduction of sound and color has brought revolutionary changes to film art, allowing audiences to experience the emotions and plots of movies more comprehensively and truly. However, the sensory experience of the film does not stop there. With the continuous development of digital technology, mankind has entered a new era of simulation experience. Digital technology can simulate an extremely realistic real-life environment, and the audience can be immersed in the plot of the movie as if they were personally there. And when we turn our attention to emerging metaverse engineering technologies such as VR, AR, MR, and XR, we will find that these technologies are enriching the audience’s sensory experience in multiple dimensions. VR technology realizes audio-visual sensory surround, allowing the audience to be completely immersed in the virtual world, creating an immersive feeling; AR technology perfectly combines virtual elements with the real world, allowing the audience to feel the wonder of the virtual world in reality. ; MR technology further expands the degree of integration of reality and virtuality, making it difficult for people to distinguish the boundaries between real and virtual; XR is a broader concept, covering all technologies that combine the virtual world with the real world, and is a “meta- One of the six basic technologies of the universe. In this context, comprehensive experiences such as audio-visual, interaction, touch, and smell integrate different categories such as traditional digital games, digital movies, digital animation, and digital music.

In the VR game “Half-Life: Alyx” developed by Valve, it uses VR technology to provide an immersive gaming experience. In addition to providing the audience with an audio-visual sensory experience, players can also move freely in the game through the controller. Perform various operations and even touch objects in the game, adding digital interactivity to traditional animated images. “Tilt Brush” developed by Google can be called a VR version of PS. When users put on VR glasses and pick up Tilt Brush, the scope of painting is expanded to 3D space. Users can even use air as a “canvas”. Draw gorgeous animated images like sculptures in the three-dimensional world. “Pokémon Go” uses augmented reality to allow players to capture virtual elves in the real world, integrating the real world and the virtual world. The XR game “Star Wars: Phantom Land” developed by Lucasfilm and Disney uses virtual reality and augmented reality technology to bring players into a realistic Star Wars world. Human sensory experience has been enhanced through immersion With the development of modern technology, it has entered a fully virtual time and space.

Therefore, the iteration of immersive imaging technology not only promotes the cross-fusion of art types, but also brings new characteristics to imaging aesthetics. In immersive animated images, virtual reality technology can create an immersive experience, allowing users to feel like they are in a real environment. By simulating the functions of human vision, hearing, touch and other sensory organs, the audience can move freely in the virtual realm and even view the surrounding scene 360 ​​degrees. At the same time, immersive animated images are interactive, and users can operate and interact with the virtual environment. For example, users can walk, run, jump, squat, stand, grab, throw, release, speak, etc. in the digital world through virtual avatars, and can also capture and capture human language, gestures, head movements and other behaviors. identification to achieve a richer interactive experience. More importantly, the creation of immersive animated images is not limited by the real world. It can give full play to the creator’s imagination and create a variety of unique scenes, characters, props, etc., thus expanding the space and scope of artistic creation. possibility. In this context, traditional animated images have already broken through the scope of audio-visual art, and full-sensory animated images have gradually taken shape.

Figure 9. Concept map of future images in the metaverse era (generated by AIGC)

6 - Generative artificial intelligence and intelligent generation of future animation creation

The history of the development of artificial intelligence imaging technology can be traced back to the 1960s, when the concept of computer vision was born. Artificial intelligence began to be applied in the field of image processing and recognition, which mainly includes computer vision, deep learning, natural language processing, machine learning and speech. Recognition etc. Its purpose is to allow computers to have the ability to adapt to the environment autonomously, and to observe and understand the world through vision like humans do. It mainly uses imaging systems such as image acquisition equipment and computers to replace visual organs. Currently, with the breakthrough of deep learning technology, the improvement of computer computing power, and the accumulation of massive data, artificial intelligence has made significant progress in multi-modal recognition such as images, speech, and text. For example, in 2023, artificial intelligence programs represented by Midjourney and others are popular in the fields of text, images, videos, sounds and other content. They can generate image works based on text, including portrait cartoonization, outline generation, color generation, video face-changing, Visual question answering, face synthesis, etc.

Overall, generative artificial intelligence has greatly improved the efficiency of animated image creation. For example, it can automatically generate new image content, such as new characters, plots, and scenes, by learning and analyzing large-scale data sets. These new contents can be quickly generated based on artificial intelligence models and algorithms, providing a more flexible and efficient creative space for animation production. At the same time, generative artificial intelligence can also edit and optimize existing animation content. For example, generative artificial intelligence technology can be used to digitally repair and optimize old movies, thereby restoring or improving image quality and improving the audience’s viewing experience. Finally, generative artificial intelligence can also analyze and edit various elements in the movie screen, thereby automatically generating visual effects that meet the requirements and improving the viewing and commercial value of the movie. Not only that, generative artificial intelligence provides more accurate market demand analysis for film and television production through audience feedback and data analysis. For example, by analyzing audience viewing behavior and feedback, generative AI can identify audience preferences and interests, thereby providing more specific and targeted creative suggestions to creators.

Figure 10. The world’s first AI animated feature film “The Spirit”

In China, Professor Sun Lijun, Vice President of Beijing Film Academy, has begun to take the lead in using generative artificial intelligence to create the world’s first AI animated feature film “The Foolish Old Man Moves the Mountains”. The film combines two-dimensional animation, three-dimensional animation, AIGC, real-life shooting, computer CG, XR and other high-precision technical means to improve the efficiency of production and redefine industry standards for film production, sales and dissemination. This work not only improves production efficiency, shortens the production cycle, and reduces production costs, but also creates shake-free AI images and cinema-level ultra-high-quality pictures, bringing unprecedented changes to film technology. “The Foolish Old Man Moves the Mountains” is not only the first AI animated feature film, but also an active exploration of the combination of artificial intelligence creation (AIGC) and Chinese aesthetic art. It is a new integration case of traditional culture and contemporary technology. It will be launched in two versions, one of which is a theater movie version with “full process technology” and the other is a metaverse movie version with “intelligent interaction”. This marks the first time in the world that the concepts of “artificial intelligence” and “metaverse” have been applied to film and television works at the same time, with epoch-making advanced concepts and highly integrated technical standards.

It can be seen that animated images using generative artificial intelligence technology will further move toward intelligent creation in the future, thereby once again innovating art aesthetics in many aspects such as planning, creation, communication, aesthetics, industry, and culture.

Conclusion

On this special day of World Animation Day, this article reviews the relationship between animation technology and animation art. It is not difficult to see the interaction and symbiosis between the two. As early as the appearance of the Phenacciscope, people were obsessed with the movement and changes of images. This preliminary visual medium laid the foundation for the birth of animation. With the invention of film technology, animated films began to emerge, ushering in the golden age of animated films. The emergence of color film technology with sound has further developed the audio-visual aesthetics of animation. Animated films are no longer just static images, but a new world full of sound and color. The rise of digital technology has completely changed the face of animation. Hyper-realistic animation brings an unprecedented immersive experience to viewers through captivating visual effects and superbly detailed displays. XR immersive imaging technology brings the audience into the virtual world, making animation a full-sensory art. The application of generative artificial intelligence technology makes animation creation more intelligent and efficient, providing artists with more creative possibilities. Generally speaking, the relationship between animation technology and animation art is an evolving process. Technological progress promotes the development of art, and the needs of art stimulate technological innovation. The diversification of animation art aesthetics is due to the continuous upgrading and innovation of animation technology. In the future, we can look forward to more amazing animation technologies and works of art, presenting humans with an animation world full of infinite possibilities.

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