A revisited take on my DIGITAL INK AND PAINT post from December 18 2023 but with more professionalism and less Frustrations due to no WRITERS or ACTOR'S STRIKES souring my mood and letting it linger in my soul for several months.
And also more knowledge than 26 year old me had in December 2023.
Digital Ink and Paint, The modern system we use nowadays.
Many of us animation fans tend to think it started back when between 1986 to 1988, DISNEY purchased a large backlog of P-II Image Computers from PIXAR which jumpstarted the CAPS System used from 1988 until 2006.
Starting with the wireframe CGI Vehicles in OLIVER & COMPANY in 1988
Yes, I know the very first use of CAPS was MICKEY MOUSE standing on top of EPCOT's SPACESHIP EARTH but I can't find any videos or screenshots of that.
Ending with Digitally Painted cels in THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL in 2006.
But the reality is that the tech goes all the way back to the 1970s.
An early version of Digital Painting goes as far back as 1972 when RICHARD SHOUP, who worked at XEROX, developed a paint system called SUPER PAINT.
This system, which was proprietary to a DATA GENERAL NOVA 800 minicomputer, was among one of the very first to be made for use in art, animation, etc.
The system was quite rudimentary.
The Interface looked hand drawn like it was made using a Graphics Tablet.
Which made sense considering the GRAPHICS TABLET that was made to work with
And because of the expense of RAM chips as well as a slow Buffer, it was just a proof of concept.
It did inspire artists and Computer enthusiasts after it's initial reveal.
I've heard it was used to create Graphics for many projects such as onscreen graphics for KQED in SAN FRANCISCO.
And NASA used SUPERPAINT for making graphs and animations for help in visualizing the PROJECT VENUS MISSION.
There's this video made by the COMPUTER HISTORY MUSUEM and it's narrated by ALVY RAY SMITH which I'll the embedded Video for you:
However, there was dissent within XEROX.
Due to issues with management, SHOUP left XEROX in 1979 and founded the graphics company AURORA SYSTEMS.
While ALVY RAY SMITH, who also left XEROX, instead went to work at the NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHONOLOGY.
Speaking of which, which we'll go back a few years earlier before the XEROX exodus:
Around the same time SUPERPAINT was being developed, another prototype was created by ALEXANDER SHURE at the NEW YORK INSITUTUE OF TECHNOLOGY that he called TWEEN where the artist draws a scene on the computer using completed pencil animation on paper and puts a stylus between the tablet and stylus to translate the drawings into the Computer.
At this point, Digital Ink and Paint Tools in the 1970s were limited only to academic research and demo reels as the computers were large and expensive and often required the use of proprietary hardware.
One film almost used TWEEN and that was TUBBY THE TUBA in 1975
But ultimately, the film did not use SHURE's Animation system and was instead produced in the classic conventional method which contributed to it's failure.
But that didn't deter SHURE but that's a story for another time.
In 1979, a certain computer scientist named MARC LEVOY
developed a similar system to SHURE's TWEEN software where it used a more OFF-THE-SHELF UNIX approach using whatever accessible UNIX-Based hardware was available from DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPERATION
And not the Custom-Proprietary Hardware that systems like SUPERPAINT Used.
At first, under the encouragement of one DONALD P. GREENSBERG, He wanted to sell the system off to Disney to help facilitate the ailing FEATURE ANIMATION department that was falling apart after both WALT AND ROY'S deaths as well as the impending revolt of animators led by DON BLUTH, GARY GOLDMAN, AND JOHN POMEROY.
As well as introduce new tools that would be seen as the next revolution in the field of animation not seen since XEROGRAPHY in 1961.
However, LEVOY's tech was rejected by a handful of the then still living members of the NINE-OLD-MEN who've been with the company since the days of SNOW WHITE.
The NINE OLD MEN's arguments against the digital method was that they worried that the Computers would automate the process of animation and therefore take away their jobs.
Disgruntled and Disappointed,
LEVOY instead pitched the systems over to Hanna-Barbera.
You heard me right!
That HANNA-BARBERA
Famous for their Television Animation such as YOGI BEAR, FLINTSTONES, JETSONS, etc.
While also infamous for Cutting Corners in order to deliver their animations in an economic fashion.
Which meant limited animation as well as Outsourcing to other countries to cut down on the costs.
Despite Hanna-Barbera's animators also resisting the Digital System,
Unlike Disney, Hanna-Barbera's staff reluctantly accepted this new system as it allowed for the animators to allow for some more full animation while also lower down the labor costs.
The system that Hanna-Barbera used however is not in the same vein as today's x64 architecture uses.
Like I said, Marc Levoy's System was based on hardware catering to UNIX Users who often used DEC's VAX lineup of Minicomputer systems.
Minicomputers.
When I mean that, I really mean those Big Computers that are the size of a closet
or the size of a refrigerator
that would making wheeling the systems from room to room much easier than mainframes from the time period and earlier thanks to using wheel casters.
And rather than have the terminal be almost an entire desk,
The Terminal could just by a stand-alone peripheral.
Either as a stand in-object or some peripheral that you can put on a desk like a typewriter or Monitor.
Even though the original terminals for these Mini-Computers was the Teletype and their built-in punched tape readers,
By the 70s and early 80s, the teletype had been supplanted completely by the GLASS-TYPE-TERMINAL, often manufactured by DEC.
And by then, the storage changed from Punched Paper Tape to the more malleable disk cartridge
This system was mostly used for shows such as a few episodes of
THE FLINTSTONES,
PAC-MAN,
To this day, I still can't find screenshots so I'm settling for Pac-Man's
portrait from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
THE SNORKS,
THE JETSONS(1985 Revival)
& most importantly A PUP NAMED SCOOBY-DOO.
While Marc Levoy's system worked very well for Hanna-Barbera's television units, this did however mark a problem.
The system was limited to Mini-Computers which meant that it used terminals, custom boards, high res camera scanners, Quadruplex Magnetic Storage Tape, Small desk circumference sized Hard Disks, etc.
So most likely, the files were proprietary to this system and the LEVOY COMPUTERS have long since been dismantled so they weren't backed up.
And the only way to source the masters is to go through the tape masters which makes a 4K-Remastering a nightmare.
Learning from these limitations, Disney decided that under new management from Michael Eisner, Jeffery Katzenberg, and Frank Wells that they will create their own take on Hanna Barbera's ink and paint system but instead of having hardware the size of a closet or refrigerator
the system would be based on a Server & Client System of Desktop Workstations
and RAID Storage.
But who manufactured Disney's UNIX Computers?
It was a combination of 4 Manufacturers.
The First was the PIXAR IMAGE COMPUTER from PIXAR obviously,
This provided the required Imaging and CGI Hardware that met Disney's criteria.
But the IMAGE COMPUTER required a Host Workstation in order to work with Mouse and Keyboard inputs.
The workstations that Disney used for their PIXAR COMPUTERS were these three:
Sun Microsystems SUN-3,
Silicon Graphics IRIS 3100 Series of Desktop Tower Workstations,
and/or
DEC MICROVAX III Workstations.
These would eventually form what is known as the
COMPUTER ANIMATION PRODUCTION SYSTEM.
Or CAPS for short.
This was a system of Custom Desks with SGI Workstations connected to the PIXAR IMAGE COMPUTER SYSTEMS to provide the THEATRICAL WORK ENVIROMENT that Disney wanted in their films.
Here's an example of said work environment for one of their films.
This was pulled from THE SWEATBOX,
A documentary about the production of THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE.
But this post is not exclusively based on the System that DISNEY used from 1987 to 2006 as I have already made a post about this back in January 25 2025 so here's the link to that post:
So getting back into topic of the DIGITAL INK AND PAINT System....
?????
Well in my old December 2023 post, I made mention of how scared and repulsed the Mystery Gang was about the use of Computers to color the animation cels.
(Ironically using a screengrab from Season 1 of A PUP NAMED SCOOBY DOO which used Digital Ink and Paint.)
The early industry apprehension was indeed understandable.
Many studios didn't want to make the switch due to issues like:
Being too synthetic for the Artist in hand.
The other issue could be the cost of the machine required to make a high definition picture required for 35mm or 70mm filmstock because RAM back in the 80s and 90s was INSANELY EXPENSIVE, unlike today's DDR5 RAM......
If only SAM ALTMAN didn't mandate DATA CENTERS......>:(
And some animators at the time were upfront about their refusal to embrace computers for coloring their drawings.
DON BLUTH was well known for his Early Refusal to use DIGITAL INK AND PAINT tools.
After the release of ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN in 1989,
DON BLUTH refused to allow his films to be made with Computers in mind even after his former employer DISNEY released THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER in 1990.
To him, it was more important to feel the back acetate and the texture of the dried up acrylic paint
than to take advantage of an infinite amount of colors in a UNIX System's 24bit True-Color System.
How do I know about this?
He admitted it on 2 Featurettes in the ANASTASIA DVD where he states he fought against the system before he eventually conceded with the film during it's production.
"I fought it for a while.
I clung to my cels, wanting to feel the back of the paint."
Why did BLUTH concede defeat to computers with ANASTASIA?
Because he had no choice due to cost as well as versatility.
That and he got sick of EXECUTIVES forcing him to water down his movies after the success of Disney's films since 1989.
In fact, not only did he left production of the infamous THE PEBBLE & THE PENGUIN but he also requested to have his name completely removed off that project before he settled in with FOX.
Another animator who refused Digital Ink & Paint throughout the 90s was also JIM JINKINS,
creator of DOUG for both NICKELODEON & DISNEY.
Even when the show moved to DISNEY in 1996 following VIACOM's infamous Budget freeze of 1994,
JIM JINKINS absolutely refused to allow computers to be used to color the animation cels for the characters of DOUG despite the advantage of versatility of an infinite color palette.
This is kind of ironic in my part since DOUG is all about the title character's friends having literal colors for their skintone
and SGI or SUN MICROSYSTEMS workstations doing the ink and paint would have fit the show better....
(Doubly so since PEPPER-ANN made the switch to digital starting in Season 2 in 1998)
But JIM insisted on ACETATE CELS with traditional film cameras and limited supplies of acrylic paint just to capture the aesthetic he was looking for.
This same mantra also applied to his other shows 101 DALMATIANS & PB&J OTTER.
I'm guessing computers were used but only for editorial, animatics, and the writing but animation cels was where JIM drew the line one when it came to photography.
You have to understand that PLUS ONE ANIMATION still obliged to make sure DOUG did not touch a Paint Program for the animation cels because even with BEAVIS & BUTTHEAD, plus it's movie DO AMERICA, they didn't touch Paint Software.
Though Beavis and Butthead would have it's cels painted with computers
in both the 2011 revival and the Paramount+ Re-Revival.
Huh Huh.....
So for a while during the 90s, Only DISNEY had access to Digital Technology as either the other studios couldn't afford the hardware required for feature films,
or the studios refused to make the switch until the time is right.
One of the very first films that's NOT DISNEY to finally make the 100% switch to DIGITAL INK & PAINT was AMBLIMATION's...
This 1993 film, advertised as an adaptation of the late HUDSON TALBOTTT's 1987 book as well as a more family-friendly companion to the mega-popular JURRASIC PARK released that same year,
Was the first NON-DISNEY film from UNIVERSAL STUDIOS to make the commitment to DIGITAL INK & PAINT.
However, the main difference between WE'RE BACK!
vs.
DISNEY's CAPS produced films from the 90s...
is that
Unlike DISNEY's CAPS produced films which were made on PROPRIETARY Hardware & Software,
WE'RE BACK!'s Digital Ink & Paint was outsourced to another company.
Specifically
AMERICAN FILM TECHNOLOGIES from SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.
And despite the digital look of the cels,
The presentation looks rough.
And the cels look almost as Filtered as the Presentation of THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER from 1990......
Though RESCUERS has a more cleaner look with thinner outlines which is attributed to DISNEY having their own proprietary hardware instead of outsourcing to another studio.
But by the time of BEAUTY & THE BEAST in 1991, Disney decided to drop the filter and instead present the digital cels in their RAW digital look...
Though it's more noticeable in modern DVD, BLU-RAY, & 4K Prints where the digital master is used whereas the look of the digital cels on films that you so desperately miss to this day was likely a result of those Xenon Bulbs & high contrast settings used during the transfer of the Digital files onto 35MM acetate
As for television animation,
Digital Ink & Paint was limited to mostly commercials for a while.
And Disney's Television Animated shows didn't' touch Computers for the cels
probably due to the mantra that the Digital Ink and Paint tools are more suitable to Theatrical features instead of Television.
One of the very first projects to use Digital Ink & Paint outside of Disney would be actually be within Nickelodeon.....
What Nicktoon you ask?
THE REN AND STIMPY SHOW!
And what episode they started using the tech?
MAN's BEST FRIEND...... sort of.
This was the first episode from the SPUMCO studio to start using DIGITAL INK & PAINT after a test was made in the famous STIMPY'S INVENTION for just one scene.
But you all know the whole story about how NICKELODEON banned the episode for years due to the network's fierce apprehension against the GEORGE LIQUOR character.
So OUT WEST ended up being the one REN & STIMPY episode to be the first to use DIGITAL INK & PAINT.
As mentioned in the Original 2023 Post,
DOUG was one of the shows that even after it moved to DISNEY in 1996, JIM JINKINS' company JUMBO PICTURES refused to allow the show to use DIGITAL INK & PAINT tools for coloring the Cels, instead preferring if the characters go through the traditional ACRYLIC PAINT process.
Which I think may have worked too well for the 1996-1997 Season if the heavy saturation and cel drop shadows were any indication.
Only times that DOUG ever used DIGITAL INK AND PAINT was during a 1995 Fruit Rollups commercial
And the opening title sequence to DOUG'S 1ST MOVIE in 1999
and one scene where he's drawing his Junior High School.
Yes. Even when Digitally Colored just for one scene,
DOUG's still Left-Handed just as we love him.
The rest of the series and even 95% the entirety of DOUG'S 1ST MOVIE strictly prohibited the use of Computers for coloring though I have a hunch they were used for final editorial on AVID before shipping the episodes to ABC affiliates in the late 90s.
And yes, I still believe DOUG's 1ST MOVIE used AVID for final editorial before shipping the film to the developers at TECHNICOLOR & EASTMAN film.
Enough talking about DOUG's refusal for Digital Paints.
What about the JAPANESE ANIME side of things?
For the better part of the 90s, The Japanese firmly stayed with traditional acetate Celluloid and 16MM o 35MM Cameras to photograph each sequence with the idea being that it fit that aesthetic better.
And I do see comments left and right on Social Media from people saying that they miss the early 90s ANIME because they did not touch Digital Ink and Paint tools.
However, whenever them 90s Anime do get restored, it's pretty clear that there's a reason why some people preferred to hang on to their VHS or early DVDs because the Newer DVD and Blu-Ray Restorations are sourced from the original filmstock which exposes all of us to the scratchy xerox
and acrylic paint escaping the outlines.
Well it's not that the animators or the anime fans of the time would be fiercely against the use of computers for the sake of artistic aesthetics, but the real culprit behind why ANIME did not use computers for coloring until late into the 90s is because in the early 90s, JAPAN was hit with a heavy RECESSION Period which affected the cost of computers.
Because the computers required for Digital Ink and Paint cost in the hundreds of thousand US Dollars which can translate into millions in YEN in JAPAN, the costs were too much for most studios so they couldn't afford the computers required to capture the aesthetics of the animation acetate cels.
So some studios had to fake the CGI using their knowledge of perspective drawing, stop motion photography,
Or limit the CG to things like the pattern in AKIRA(1988)
As a matter of fact, the Japanese Animator's resistance to computers are beautifully explained in one scene from GOLDEN BOY's final OVA episode "ANIMATION IS FUN".
In the episode, KINTARO obtains a job as a PRODUCTION ADMINISTRATOR at STUDIO ABCD in JAPAN where the company is producing an OVA Feature for TETSUYA EGAWA
the OVA Feature is about some Kindergarteners that inadvertently piss off an ONI.
At one point, the Director has a car accident, allowing KINTARO to take over production but at that point, the staff are at an absolutely low morale due to an impeding deadline that they're unable to meet...
Kintaro suggest that the company can just transfer wireframes onto cels using Computers.
"We can use Computers like DISNEY does!!!"
But the animators immediately shoot down his request....not because of artistic reasons against the use of Computers but rather for economical and efficiency reasons.
"Don't be stupid. Animating with Computers is no walk in the park."
"And CG takes a whole lot of time."
Because computers, even high end workstations, barely made it past 1GHz, rendering is pretty slow unless one were to invest in a Renderfarm.
Plus, this animator has another reason to reject investment in computers in the 90s:
"It's expensive as hell.
Who's gonna pay for it?"
But that didn't deter KINTARO in finding someone he knows who specializes in Computers
Go watch the rest of the series to get a sense of what I'm talking about....
Where was I?
Oh yes. Anime & Computers for 2D INK AND PAINT.
Some major attempts were made besides commercials in order to switch to Digital Coloring.
One was a remake of AKIRA TORIYAMA's DR. SLUMP in 1997
"The actual show uses DIGITAL INK AND PAINT.
This image is just a Lithograph!
Hoh Yo Yo!!!"
Another was COWBOY BEBOP
But that was limited only to a few select scenes, often with Holograms or fast paced action due to production costs.
It's easier to spot the difference using an HD print where the DIGITAL Scenes look less refined due to a locked resolution while the Traditional Cel scenes looked better due to being sourced from either 16MM or 35MM master.
I could be wrong but maybe FLCL(Pronounced FOOLY COOLY) could be the first anime not based on legacy works to be produced entirely with Computer coloring
And it's always a treat to look back at these late 90s/early 2000s digital anime to see how far we've come since then.
What was only just coloring the scanned drawings with paint tools
Nowadays, Coloring is not enough. Lights and diffusions are a requirement.... that and JAPANESE ARTISTS are mandated to draw everything in the computer using WACOM CINTIQs.
So far, only the JAPANESE Side of things remained committed to keeping their Animations in 2D with their Paint software
because in the NORTH AMERICAN side, Executives demand that animation has to be all CGI NO-IFS-ANDS-OR-BUTS.
A mantra that does not sit well with animation fans.
Another thing that does not sit well with animation fans is the executives continued VETO Power to make 2D Animation all PUPPET RIGGED and BEAN MOUTHY in the designs which I've seen vitriol on SOCIAL MEDIA against this design aesthetic.
No wonder why many people in my age group and younger want to ditch the AMERICAN side of Animation in favor of the JAPANESE.
There are some people, especially on Social Media, that desperately missed the era of when all 2D Animation was photographed using Cameras, Acetate, Acrylic Paint, airbrush, and plexiglass,
And they voice their fierce opposition to the digital method and wish studios would go back to the original tools.
However, that's not going to happen.
The reasons is the cost of materials.
Acetate and Animation Paper not only costs money but it also costs the amount of trees required to make the paper which doesn't sit well with environmentalists.
Second, some paints are hard to acquire to the point you are forced to mix your own paints to get the desired color you want. Fine for one Cel you make in your own time but if it was for a production?
And while you can still photograph traditional cels with Digital Cameras as your Animation Camera Setup, does anybody still do that anymore?
There's a reason why the industry has long since embraced the digital tools:
You get an infinite amount of colors, all your master files are stored in your HARD DRIVES or SSDs for ease of access, and software with use of Nodes allow for effects such as masking, shadows, or even light diffusions.
Now, some software can still be pricey depending where you look at them. And some software are not as versatile as others.
For example, I use TOONBOOM HARMONY as my 2D Software of choice but some others, especially average schmucks, choose ADOBE ANIMATE
because it's easiest to acquire despite ADOBE's business practices in the recent years.
The reason I need to mention that is because ANIMATE fans were in an uproar earlier in 2026 when ADOBE decided to not further update the software and people misinterpreted this as END OF LIFE for the software.
ADOBE had to reiterate that while the software won't have new features, like A.I for example, for the foreseeable future, the software will still be updated slightly for security patches.
I've done two MAVERICK UPDATES back in early FEBRUARY 2026 covering the topic:
I literally have not used ANIMATE since late 2020 as I've since moved on to TOONBOOM HARMONY PREMIUM due to better versatility with the colors, nodes, etc..
Plus, TOONBOOM doesn't open ADOBE MEDIA ENCODER every time I export my final animations unlike what ANIMATE did, and that I can live without.
Though I've mentioned in the past that I still keep ANIMATE installed in my COMPUTER due to things like accessing my older animations as well as having it on my Computer should the need for projects that require ANIMATE arise and I need to work remotely from home.
