This style of light doesn't really appear in animation anymore. You know it when you see it -- it's bright, hot and almost dangerous. Our new issue explores the tricks behind it, and how one artist has revived the look for the digital age: ─➤

I miss the 80s lighting effect that was present in several tv shows and animes of that era, I don't know the correct term but it was just a vibe

That's because with cel based animation you can put an actual bright light under the animation to light it from behind.

same happened to "hollywood" they forgot how to actually use light and art direction as a whole, everything feels "flat" nowadays, even if ultra fake sharp vivid HDR, as soon as you compare with "old" productions you can feel the enormous gap.

One of my favorite uses of this technique was in The Secret of NIMH, where Nicodemus and the Great Owl's eyes glow. It's one of the more quietly striking visual effects in a movie chock full of impressive visuals.

Ahh, I never knew this was backlit! I spent a long time replicating that by hand by stacking layers upon layers of different colored low opacity sprays and colors. (recent example)

There’s not a lot of instructional tutorials on under lighting online in English, thanks. I was looking at old Japanese behind the scenes videos and video essays on the “Thief and Cobbler”.

Don't touch the screen! You might get singed!

Around 1985, it seems to have been frequently used in sci-fi and psychic powers.

i loved the article, awesome stuff

Really glad you enjoyed it! Thanks a ton.

Did they use the method similar to the Kodalith process used in Tron, where they lit it from behind with real light before they snapped the frame? Great to see this recreated digitally now!

Lukewarm take: Computers ultimately crippled advancing anime as an art form. Everything looks and feels lifeless now; animation feels less fluid and more blocky. But of course, Demon Slayer broke box office records.

What is the music

The track is Spirit Jumper by spktra, available here:

Where’s the clip of the cars racing from?

That's the film The Running Man by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. You can see it here:

obsessed with The Running Man and Spirit Jumper, thank you for this

This was a stylistic choice because the night glow looked really good on CRT TVs

I remember asking my animation professor about this method back during school! He used to be a camera operator for animating advertisements late 70s onward and did a little demo for me. Always have loved this style of lighting, its super sharp but really vibrant and pretty.

Nothing beats those 80's cartoon laser lights, man. There is a very specific ruby colored one I remember seeing a few times as a kid but can't remember what cartoons.

Your coverage of various topics in animation always delights! Wonderful!

Thanks so much!

backlit pinhole lighting aww yeaaaaa

You cant imagine how well this translates on a CRT, the flashes are almost like the light is hitting your face.

Also a huge fan of this look! I've seen people get some great results doing 3D space work that's similar to the traditional process: I'm not a 3D guy so when I've done it, I've also gone for the thresholded gaussian step glow route.

You know, the epileptic seizure scare of the late 90s. Apparently the risk was somewhat exaggerated, only a small percentage of people with epilepsy are sensitive to flashes of light. But it became something of a taboo.

I may have just spammed this into every art discord I'm in. 😅

Great work

Super cool stuff

I love that effect.

Always wondered about that natural glowing quality in old animation, really great article.

Oh man, back in school I would make kodaliths in the print studio, run back across the street and use them on the oxberry to double expose/burn fx into my animations. Looked great when it worked. Pain in the ass! Don't miss it!

Love this article. I was quite literally trying to look into this exact topic days ago!

That's because classic anime portrayed light like it was a part of the world. Current anime portray light like it's an effect.

really thorough! great examples!

Thank you!

Love your newsletter! You should do a study on Patlabor - it's one of the criminally underrated anime of all time.

That blue is so distinctive of the era