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Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - Artistic Style Lecture Notes
About the Artistic Style of 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'
Creating the Look of Miles' World
The animators aimed to capture four things:
The look and feel of comic books.
The older comic styles of the 1980s & 90s.
Early hip-hop aesthetics.
Street art (avoiding CGI perfection).
They embraced the imperfections of comic books, breaking the hyper-real rule of detailed perfection, to achieve this.
Miles' reality (Earth 1610) is different from our reality (Earth 616 = Earth Prime).
In the Marvel Multi-Verse, there are millions of Earths, each different, and most have a Spider-Hero.
12 Very Cool Artistic Concepts
Artistic Techniques #1:
Alternative Techniques:
Turning off something
Color
Artistic Techniques #2:
The magic of film works by fooling the human eye to seeing movement in still photographs
Magic # is 24 frames (or individual photographs) per second, called “ animating on the 1s ”.
Filmmakers purposely broke this rule by providing only 12 FPS (called “animating on the 2s”).
Each frame is on the screen twice as long (= Two 24th of a second).
Our eyes can now detect the spaces in between frames, creating tiny “jumps” from frame to frame.
Reasons for animating on the 2s:
Looks cool, edgy & different.
Unlike Pixar or Disney.
To hold each image longer than normal.
Giving audiences time to slow down and see each image.
Highlight different realities (Miles’ Earth 1610).
Highlight difference in skill.
Miles is learning his powers = Jumpy (12 Images PS).
Peter & Gwen are skilled = Smooth (24 Images PS).
As Miles gets better, he gets 24 images per second.
Challenges:
Only animate specific scenes on 2s.
Animate Miles' face on the 1s (24 FPS) to make him look more real.
Artistic Techniques #3:
Hand-Drawn artificial lines define the comic style.
In modern CGI animation, “comic” outlines are gone.
They wanted to keep imperfections and uniqueness.
This means, “messing up” each computer image by hand.
Taking twice as long vs. just using the untouched (& neat) computer images.
Thus, no two faces are every the same (pay attention to the eyes).
Artistic Techniques #4:
Old Printing Techniques Found in Older Comic Books
Lines, hatching (cross lines), Dashes, & Ben-Day Dots
Mimic imperfect Dots
Used by early comic & early Digital Printing to save $ on ink & create the illusion of shadow, color, & texture.
Artistic Techniques #5:
Cartoon Word Bubbles include:
Often punctuated by exclamation marks
And often animated
Like dots, dashes, & frames, WORD Bubbles! are essential to the comic book look & feel.
Artistic Techniques #6:
Copy the use of multiple panels in Storytelling.
Another essential artistic trait of the comic genre.
Artistic Techniques #7:
Smashing Moving Images with Still Images.
These 2D stills or insert shots are often . . .
Extra vibrant,
Under a second in length, &
With flat colored backgrounds.
Artistic Techniques #8:
Filmmakers also created the comic-book look, and to highlight Miles’ Unique Earth . . .
. . . by changing traditional a) focus & b) color techniques.
In the real world, our human sight divides the world into 3s.
In Miles’ crazy Earth, there is no traditional “focus” or “out of focus” (like how we see on our Earth 616).
Instead, background is blurry.
This effect is made by purposely misaligning the 3 different layers of color.
What Causes This Misalignment?
Modern printers use 4 magical colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, & black—referred to as “CMYK”) to create all the colors we know.
Each of the 4 inks (CMYK) are applied in separate layer, laid on top of each other.
Together, they create the spectrum (millions of colors).
Misalignment happens when these four color layers are slightly misaligned.
Artistic Techniques #9:
Creating Miles’ & Earth 1610’s NYC:
Each of the 5 Boroughs of NYC are also drawn differently.
Miles lives in a Neighborhood in Brooklyn (warm saturated colors).
His school it outside of his safe space (Green & (Dutch) Angular).
But when the action moves to Manhattan (Dark, Large, & Cold), the style becomes MUCH larger, darker, & more dangerous.
To make Manhattan larger, they made building BIG (1,000s of feet tall).
But to do this, they had to distort the scale, size, & geometry of the buildings in crazy ways so that they fit inside the screen.
Artistic Techniques #10:
Each Spider Hero Must Look Different, like THEIR Earths
Drawing the 6 Spider Heroes.
Artistic Techniques #11:
Film's Final Battle With A) colors , B) shapes & dimensions.
Film’s Final Battle: Collider is Destroying the Multi-Verse.
All the Multiple Earths in the Spider-Verse are being smashed together in a frenetic tornado.
To create such an event, filmmakers looked for artistic inspiration from two sources:
Artwork of Abstract Cubism (1908-1914).
Artwork of Jack Kirby (1960-90).
Jack Kirby & Stan Lee
“As surely as Elvis Presley is the King Of Rock ’N’ Roll, Jack Kirby is the King Of Comics.” (AV Club)
The partnership: Kirby was the artists & Stan Lee was the writer.
Many believe Kirby deserves far more credit.
His Creations (with Stan Lee): Captain America, The Avengers, X-Men, Iron Man, Thor, Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, Black Panther, Hulk.
Jack Kirby & His Abstract Dots (or Crackle of Energy)
One of Kirby’s signature artistic contributions to comic book animation was his abstract dots.
Or the “Crackle of Energy” of Energy.
Artistic Techniques #12:
Animation (vs. “The real world”) frees filmmakers from the Laws of physics and normal restraints of camera.
Filmmakers can move their digital computerized “lens” anyway and anywhere they could imagine.
Gravity no longer determined “up” vs. “down”.
This also means that they can slow things down, speed things up, or distort reality when ever they want.
1) Pixar Trend: Each year, animation is looking more and more photorealistic (imitating the clarity of how we see the real world)
Even when “cartoonish,” images are super sharp, clean, defined, and high definition
Created by ever-smarter CGI computer imaging
2) Spiderman Animators wanted to capture 4 things:
a) The look and feel of New York City
b) The older comic book styles of the 1980s & 90s
c) Early printing aesthetics
d) Street art (no CGI perfection)
3) To do this, they embraced the imperfections of comic books (breaking the hyper-real rule of detailed perfection)
The World of Spiderman
A) Miles’ world had to look different from ours
Miles’ Earth (Earth 1610) is NOT our Earth (Earth 616 = “Earth Prime”)
Thus, Miles’ Earth is just a bit “off” compared to ours
B) In the Marvel Multiverse, there are millions of alternate universes,
Each one different from the others (and most have a Spider-hero)
We get an exposition of this in Miles’ class
Animation Techniques
1) Turning off motion blur
Alternative Techniques:
A) Hand-drawn frames
B) Color halftones
Animation Techniques
• A) The magic of film works by fooling the human eye into seeing movement in still photographs
• Magic number is 24 frames (or individual photographs) per second
• Called "persistence of vision"• B) For Spiderman, however, the filmmakers purposely broke this rule by providing only 12 images per second
• (Called “animating on the 2s”)
• Each frame is on the screen twice as long (= two 24ths of a second)• C) Thus, our eyes can now detect the spaces in between frames
• Creating tiny “jumps” – from frame to frameD) But Why Do This?
Because it looks cool, edgy, unique – unlike Pixar or Disney
To linger longer than normal – giving audiences time to slow down and see each image
To match style (Miles’ Earth 1610)
Highlight difference in experience –
Miles is still learning his powers = Jumpy (12 images/second)
Peter & Gwen are skilled = Smooth (24 images/second)
As Miles improves, he moves to 24 images per second
E) Making this challenge more difficult:
Challenge 1: They only wanted to animate Miles’ scenes on 2s
Challenge 2: To make Miles look more real, they had to animate his face on the 1s (24 FPS)
11) Film’s Final Battle: Collider is Destroying the Multi-Verse
A) All the Multiple Earths in the Spider-Verse are being smashed together in a frenetic tornado
B) To create such an event, filmmakers looked for artistic inspiration from two sources:
• a) Artwork of Abstract Cubism (1908–1914)
• b) Artwork of Psychedelic Surrealism (1960–90)
Jack Kirby & Stan Lee
“As surely as Elvis Presley is the King of Rock ’N’ Roll, Jack Kirby is the King of Comics.” (AV Club)
The partnership:
• Kirby was the artist, and Stan Lee was the writer
• Many believe Kirby deserves far more creditKirby’s creations (with Stan Lee):
• Captain America, The Avengers, X-Men, Iron Man, Thor, Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, Black Panther, Hulk
Camera Movement!
12) Animation (vs. “The real world”) frees filmmakers from the Laws of
gravity and normal restraints of physics
A) Filmmakers can move their digital computerized “lens” any way and anywhere they can imagine
• Gravity no longer determined “up” vs. “down”B) This also means that they can:
• slow things down
• speed things up
• or bend reality whenever they want
Alternative Techniques: Turning off something like motion blur.
Animating on the 2s: Filmmakers broke the rule of 24 frames per second (FPS) and used only 12 FPS to create a unique look.
Hand-Drawn Artificial Lines: To maintain a comic style by incorporating imperfections into the images, making each face unique.
Older Printing Techniques: Used lines, hatching, and Ben-Day dots to mimic traditional comic book aesthetics.
Cartoon Word Bubbles: Animated word bubbles with exclamation marks to enhance the comic book feel.
Multiple Panels in Storytelling: Emphasizing the comic genre's storytelling traits.
Smashing Moving Images with Still Images: Utilizing vibrant 2D stills under a second in length with flat colored backgrounds.
Changing Focus & Color Techniques: Misaligned color layers to create a unique visual representation of Miles’ world.
Creating Unique Environments: Each of New York City's boroughs is drawn differently to reflect the characters' experiences in various environments.
Distinct Spider Heroes: Each hero looks different to represent their unique Earths, showcasing individuality.
Film's Final Battle: Artistic inspiration from Abstract Cubism and Psychedelic Surrealism to visually capture the chaos of the multiverse collision.
Freed from the Laws of Physics: Filmmakers could distort reality, slow down actions, and manipulate the animation style outside normal constraints.
Goals & Reasons for Techniques: The filmmakers aimed to:
Capture the look and feel of comic books, older comic styles, and early hip-hop aesthetics.
Embrace the imperfections of comic books, moving away from hyper-realistic animation styles.
Present a unique visual language that matches the narrative and emotional journey of Miles Morales.
Why did the filmmakers use these techniques?
The filmmakers used these techniques to achieve several goals:
Capture the Look and Feel of Comic Books: The aim was to authentically replicate the aesthetic and visual language of comic books, which resonates with the source material.
Embrace Imperfections: By moving away from hyper-realistic animation, the filmmakers wanted to highlight the uniqueness and charm of comic art, emphasizing that imperfections contribute to the visual storytelling.
Reflecting Miles Morales' Journey: The distinct animation style mirrors Miles' experience and development as a character, particularly the transition from an inexperienced hero to one who embraces his powers.
Creating a Unique Visual Identity: The blend of various artistic styles—from old comic book techniques to street art—allowed for a fresh take that sets it apart from traditional animation seen in films by Pixar or Disney.
Enhance Emotional Engagement: The unconventional animation choices create a more immersive experience, inviting viewers to connect emotionally with the characters and story.
Highlighting Different Realities: Techniques such as animating on the 2s give distinct visual cues that emphasize the differences between various realities in the multiverse, effectively representing Miles’ Earth (1610) as being slightly off compared to Earth 616 (our reality).
These motivations demonstrate the filmmakers' intent to innovate within the animation genre and deepen the connection between the narrative and its visual presentation.