Why Miyazaki does all his drawings by hand

In the era of stop motion and CGI and Pixar, Japan's favorite anime director Hayao Miyazaki refuses to use the aid of a computer to make his world-famous movies. When interviewed recently for his newest film, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, Miyazaki offered this explanation as to why:

I think animation is something that needs the pencil, needs man's drawing hand, and that is why I decided to do this work in this way. Currently computer graphics are of course used a great deal and, as I've said before, this use can at times be excessive. I will continue to use my pencil as long as I can.

Not the most fascinating explanation, but it's interesting to know that the guy who created the first Oscar-winning animated film ever is so old school.

Comments

[Robotech_Master]

Hear, hear!

CGI does have its place—even Studio Ghibli knows that, given that they use small elements of it here and there (for instance, the fast-motion growing plants in Princess Mononoke). There are also some movies or TV series that have used even fairly significant CGI elements so effectively I barely even noticed them—The Triplets of Belleville is the best example of that. But it should never be allowed to distract the viewer from what they are watching.

There are far too many animé these days where badly mismatched CGI is thrown in willy-nilly, I suppose to save money or time and effort on the part of the animators. Look at the recent Giant Robo reimagining—they had a CGI, cell-shaded pickup truck, that clashed badly with the cel-animated boy driving it. There is no reason on God's green earth to computer-animate a pickup truck.

[anangbhai]

"There is no reason on God's green earth to computer-animate a pickup truck."

I think a certain professor Farnsworth might disagree with you there.

But Miyazaki is right in many ways. Matt Groening and his animation people often talk about the troubles they had in the early days of animating the simpsons because the hand drawn work of the outsourced animators (Klasky/Csupo and then Film Roman) wasn't up to their expectations. Also look at South Park's crunched timeline made possible through computers. So in some places it can really be a bother. Miyazaki himself has talked so many times of retiring because his hand is not so steady as it used to be. He is known for personally going through thousands of cels for his movies. Mononoke in that regard is his magnum opus as an epic and a seamless showcase of animation both digital and hand drawn.
But he's also correct in the sense that the hand drawn look cannot be really replicated through digital means ; Lilo and Stitch, later seasons of the Simpsons are some modern examples that come to mind.

[Moogly_bear]

Bless him. People like Miyazaki are a dying breed, and I have to say that I appreciate all hand made and hand drawn things a lot more than computer aided stuff. I'm the same, and have never learned to use computers for my artwork. I think computers suck all the charm out of such things!

[Kuroki Kaze]

This man is a god. Miyazaki, we love you! :)