Tokyo Sound

"You're welcome. You're welcome." Yin Ze said.

"Let me show you around first. This is mainly a place for rest." Makoto Nidu introduced the layout of the studio. "Inside, it's for 3D painting. There are a lot of equipment upstairs. We have a separate studio for D. Eating and cleaning are over here. This is considered a living area."

"Great." Yin Ze walked around with his hands behind his back. Although small, it has everything, and the decoration style is also very avant-garde and fashionable. In comparison, Kyoto Animation has a traditional and old-fashioned atmosphere.

"This is a small meeting room. The producer and I often discuss things here," Nidu Makoto said. "The producer heard that you were coming today, so he waited for you."

"I'm so flattered." Yin Ze was flattered to be valued like this.

Pushing open the frosted glass door, there sat a man in a suit and tie, with curly hair, round glasses, and a carefully trimmed beard. He looked like a creative person.

"Kawamura-san, this is the teacher 'Yin Ze' that I mentioned." Nido Makoto introduced each other, "Teacher, this is Toho's producer, Mr. Kawamura Genki."

"It's true that hearing about him is worse than meeting him in person. He's even more handsome than on the screen." Kawamura Genki stood up and walked over with a smile.

"Mr. Kawamura is as versatile as his teacher. In addition to being a producer, he is also a screenwriter and even has some experience as a director. He is also a best-selling author," said Makoto Nido.

"That's really amazing." Yin Ze gave a thumbs up in praise.

"All of my jobs have something in common. What's hard to believe is that the teacher is not only an excellent actor, but also a master of painting," said Kawamura Genki humbly.

The two shook hands.

The fact that so many great people were able to be involved in this animated film is largely due to the producer Genki Kawamura, who works in the Toho Visual Planning Department, which is responsible for the mainstream films of Toho's more than 300 theaters.

Since graduating from university in 2001 and joining Toho Co., Ltd., Kawamura Genki has achieved many results. His films "Confessions" and "The Villain" have won awards. He also won the Fujimoto Prize for these works, which is the highest award given to Japanese film producers.

In fact, around the time of The Garden of Words, Kawamura, who represented Toho, had already contacted Makoto Nito. After many exchanges, they decided to make an animated film, a work that could support Toho's summer business.

As Toho's top producer, Kawamura Genki spared no effort in assisting the director and brought in excellent painters and musicians. The list of personnel in his painting team was so impressive that even Master Yin at the barbecue restaurant that day exclaimed that Mogaore Dairy had transformed into brewing beer - Niu Beer.

Kawamura Genki also knew about the teacher who was named "Yin Ze" by Makoto Nito, after all, he was the best newcomer of the year. To be honest... it was understandable that the director wanted him to do the dubbing, but Kawamura, who didn't know much about the animation industry, was confused for a while when he asked him to be the animation supervisor.

However, after asking the industry leaders, the response was unanimous approval.

It's really a strange person and a strange thing.

"I heard that the teacher was busy shooting a movie before, and came here right after it was finished. It seems to be a movie related to Toho?" Kawamura Genki couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, it's about a comeback after taking the college entrance exam, and the lead actress is the popular young actress Miss Arimura Kasumi." Yin Ze said.

"Yes, I know something about it." Kawamura Genki remembered and said with a smile, "It seems that you have a great connection with Toho."

"I am also very happy. It is an honor to be able to participate in Toho's projects continuously and to work with professional teams many times." Yin Ze also replied with a smile.

"Teacher, are you interested in joining Toho Entertainment?" Kawamura Genki asked half-jokingly.

"The producer has started poaching now. That's not very fair." Makoto Nido couldn't help but joked.

"It's a professional habit, please forgive me," said Genki Kawamura.

"We have met each other, and we will have many opportunities to talk in the future. I will take you to the painting area," said Makoto Nidu.

"Of course, you guys go about your business." Kawamura Genki said OK.

Finally, Yin Ze stepped into the drawing area guarded by a powerful man from the end of animation.

It is very quiet here. All the staff are busy painting. The average age is over 35 years old and they are all backbones.

"Ando-san, this is the background art supervisor I mentioned before, Mr. Yin Ze." In the quiet environment like a library, Makoto Nido couldn't help but lower his voice.

After these words were spoken, many people stopped writing and looked up.

The aura of a strong man is so powerful, Yin Ze straightened his chest.

A plain middle-aged man turned the chair. His hair was mixed with white. He looked ordinary, but he created classics. Masatsugu Ando, ​​a Ghibli filmmaker, was the animation supervisor for "Princess Mononoke" and "Spirited Away".

"Haha, I've heard of you before. You're very young." Ando Masashi said kindly, "Hello."

"Hello, senior." Yin Ze said respectfully.

"Oh, by the way, the big brother over there came here specially to wait for you today." Ando Masashi pointed to the distance.

"Strictly speaking, Okiura was very curious. When he heard that I would come today, he asked me to take a good look and tell him what kind of genius it was that made Kigami Yoshiharu praise him so much and praise him over and over again." The original artist, who was over 50 years old, smiled. His image was older, with sparse hair, and he was close to old age.

"This is Mr. Toshishi Inoue," said Makoto Nidu.

Yin Ze became serious.

Inoue Toshishi is a veteran in the industry. His resume can basically be used as a recommendation list of famous Japanese animation works. He has collaborated with famous masters such as Otomo Katsuhiro, Miyazaki Hayao, Oshii Mamoru, Kon Satoshi, Kawamori Shoji and others as an animation supervisor or original artist. As an original artist, his career can be considered a complete success.

There is a very interesting little thing.

Previously, there was a TV series called "Shirobako" which tells the behind-the-scenes stories of animation production. In the plot of the animation, there was a horse riding scene that was too difficult to draw and no one could be found, which made the protagonist in charge of the production exhausted. In the animation, he even found a character based on Hideaki Anno. In the end, the old original artist of the company in the play stepped in to solve the problem like a monk sweeping the floor.

In reality, this section was written by Inoue Toshishi.

In the period from the late 60s to the early 70s, there were very few people who had the awareness of "drawing" on the spot. At that time, the proportion of animation and manga original works increased, and all of them were of the type that was very inconvenient to draw. "TV comics" that only emphasized visual effects and were mainly still pictures were the mainstream.

In the 80s, people still didn’t know what “animation” was. Even if they wanted to make a painting move, they didn’t know how to do it. With the active work of Otomo Katsuhiro, Oshii Mamoru, Kon Satoshi and others, they used rationality to make up for the lack of talent and finally established the technical framework for painting.

Not everyone is like Miyazaki, who can draw extremely comfortable and correct perspective compositions based on feelings alone.

From Akira to Patlabor: The Movie, the layout that everyone knows today was created based on location photos and data. At the same time, Satoshi Kon joined the battle, and the screen design based on perspective was taken to a higher level. The animators on the scene also evolved while learning from each other in this environment.

The 90s animation, which pursued character modeling and physical movement, already had a sense of real three-dimensionality and weight that was not available in the 70s. After the heyday of "Ghost in the Shell", "Werewolf" in 2000 came to an end.

After that, with changes in the industry environment and the emergence of digital tools, new paths emerged.

The generation represented by Toshishi Inoue was a generation of young people who had a passionate relationship with each other, pursued new expressions, and opened up unexplored areas. At that time, there was no 3D, no CG, only paper and pen. That generation built the best framework for the expression of Japanese animation with their bare hands.

Those memorable, magnificent, strange, gorgeous, and blood-pumping scenes actually originated from ordinary people buried at the table.

For animators, a few seconds of animation requires more than ten times more time, sweat and effort. Nowadays, hand-drawn two-dimensional animation is gradually declining, and there are always disputes about production conditions and staff treatment. But this has not affected everyone's enthusiasm, and one wonderful animation after another is born out of love and dreams.

There are very few bad people who are willing to devote themselves to animation.

Yin Ze is a game artist, but art is the same. Maybe you don't know each other, but you are all on the same path, have suffered similar hardships, and have been through similar hardships. He respects creators like Yoshiharu Kigami.

At this moment, there are powerful people from different generations surrounding him.

Everyone breaks the curse and writes beautifully.

Yin Ze, who used to watch cartoons on a big-headed TV, had a seed of yearning for art in his heart that had grown into a towering tree, and he also entered this field.

My blood boiled instantly!

"I just want to paint with you all right now." Yin Ze clenched his fist, burning with passion, eager to communicate with the masters.

"Very good!" Nito Makoto was overjoyed.

Chapter 72 Silent Echo

Many experts gathered together, and their pens were as fast as lightning, but silently.

Yin Ze still remembers the feeling when he first picked up a pen and drew a plaster still life - nothing but silence. He kept rubbing the lines on the paper and sat there for an hour. The teacher came over and took a look, and only commented, "Don't draw the lines so rigidly."

Of course, Yin, who had just signed up, couldn't understand. To be more precise, he could understand the Chinese, but didn't understand what it meant. He had to work hard for another half an hour. Then the teacher came over and took another look, scratching his head and repeating, "It's still too rigid."

Now Yin started racking his brains, and a month later, he gradually became familiar with arranging the lines and figured out some sense of rhythm. He had a preliminary concept of tightness and looseness, and the lines could finally be taken out of the ropes without being rigid.

And everything about painting has just begun.

The quietness you feel when you first pick up a pen will last forever, until you give up or your soul rests in peace.

Struggling in silence, realizing in silence that I have no talent, and accumulating knowledge and experience in silence.

If you challenge yourself when you are a student, then if you want to make a living with technology, you will be challenging the ocean.

After all, in this industry, being “okay” is far from enough, you have to be “excellent” to survive.

There is no hope of finding a job, and I keep hitting a wall. Rather than not understanding, I am more filled with doubt.

When I lay there looking at the moon, recalling the past and thinking about the future, the surroundings suddenly fell into the familiar silence. I dug through the ashes and turned over the dry, black charcoal. The wind blew, and the embers lit up, the flames glowing red.

This is Yin Ze's experience, and it is also the experience of all those who made the same choice as him.

Now, everywhere, there are embers of blood.

Master Yin sat at his work table and did not start working right away, but carefully looked at the existing art resources. For a big project like this, he actually let a person who had not participated in the early discussions of the big case and joined halfway be the supervisor. It can be said that he was bold. The key director and the painting team had no objection, which was such recognition. Although he was a parasite, he also had his own pride. In this matter, he always wanted to prove himself.

Makoto's art style is clean, delicate, and detailed. In order to achieve the rationality of the light and shadow texture, the core skylight is either bright and transparent, or cloudy and rainy. In short, it is not too normal. But why is there a different experience from traditional animation in the subconscious? The root cause is the change in production methods.

Around 2000, the evolution of hand-drawn animation was nearing completion, with digital synthesis, 3D models, special effects and lighting all making their debut.

At least in this team, the main tools used are AE, PS, 3DsMxa, Deadline and the like.

The team also uses 3D for layout. Even for cities, they will use rough models to build the directional relationship first, and then replace it with fine models when the formal production begins. In Yin Ze's personal opinion, the process is closer to game production. The upstream provides ideas, the midstream gives art settings, and the downstream creates models. However, here they will return to the art link to draw the original picture based on this, and the post-production photography will also be responsible for some details, such as the dynamics of the shining water waves.

The images created in this scientific way are naturally extremely delicate, with a level of integration and realism that is difficult to achieve with pure hand-drawing.

It's not about which is better or worse.

After all, Makoto came from a game company, and he has completed animations digitally by himself. He has been passionate about computers since he was a child, so it is not surprising that he is proficient in this process. In fact, 3DCG animation is gradually becoming mainstream around the world... Of course, Japan cannot be said to be backward in this area, but the technical accumulation and talents are basically in the game field.

But even so, Makoto hasn't yet achieved full 3D. He used various methods, including manual drawing and adjustments by the art team, and complex synthesis technology, but in the end he still returned to a two-dimensional visual experience.

The entire industry, deep in its heart, seems to have a small and unknown persistence.

At this moment, Master Yin opened all kinds of software on the high-end computer in Chengge's studio. Various tools filled the screen, and he dragged the mouse around in the all-English interface, inputting various parameters, and the data and normals appeared one by one, which looked impressive and very high-end.

"Oh, you are so skilled at using Blender." Makoto Niwatari couldn't let go of the SSR card he just got, and stood by to admire its illustration and skill panel. There is a kind of beauty of strength.

"It's just so-so, it's all rolled out." Yin Ze said modestly.

"Wow, you are really good at Photoshop. The curve is just right." Makoto Nido continued to praise.

This is a bit awkward... Can't you control the bowl you're eating from?

In fact, Master Yin's early research on software can be attributed to his own lack of drawing ability. He was not talented, practiced slowly, and could not reach a higher level. However, the competition was so fierce that he could only learn from the supporting characters in martial arts novels to seek various quick methods, use plug-ins to assist, and rely on equipment and pills to improve. Including being obsessed with collecting brushes from masters. I can use them, but I can't live without them.

This certainly helps with the visual performance, but it is still a hack, indulging in a false improvement, and in the end you still have to go back and make up for the basics.

Now that I have experienced the corridors of life and have mastered the classics, my inner strength is so strong that even fried dough sticks and mops can be used as pens. I don’t need those things anymore - ha, except for overtime and deadlines!

There are even "Yin Ze brushes" circulating in AQUARE ENIX that are not made by Master Yin Ze, which shows how famous he is.

Someone was quite curious and asked for one to try. The other party was reluctant to give it to me, but I got it by being tough. At first I thought it was okay and the texture was interesting, so I wanted to zoom in to see what kind of pattern distribution the pen had.

When I zoomed in, I found that the pen tip was his head photo!!!

I have seen many counterfeit and shoddy products, but this is the first time I have seen such a genuine and literal "Yin Ze brush", which shocked Xiaobailong.

However, when he thought that it was very likely that the various beautiful girl portraits in Final Fantasy 14 were actually made up of thousands of his tiny faces, and he was close to Alisa's white and tender thighs, the Minotaur Chief was shy and panting, and there was some forbidden stimulation and excitement.

"It's just a boring job for the department. There are also 'Yoshida Smile Brush' and 'Yoshida Crying Brush'." Tomoki Yoshida said in the chat channel in the game.

"vomit--"

"What are you vomiting about? What do you mean? My looks are not worthy of appreciation?"

"Originally, it would be nice to have thousands of me forming a beautiful girl, but now when I think about the two of us taking turns, with you in me and me in you, forming a beautiful girl thousands of times, I start to feel sick."

"..."

Afterwards, I heard that Director Yoshida used his power to eliminate this evil weapon.

Yin Ze is quickly understanding the project. A strong person like him who is good at using software is a perfect match. No wonder Cheng Ge is so sure and confident. The workload is so heavy that in order to join early, the corridor is also turning.

After collecting the data, make sufficient preparations before starting to write.

Before the film was made, photographers including Makoto Nito traveled around Japan to take photos, and these materials served as ready-made references.

No need to hesitate, modeling, line drawing, rendering, stylization, conversion to PS hand-drawn adjustment, all done by the familiar third party.

Unlike the last "Hyouka", Kyoto Animation also has photography (digital synthesis), but the proportion of hand-drawing is large, and in addition to the background, there are also original character paintings, including the hellish and super-difficult paintings of the crowded teams on the Hinamatsuri. Even though 299% roared and boiled all the way, it was exhausting.

This time it was much better. I only worked on the background. The software was very efficient in producing the model. The city model could be reused and it was already completed when imported into PS. Finally, I had to rely on my own ability to do the fine-tuning... This is often the most difficult part.

Master Yin is a man of both life and death, and he is strong enough to hold a pencil, let alone embracing technology, manifesting his true self as a corporate slave, and recreating the style of a human king who can take away three and a half colleagues by himself?

Fast is good, good is fast, fast and good, Tencent bows down to us!

Makoto Nito went to another place to give instructions for a while, probably about 2 hours, and when he came back, he saw that SSR had already released 4 backgrounds. He was so surprised and frightened that he forgot to drink the coffee that was right next to his mouth.

What kind of animal is this?!

And the painting styles are so compatible - could it be that the teacher and I have a resonance on the soul level, and are destined to be creative partners? Is it a two-way rush that comes ten years late? Is it a love that is thousands of miles apart, separated by a train?

Now Yin Ze is communicating with the Polish painter in the team.

Urbanovice is a staff member of CoMix Wave Films, mainly responsible for animation background production. He majored in science and engineering in undergraduate school, and the idea of ​​learning painting came to him after traveling in Japan. In 2013, he met Makoto Nito and joined the company. As a painter specializing in landscapes and architecture, he and Makoto have many similar ideas, and he has also drawn many beautiful works for them, which also play a wonderful role in this animated film.

CW Films follows a creative route with its own unique characteristics, adhering to the policy of having a small number of elite people produce the film themselves. As a result, they cannot handle big productions on their own, so they broke the rules and let Toho take charge of this project.

Urbanovice is an old employee. The big guys have been parachuting in one after another. This time there is also a person who specializes in background management, so he must be contacted.