History SugarWiki / VisualEffectsOfAwesome

When that first [[Franchise/JurassicPark T-Rex roared]] you had to fight the urge to run out of the chair.

You spent years wondering where the casting department found those [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings talking trees]].

You see [[Franchise/{{Godzilla}} the Big G marches on the screen with his pals]], the earth trembles.

[[Film/TheThing1982 When the thing revealed itself,]] you screamed "'''[[PrecisionFStrike WHAT THE FUCK?!]]'''"

* The Fall2012Anime ''Anime/{{K}}'' was highly acclaimed overall, with much of the praise given to the extremely high quality of the art; the animation was done beautifully, the special effects are top-notch, and the combination of [[AmazingTechnicolorWorld vibrant color effects]] and SceneryPorn are so fantastically done, it's almost surreal.

* ''Manga/{{Akira}}'' is gorgeously animated throughout, but the best animation has to be Tetsuo's mutation. That scene definitely would not have been as effectively [[NightmareFuel horrific]] if it had been handled by lesser animators. In fact, the whole film features some of the most smooth, fluid and overall painstaking animation ever put, which one of the things that this film is fondly remembered for due to its extremely high detail. To elaborate on the film's level of detail, watch the characters' phonically-animated lips and mouths when they talk. Because AKIRA is one of few animes to feature pre-recorded dialogue, it notably forgoes the standard use of lip-flaps, meaning that the character's mouths move in perfect accordance to what they're saying. The whole film is also shot in a solid 24 frames-per-second, ''twice'' the framerate of the average anime, includes unbelievably accurate 3D polygonal effects that are all hand-drawn (as well as incredibly photorealistic environments and movie-quality camera movement), and uses 327 different colors (50 made exclusively for the film); however, that's not even getting into the fact that this entire film consists of ''2,212 shots'' and utilizes ''over 160,000 cels'' over the course of a 124-minute runtime. And to top it all off, the film, despite its visual complexity and the use of CGI on only one of the scenes, wasn't animated by ''any'' computers whatsoever - every minute was drawn on traditional cels. There's a good reason for the film's reputation as being widely credited with breaking anime into mainstream Western audiences.

* [[http://ryanvsdorkman.com/ Ryan Vs. Dorkman]]. Two visual effects animators stage a lightsaber duel in an abandoned warehouse. End result: millions of views, worldwide adulation, and its own page on Wiki/TheOtherWiki.

* Season 8 of Machinima/RedVsBlue is this with Rooster Teeth's addition of Creator/MontyOum (the maker of ''WebAnimation/{{Haloid}}'') into their ranks. Not only is the CG very cool in it self but even better is that it is put into several Halo 3 levels perfectly. And then the fights (especially ep. 10 and 19) is just jawdropping, especially for a online-show. Episode 19 takes the cake however, as the characters fight amongst cliff in the process of collapsing around them, and an entire ice shelf breaking off. (ep 10 can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke9wtbzGjCI here]])
** [[WebAnimation/{{Haloid}} EVERY]][[WebAnimation/DeadFantasy THING]] by Monty Oum counts, but the Machinima/RedVsBlue Season 9 takes the cake. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArRt-Ymopqk Here's]] the trailer, and it only gets better from there.

* The anime of ''Manga/MonsterMusume'' may not hold a candle to most examples listed here, but the animation quality is well above most usual harem comedy adaptations. The last episode alone has several examples like numerous art shifts, the scene of Papi's takeoff and flight and Centorea's DisneyAcidSequence.

* Every Single Episode of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure''. The manga is a long running seminal classic that has had artwork from it featured in the Louvre, so the Anime had a hell of a reputation to live up to. Part of the reason it took so long to get a proper animated adaptation off the ground was that the technology wasn't good enough to properly do justice to the colorful, campy, HotBlooded and larger-than-life series. Then along comes 2012 and a proper anime adaptation finally gets going, and the animation ois every bit as good as the series deserved. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF00xX-p28Y The Openings]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI9Sa8LpZ3g alone]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDf61rwxi1I are masterworks]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1OpA4qeIzI from both a Technical]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iTkoXpciao and Artistic]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOaFg_iRq7c standpoint]].

* In 1994, one year before {{Creator/Pixar}} brought ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' to the big screen, a little Canadian company by the name of Creator/MainframeEntertainment brought CG to the TV screen with the fully CG animated ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot''. Cartoons haven't been the same since.

*** The thing that '''really''' sells the portrayal of Ramiel in ''Rebuild'', though, is that while Ramiel's transformation effects are almost ''painfully'' easy to render in CGI, it's done in a way that looks photorealistic when you know for a '''fact''' that such a thing in real life would be [[AlienGeometries physically impossible]]. Result: The scene would have been '''less''' [[NightmareFuel terrifying]] if it had fallen into the UncannyValley. That's right, the visual effects are actually '''''more''''' horrifying than even the darkest and deepest depths of the Uncanny Valley. Congratulations for your fantastic work, [[Creator/HideakiAnno Anno]]. You really did it.

* It's not part of a movie or a TV show or anything of the sort, but the fifty-foot GiantSpider [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Princesse La Princesse]] is amazing. Even when she's walking and you can clearly see her operators... The man who made her has made other giant marionettes, some of them in the UncannyValley, all of them very impressive.

* It's actually quite realistic. ([[RealityisUnrealistic Most of the]] [[UncannyValley time, anyway.]])

** Cranked UpToEleven with the two compilation movies. Especially the second one....

** The ''Anime/PrettyCure'' franchise takes this UpToEleven. The [[Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure first]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUMvFDV0rr8 one]] even features an [[StuffBlowingUp explosive]] PillarOfLight with awesome [[GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger finger pointing]] during the InTheNameOfTheMoon speeches! The animation continues to improve with each new series in the franchise, with the CombinationAttack ultimate finishers from ''[=HeartCatch=]'' on[[note]][[Anime/HeartCatchPrettyCure Heartcatch Orchestra]], [[Anime/SmilePrettyCure Rainbow Burst]], [[Anime/GoPrincessPrettyCure Eclat Espoir]], etc.[[/note]] consistently being awe-inspiring and beautiful.

* The witch labyrinths in the original ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' were really fascinating and creepy and beautiful, but they took it UpToEleven and beyond for ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion''. Almost the ''entire'' film is done in labyrinth style, and regardless of what you think of the movie itself there's no denying it's gorgeous.

** He also directs the new ''WebVideo/VideoGameHighSchool'' on Website/YouTube, which brings his fantastic visual effects UpToEleven.

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome/VideoGames[[/index]]

When this standard applies to everything, from [[ShownTheirWork historical accuracy and technical competence]], this would be called DoingItForTheArt.

Compare it to SceneryPorn, SugarWiki/AwesomeArt, TechnologyPorn, and SugarWiki/DevelopmentHeaven. See also {{Demoscene}}, as those guys deal with this all the time.

Compare it to SceneryPorn, SugarWiki/AwesomeArt, and TechnologyPorn. See also {{Demoscene}}, as those guys deal with this all the time.

* Speaking of Monty Oum, ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' gets better looking with every Volume. Even though the first volume was occasionally a little rough, Volume 3 added upgraded facial rigs for more expressive characters than in past episodes, and Volume 4[[note]]the first produced entirely after Monty's [[AuthorExistenceFailure passing]][[/note]] uses all new software and a new cel-shaded art style with plenty of visual treats.

* When the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' Contest battles and appeal rounds (special mention goes to the Grand Festival) in the Diamond and Pearl series are one thing, the upgraded effects and animation in Unova have skyrocketed to coolness levels [[ReadingsAreOffTheScale off the freakin' charts]].

* In-universe example from ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'': [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2738 Monique discusses the surround sound, the high definition multisensory effects, the in-round - and God preens.]]

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FKgtgMA6zs This animated short]]. No words can describe it's beauty, especially on a low budget.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjXEUhgHy_w Mirror City]] takes timelapse into a strange and artistic turn. The results are just incredible.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine and Friends'' had absolutely spectacular model work. The people and animal miniatures were the only tells that those weren't real trains. Sadly, from the eighth season onward, things became less and less realistic. Eventually the models were retired in favour of CGI. But this is not the side for that. The model sets were stunning, absolute masterpieces. The engines carried onboard smoke machines that puffed like a real locomotive, the couplings and buffers worked, the buildings and scenery looked like they were plucked from real life. "Nil Unquam Simile" indeed.

* Web Animation
[[index]]
** VisualEffectsOfAwesome/DeathBattle

[[caption-width-right:350:This walking blob of mercury made us believe it would kill us in a heartbeat.]]

* ''Film/SpacePirateCaptainHarlock2013''. Many fans have watched trailers for the film and thought it was live-action.