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How to Make Paper Cut Out Animation Like South Park

Animation Changes have taken place throughout the run of South Park as the series' visual way has evolved, with grapheme and location designs gradually being inverse to include more depth and detail than they seemed to accept in the show's earlier seasons.

The kickoff four seasons of the show were produced using Alias/Wavefront's PowerAnimator as the primary blitheness software, blithe at 24 frames per 2d.^[1] Storyboards were manus-drawn, while new graphic symbol designs were created in CorelDRAW and had to be approved for use in the show; the latter has remained part of the production process to this day.^[two]

Though the idea of changing software was ruled out initially by J. J. Franzen, claiming "if you're wondering why we haven't moved to Maya, it'due south just overkill for what we do, ya know? That, and it would take a very long time to catechumen all our assets over"^[1], the series' fifth flavor was delayed several months to June 2001 and so the animation staff could learn the Autodesk Maya blitheness software, a much powerful three-D animation program which the serial still uses to this solar day. As a result, the series' blitheness has changed greatly over the years, though it still uses construction paper textures, and the video game South Park: The Fractured Just Whole was even built on an engine that could share artistic assets with the serial. ^[three]

Animator Lucas Walker described the complexity of the serial' animation:

"...each one of those characters is really similar ten,000 pieces of geometry... Every single color of every single line, and every single shadow is an individual piece of geometry. That'south how they animate the evidence. In a rig you have no less than iv views: left, right, forepart, back. You tin can also have special poses, but each of those poses has a special replacement animation, so you can hit a slider that turns off i piece of geometry and turns on another. In the front view alone, nosotros might have 12 different easily, and those 12 hands exist separately in each private pose. And then the mounds of information for each character quickly stacks on meridian of itself."^[iii]

As a result of these advancing techniques and the gradual evolution of the evidence's style, character designs and locations are updated periodically - especially kickoff effectually Flavor Xi onward - to wait more refined and improve reflect the greater skills and capabilities of the animation department.

Animation Development

In the "The Spirit of Christmas" shorts and the airplane pilot episode, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", the animation was fabricated using finish motility and the characters were fabricated with construction newspaper, a costly and time-consuming process dramatized and parodied in "A Very Crappy Christmas". The two shorts and the pilot were the just episodes to be created using this animation manner; all future episodes were created using primarily computer blitheness software, a decision made earlier the technical coiffure for the series was even assembled.^[1]

During the early episodes "Weight Gain 4000" and "Volcano", the animation was done on a calculator using PowerAnimator. The animation team was still working out the show'due south way, using relatively few expressions and animations. Trey and the animators experimented with changes to the animation style, such as using flat colors instead of structure newspaper texture, and using symmetrical optics without shadow or whatsoever lines on them.

The animation was slightly altered in "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride", introducing new expressions, adding a small blackness line that divides the two optics, and a few of the oral cavity shapes being redrawn. The kids have shadows over their eyes and the characters at present have construction newspaper textures.

From the episode "Tom's Rhinoplasty" on, most adult characters at present have shadows under their eyes as well. This was also one of the evidence'due south commencement instances of using a photo to represent a character's confront.

Afterwards the switch to Maya in the 5th season, the blitheness became more vibrant. The characters gained more expressions and animation. About background characters have gained a greater variety of clothes and hair. The adults have a shadow over their optics after this flavor. The drawing flames were changed to more realistic-looking flames, and new colors were introduced. Most of the quaternary graders now apply the aforementioned basic animation rig, with 2 major body types. Some of the mouths and expressions were refined again and altered slightly. Characters are too animated tilting their heads every bit they speak much less often.

By the seventh flavor, the way for adult characters began to change and diversify. Whereas many older characters like Officer Barbrady or Jimbo Kern and even those introduced in the previous season oft had thick black lines to represent both wrinkles on their faces or zippers in their clothing, besides as hand-drawn, uneven ties or vests, designs for new characters like Harrison Yates, Ryan Valmer, and Sarah Valmer possessed cleaner, more than symmetrical designs and smoother colors. Wrinkles or other trunk features are now thinner lines with a slightly-deeper-than-flesh color, while zippers are oft similarly a slightly deeper shade of the surrounding colour. Ties were straightened and belts/pockets became more common and subtler.

Effectually the same time, locations and backgrounds began to be refined equally well. Stark's Pond is expanded significantly in "Toilet Paper" to set the mood of the parodied scene, with a cloudy, foggy look, a more than defined shoreline and lots of rocks and trees surrounding it. The completely new Park Canton Constabulary Station appears for the first time instead of the original station. In the ninth season, Hell's Pass Hospital now has ruby roofing and an altered sign. Heaven and Hell take on entirely new appearances in "Best Friends Forever" and nosotros fifty-fifty run into a new model for Satan himself, with a buffer look with curved horns.

Starting time in the eleventh season, almost noticeably in "Night of the Living Homeless", the adult characters' appearances were updated to better fit the style used for new adults over the last few seasons as described above, with their collars and ties tweaked and night lines softened. Randy Marsh's shirt is altered so his rolled upward sleeves are softer, and his now-symmetrical collar and pockets are a deeper shade of thinner, bluish lines rather than thick, blackness lines. Jimbo Kern has a softened chin, a completely new vest and shirt, at present with a zipper and visible undershirt, and softened lines on his chapeau to a deeper shade of orangish. Later in the flavour, Gerald Broflovski was given a more than colorful yamulke and a new neckband. By this fourth dimension, we brainstorm to run across fences effectually the boys' houses and different snowfall patterns.

Background characters for both adults, fourth graders and the constabulary force were beginning refreshed in the eleventh and twelfth seasons, including more characters with shading effects in their hair and more than detailed vesture. New developed characters often had less uniform caput and body shapes, with women in item almost never following the circular-faced, square-bodied designs of older seasons and now tend to accept more petite, thinner bodies. Some characters such as Lizzy and Marker Cotswolds began to disappear from backgrounds, entirely supplanted past the new characters.

The adults and police would be refreshed again around Season 19 to include more than modernized, hippie caricatures for the sometime, and in the latter instance, detailed badges and new female person officers, while a few more children of colour were added to background scenes at Due south Park Simple, such as Liza Nelson.

HD Remasters

In 2009, Comedy Central began dissemination its programs in loftier-definition; "The Cathay Probrem" was the first episode natively produced to high-definition standard, and "The Band" was the beginning to be broadcast in the format. All previous episodes of the prove were produced in standard definition and could non exist broadcast as such without black bars at the sides; S Park Studios took on the job of re-rendering the show'south previous seasons in high-definition during this fourth dimension.

J. J. Franzen explained at the fourth dimension:

"We've ever been digital pack rats, and so we even so have all the Maya (and before season 5, Alias PowerAnimator) scene files nosotros used to create the show... Since HD has go a existent possibility, we've started re-rendering all those old episodes at full 1080p, which as well means re-framing all the shots from standard 4:3 to full 16:ix. It's very labor intensive, merely information technology also means that we'll be the only animated evidence from the pre-HD world that volition accept its unabridged catalog of episodes in full native 1080p. It'south pretty sweet."^[4]

These remastered versions of the seasons were slowly released but did incorporate some alterations and errors:

The flooring was removed from a scene in "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" where Jimbo and Ned meet with an explosives good.
In "An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig", the infamous puddle that appears when Shelly beats upward Stan, left over from a deleted scene, was removed. Additionally, a construction paper scene reused from The Unaired Airplane pilot was re-animated digitally to match the rest of the episode.
In many episodes with large crowd scenes, new characters were added into the previously unseen edges of the screen, some being characters that did not debut until later in the series and thus contrasting with the simpler grapheme designs of the time:
- Lola can be seen at the Chinpokomon military camp in "Chinpokomon"; she did not officially debut until "Bebe'south Boobs Destroy Order".
- Scott Malkinson, who did non officially debut until "Elementary School Musical", tin be seen in line for cotton processed at the Jeffersons' business firm in "The Jeffersons".
- In "It Hits the Fan", Thomas Tucker is seen with his updated advent from "Pandemic", forth with the redneck Truck Driver who originally debuted in "Butt Out".
- In "Free Lid", v people were added during the Fresh Island Song.
In various older episodes, Pip Pirrip has his subsequently hairstyle, with a blonde fringe peeking out from nether his cap. This was not originally added to his appearance until the fourth season.

For unknown reasons, the HD versions of Season Eleven and the commencement seven episodes of Season Twelve were not re-framed, but instead had their 4:iii shots cropped into widescreen. While most of the first x seasons' shots were expanded outward to fill the edges of the screen, these episodes had the upper and lower portions of the original animation removed; for example, in "Le Petit Tourette", the meridian of Principal Victoria's head is cut off.

Animation changes on HD remasters

Character Revisions

In the series' subsequently seasons, many characters' designs have been changed or altered to match the alterations to the animation mode, such every bit changing thick blackness lines for wrinkles to flesh tone. In some cases these changes were permanent, while in other cases the characters would sometimes or even often revert to a previous advent.

Randy Marsh: As of "Chickenlover", he has a different hairstyle and a dimpled chin.
- From the eleventh flavour on, his rolled upwards sleeves are softer and his at present-symmetrical collar and pockets are a deeper shade of thinner, blue lines rather than thick, black lines.
Tolkien Black: Equally of "It Hits the Fan", he is a lighter shade of black than in the previous seasons.
Pip Pirrip: As of "Information technology Hits the Fan", he has slightly updated hairstyle, including a small fringe visible from his hat.

Steve and Linda Black: They are first revised in "Cripple Fight" to give Linda darker pare and Steve a slightly contradistinct caput with larger hairs and tweaked pilus.

- They are seen with further revised designs in "one%" which include contradistinct heads, a more detailed suit for Steve and new white sleeves for Linda. They continued to switch betwixt their erstwhile and new designs often for several years.
Jesus Christ: Equally of "Super Best Friends", he has a red sash and his anxiety are no longer covered past his robe.
Beak Allen and Fosse McDonald: They originally had thick eyebrows in the get-go iv seasons, but were redesigned starting in the fifth season to have the aforementioned eyebrows as most other child characters. Nib also lost the zipper on his jacket.
Terrance Mephesto: For the showtime four seasons he had big brown eyebrows and were e'er visible. After Season 4, his eyebrows got smaller and appeared only when he became worried or angry.
Crimson McArthur: During the offset four seasons, her jacket and pants are distinct colors, with her jacket a slightly lighter shade of blue/purple. Later on the fifth season began, her jacket and pants became the same shade of deep purple.
Ned Gerblanski: From sometime before "I'chiliad a Little Scrap Country", one of the brown patches on his camouflage shirt was removed and has not been seen since.
Satan: First revised in "Best Friends Forever" to accept curved horns, stronger arms, and a much more detailed and muscular physique. with an entirely dissimilar silhouette.
- He is further redesigned in "Freemium Isn't Gratuitous" to follow his original silhouette while withal having curved horns and a more muscular form. Ane of his fingernails is now visible much of the time.
Jimbo Kern: As of "Night of the Living Homeless", Jimbo has a softened chin, a completely new vest with realigned pockets and shading effects and a collared shirt, at present with a zipper and visible undershirt, and softened lines on his hat to a deeper shade of orangish.
- Durring some instances in season 22, his vest has the shading effects reduced while still retaining the same pockets and shape.
Gerald Broflovski: As of "More Crap", he has a different, thinner neckband and a new yarmulke. His pants are also shaped slightly differently.
Sheila Broflovski: From "Major Boobage" on, she has softened lines in her hair and updated earrings besides equally a more symmetrical blueprint, with a collar on her jacket, different pockets and a smoother brim.
Mr. Mackey: As of "Major Boobage", his shirt now has a pocket with softer lines, and the neckband and necktie are now even. He as well has a chugalug.
Herbert Garrison: Equally of "Eek, A Penis!", afterwards his second sex change, he has an updated, straightened collar and a belt. His ears use softer lines and his glasses are at present shown over his eyes from a sideview, instead of resting on his nose every bit previously.
Principal Victoria: In "Breast Cancer Show Ever", her undershirt is lowered slightly to show more of her neck.
Thomas and Laura Tucker: As of "Pandemic", their faces have both been given a slight clean-upwards, including shading on their hair respectively, though they retain the same silhouette.
Stephen Stotch: in "Over Logging" on, has a collar to his shirt and a straightened tie.
Stuart McCormick: As of "Pinewood Derby", the muss on his face closely resembles clay, his chapeau is a night red with more texture, he has a new realigned collar, and a cleaned-up trunk overall.
Carol McCormick: As of "Pinewood Derby", she has more detailed hair, equally well as new t-shirt with a different shape and her artillery hanging differently, and new blue pants.
Bartender: Has a major redesign in "Westward.T.F.", taking on an entirely unlike character shape.
Skeeter'due south Friends: One of them had a major redesign on "W.T.F.".
Mayor McDaniels: Equally of "The F Give-and-take", the Mayor has a new collar and a small medal.
Kevin McCormick: Equally of "Sexual Healing", he has new furnishings on his hair and face.
Mecha-Streisand: As of "200", she has a completely new and fully 3D look.
Dr. Alphonse Mephesto: Every bit of "201", his wrinkles are softened and his hat at present has a 3D effect to make its lesser visible, and his neckband has been modified. A few new flowers have been added. His sideview is all-new.
Nathan: Had a slightly redesigned face in "Crippled Summer".
Bradley Biggle: Equally of "Mysterion Rises", his hairstyle has some detail added to it.
Tuong Lu Kim: From "Metropolis Sushi" on, usually has an altered hairline, softened cheekbones and pare details, a realigned belong, and black pants.
Harrison Yates: From "City Sushi" on, his cheekbones and face detail as well equally his pilus particular are all softer shades, his holster is changed to a darker shade of brownish, and the lesser of his suspenders is removed entirely so they appear to connect directly to his pants.
Marvin Marsh has an entirely new wheelchair from "Cash For Gold" on, equally well every bit wears a detailed imperial blanket over his legs in many scenes. He returns to his old appearance when eating at the tabular array with his family unit.
Quondam Farmer: As of "Insecurity", he has a more detailed face, outfit, and hairstyle.
Laura Tucker has an entirely new body type and design in "The Magic Bush", with both an updated version of her old outfit and an entirely new ane including a flowery-patterned skirt.
Karen McCormick: Equally of "The City Part of Boondocks", she begins wearing her hair in pigtails with new detailed effects, possibly to differentiate her from Heidi Turner.
Heidi Turner: Between Season 4- half-dozen, she got a coat, as well as now having grey hair instead of black. Information technology stays similar this for the residual of the series. In Flavor twenty, though her core blueprint is unchanged, she began wearing a chapeau in "Skank Hunt" with a flower, that has become a permanent fixture of her blueprint since then.
Lolly the Candy Man: Has lost weight and has gray pilus, and wears a dissimilar outfit when he reappears in "The Scoots", actualization to have aged several years.

Location Revisions

As locations reappear in S Park, the art representing them is often altered to include more than item. This often includes adding dimension, pathways, fencing, more naturalistic scenery such as trees and increasingly in later seasons, grasses.

Stark's Swimming: In flavour seven'due south "Toilet Paper, it was given a mistier atmosphere to reflect the episode'south parody of The Godfather. **It was re-designed in "The Mainland china Probrem" as a much more detailed lake environment, now surrounded by more than prominent mountains and detailed trees on multiple sides, with a demote overlooking the lake that has reappeared often.
Southward Park Elementary: After existence burned downwardly in "Butt Out", information technology was rebuilt. More detail was added to the front doors, which would now exist depicted more regularly. The interior mostly looks the aforementioned, with the various rooms being revised at different points. (encounter article)
Hell's Pass Hospital: From "Best Friends Forever" on, the sign has been contradistinct, there is red roofing, and the windows are more detailed.
- It was given a more pregnant facelift in "Grounded Vindaloop that includes a parking lot, trees, a fuller roof and significantly more depth. The interior rooms also return to having brown hospital beds instead of greyness.
Due south Park Genetic Engineering Ranch: Was revised in "201", with an more detailed argue and sign, the bunnyfish now replaced by asses adorning it, as well as more expressionless copse, hedges, and much more depth towards a detailed building with a boarded door. The interior is completely different with a tiled flooring, a new workbench and new, dimly-lit cages for various animals.
Jimbo'southward Guns: In "Globe War Zimmerman", the edifice has a more blood-red coloration with detailed bricks, the 'Jimbo'south Guns' name in a more than proper typeface, and new signage. The interior is besides revised to now include a longer counter with more than detailed weapons, with lime flooring and dark green walls.
Southward Park Church: Snow and a parking lot was added in flavor 11's "Cartman Sucks". By flavour 20's "Non Funny, new additions included a pathway from the sidewalk, a significant number of copse around the expanse, a slightly larger parking lot and a new, concrete exterior wall is introduced, backside which is a cemetery that tin can exist seen from a altitude.
- For flavour 22'southward "A Boy And A Priest", the outside was altered fifty-fifty more significantly, to suit wider shots featuring characters and a foreground parking lot. The building itself is revised to allow for a wider interior, now pushing out beyond the familiar arch shape that had characterized the edifice since the earlier seasons, with additional maroon stained glass windows on each side of this new mid-section. The exterior wall has also been changed to a thick wooden fence, with a visible gate, although the distant view of the cemetery is lost. These changes seemed to revert in "Season Finale".
Bus Cease: In season 18's "The Magic Bush", more hills and copse were added in the background of it, to evidence the distance betwixt information technology and the mountains, a forest was besides added in front of the mountains.
- Its design was altered even more in season 24'due south "The Pandemic Special", as trash can be seen on the ground, along with bits of grass poking out of the snow, snow can also at present be seen covering the sign and slightly going onto the streets.
Lolly'southward Candy Factory: In season 22's "The Scoots", it is now in the dark-green building on Chief Street rather than the larger building it was previously depicted as.

Video Games

For South Park: The Stick of Truth , the game developers had to recreate everything from the basis up and the models used in game, while intended to be as close to the show as possible, occasionally use dissimilar textures, thicker lines or incorporate pocket-size differences that an hawkeye-eyed fan may detect. Many of the groundwork characters do not resemble those ever actually seen in the show equally a consequence.

South Park: The Fractured Simply Whole uses the Snowdrop engine by Ubisoft that can actually import and export art assets in a uniform format with Maya, and then information technology therefore uses art avails created for the show and the game's original assets are fully compatible with it.

Trivia

Liane Cartman, Sharon Marsh, and Skeeter are the simply adult characters from the first season still active with their original appearances. However, Officeholder Barbrady is sometimes seen in his old uniform resembling his first flavour self, and Ned Gerblanski has undergone simply a modest revision. In later seasons, Sharon'due south eyebrows are well-nigh permanent and Liane often wears a jacket.

References

↑ ^i.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 "The Ars Technica South Park interview". Ars Technica (July 27, 1999).
↑ "Here's another #BehindTheScenes Corel. All background characters must be designed and approved before blitheness.". Southward Park Studios on Twitter (September 26, 2013).
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 "The Secrets Behind South Park's Pain-Staking Animation". Game Informer (October 21, 2016).
↑ "Previous seasons of the hit series "South Park" are existence re-rendered in full 1080p High Definition". High Def Disc News. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.