History of 3D Animation Photorealistic CGI Effects

"Tron" 1982

Despite the appearance, only fifteen to twenty minutes of computer-generated animation (blended with the filmed characters) were used in Tron, nevertheless this was a huge amount at the time, as Tron was one of the first movies to use any form of extended computer-generated sequence. Though the movie has been criticized for lackluster acting and incoherence of plot, the movie is celebrated as a milestone of computer animation.

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 “The Adventures of Andre and Wally B” 1984

The Adventures of André and Wally B. is an animated short made in 1984 by the Lucasfilm Computer Graphics Project, which would later be spun out as a startup company called Pixar. Although it is technically not a Pixar short, the animation was by John Lasseter, who was working on his first computer animated project and would move on to be a pivotal player at Pixar. The animation on the feature was truly groundbreaking at the time, featuring the first use of motion blur in CG animation. Lasseter pushed the envelope by asking for manipulatable shapes capable of the squash and stretch style, as earlier CG models had generally been restricted to rigid geometric shapes.

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“Young Sherlock Holmes” 1985

This film is notable for including the first "photorealistic" fully computer-generated character, a knight composed of elements from a stained glass window. The effect was created for Lucasfilm by John Lasseter (now executive vice-president at Pixar Animation Studios), who would go on to create Toy Story 10 years later.

“Luxor Jr.”  1986

Luxo Jr. is the first film produced in by Pixar Animation Studios, following its establishment as an independent film studio. It is a computer-animated short film demonstrating the kind of things the newly-established company was capable of producing.

"Luxo Jr. sent shock waves through the entire industry – to all corners of computer and traditional animation. At that time, most traditional artists were afraid of the computer. They did not realize that the computer was merely a different tool in the artist's kit but instead perceived it as a type of automation that might endanger their jobs. Luckily, this attitude changed dramatically in the early '80s with the use of personal computers in the home.
One of the great achievements of this animation is that it manages to bring everyday items to life, giving them personality and emotions. In 1986, Luxo Jr. received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film. It was the first CGI film nominated for an Academy Award.

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"The Abyss " 1989

First 3D digital water effect

 

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"Terminator 2" 1991

Terminator 2 revolutionized the special effects industry, with ground-breaking computer graphics and visual images, particularly in the T-1000 (liqued robot) scenes. The film won four Oscars, all for technical aspects (Best Sound, Best Make Up, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing). Most of the key Terminator effects were provided by Industrial Light and Magic (on the computer graphics side) and by Stan Winston (on the practical effects side).

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“Jurassic Park ” 1993
The stars of this movie, directed by Steven Spielberg, were the realistic looking and moving 3d-dinosaurs, created by Industrial Light and Magic. After seeing it, George Lucas, director of the Star Wars series, concluded the time was there to start working on his new Star Wars movies. In his opinion 3d-animation was now advanced enough to believably create the alien worlds and characters he already wanted to make since the early late seventies.  ==>> play movie


“Toy Story ” 1995
First CGI feature-length animation, and Pixar's first feature film. The primary characters are toys in the room of the six-year-old boy Andy, and is mostly told from their point of view.

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“Star Wars: Episode 1” 1999

Almost every shot of this movie is enhanched with 3d-animation. It features very realistic 3d-aliens and environments.

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“The Iron Giant” 1999

Even if Iron Giant looks as if it were completely drawn the traditional way, the big giant robot is actually a 3d-animation. Most of the backgrounds although 2d in look were also 3d renderings. 

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“Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within” 2001

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is a science fiction film by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the Final Fantasy series of videogames. It was the first animated feature to seriously attempt photorealistic CGI humans.

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“Lord of the Rings: Two Towers” 2002

First photorealistic motion captured character for a film, Gollum was also the first digital actor to win an award (BFCA), category created for Best Digital Acting Performance.

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“Final Fantasy: Advent Children” 2004

Second Final Fantasy movie. Instead of trying to create photorealistic humans, this time the characters had a less realistic design, but combined with very realistic materials and lighting. 

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and story continues....

(with thanks to wimeck.com)