1980s

In the area of three-dimensional computer animation, the 1980s started with a few exceptional works and ended with a flurry of excellent projects.This is due to many factors, such as the enhanced technology, the larger market, the maturing of the artists working in the frild, and the entry into the workforce of the first art students who attended computer animation and imaging educational programs.

Created during this period were the sublime simulations of light, fog, rain, and skies.The intriguing non-edge simulation of clouds and smoke, the first ray-traced imaging test. Throughout the 1980s two constants exemplify the excellence reached by three-dimensional computer animation during the decade. On one hand there was the engaging and amusing character animations by the animation team at Pixar including Luxo Jr.(1985), RedÕs Dream(1987), Tin Toy(1988) ,and Knickknack(1989). These Pixar projects not only pushed the RenderMan shading language to its limits, but also proved that the traditional principles of character animation could be applied to computer-generated works. Onr the other hand there was Growth, a series of semi-abstract animations by Japanese artist-programmer Yoichiro Kawaguchi. The series portrays imaginary underwater creatures generated with procedural techniques. The late 1980s witnessed experimentation with a wide variety of techniques ranging from the simulation of natural-looking hair groth to rigid body dynamics and modeling fabric.