"The Dragon Prince" Series Talkback thread (Spoilers)

[wonderfly]

It's here!

The 9 episode series is now on Netflix!

Watch at least the first episode (or binge the whole season) and tell us what you think about it!

 

[Dudley]

I really like it!

Got a lot of similarities to Avatar, even a small but cute little reference to it.
Cullen is just straight up Sokka, down to the voice actor.
Another cartoon with an ongoing storyline, that I can’t wait to see the next season to!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PapaGreg]

Episode 3 and while its good the frame rate is really bugging me.

 

[TheVileOne]

The humor in Dragon Prince was so forced. It was worse than Avatar. The main kid was basically Sokka-lite.

I did enjoy the idea of having a character who speaks only in sign language and is mute and how that would work. It looks like they actually took the time to use actual real sign language in the show, or at least some type of version of sign language.

But I couldn't get over the animation. It was so choppy. I've seen stop motion animation with more fluid character models.

What causes that choppy framerate? Just for example, Slugterra is done with CG and has sort of a cel-shaded style, but the framerate never looks that bad.

 

[Wonderwall]

It's not a frame rate issue. They purposely animated solely in step keys. Usually that's the way all CG shows are animated before they are turned to splined keys for fluid animation ( lots of tweaking from that point ) before being sent off for lighting, comp, etc.

As for why they did that here? No clue, I've asked my friends who work on the show and they had no idea. You'd have to ask one of the producers that it seems. I dont mind it but it did make me raise an eyebrow when I first heard that.

 

[PapaGreg]

I know this show wants to have a Gray on Grey morality thing but it seems like the Elves are worse than the humans. Like the Elves has all of these magic and dragons but the humans have basically nothing and when we do find a certain magic they kick us out of our homeland

TLDR Elves Suck and Humans Rule

 

[TheVileOne]

It's not a frame rate issue. They purposely animated solely in step keys. Usually that's the way all CG shows are animated before they are turned to splined keys for fluid animation ( lots of tweaking from that point ) before being sent off for lighting, comp, etc.

As for why they did that here? No clue, I've asked my friends who work on the show and they had no idea. You'd have to ask one of the producers that it seems. I dont mind it but it did make me raise an eyebrow when I first heard that.

Whatever the issue is, it looks jarring. Look at Resistance. In some ways, they look very similar, but Resistance animation doesn't look choppy like Dragon Prince.

 

[Wonderwall]

Whatever the issue is, it looks jarring. Look at Resistance. In some ways, they look very similar, but Resistance animation doesn't look choppy like Dragon Prince.

Yea because they didnt leave the keys in stepped. Seems that they ate going to switch it up for future episodes like they probably should have done from the start

 

[TheVileOne]

It's not the only CG animated show that has suffered from this issue.

Even the Tron animated series had this issue at times.

 

[Mr.O]

It's not a frame rate issue. They purposely animated solely in step keys. Usually that's the way all CG shows are animated before they are turned to splined keys for fluid animation ( lots of tweaking from that point ) before being sent off for lighting, comp, etc.

As for why they did that here? No clue, I've asked my friends who work on the show and they had no idea. You'd have to ask one of the producers that it seems. I dont mind it but it did make me raise an eyebrow when I first heard that.

Are you saying that the frame rate is ok, but the models are snapping from one pose to the next. And that they hold one pose for multiple frames giving it a choppy look?

 

[Wonderwall]

Are you saying that the frame rate is ok, but the models are snapping from one pose to the next. And that they hold one pose for multiple frames giving it a choppy look?

Basically. From what I've been told the animation was kept in step keys. Usually that's the way to start posing things and blocking in shots to be fully animated in spline keys later.

 

[Mr.O]

Basically. From what I've been told the animation was kept in step keys. Usually that's the way to start posing things and blocking in shots to be fully animated in spline keys later.

Thanks. I'm studying digital media, and will be moving into animation soon. So I was just making sure I understood you. What are you working on now, btw?

On topic: I got used to the choppy movements about half way into Dragon Prince. I do wonder if more exaggerations would help the animation seem more lively though.

 

[Wonderwall]

Thanks. I'm studying digital media, and will be moving into animation soon. So I was just making sure I understood you. What are you working on now, btw?

On topic: I got used to the choppy movements about half way into Dragon Prince. I do wonder if more exaggerations would help the animation seem more lively though.

I'm working at DHX on Megaman. I've worked on a number of projects over the last 6 years. I even worked at bardel the studio that works on dragon prince.

 

[Mr.O]

I'm working at DHX on Megaman. I've worked on a number of projects over the last 6 years. I even worked at bardel the studio that works on dragon prince.

Cool. Nice to see someone so active in this industry!! Do you know why the new Into the Spider-verse movie is able to get away with the "choppy" look so much more so than Dragon Prince?

 

[Wonderwall]

Cool. Nice to see someone so active in this industry!! Do you know why the new Into the Spider-verse movie is able to get away with the "choppy" look so much more so than Dragon Prince?

Woop sorry for the late reply, Im gonna assume its because they had more time and budget to work with for a feature as opposed to DP. I havent seen the movie so I can't say but there's a fluidity from teh clips ive seen that isn't there in DP. Also the designs seem more stylized in Spider Man so maybe it just works better with that.

 

[TheVileOne]

Having seen Spider-Verse twice, the effect was noticeable and it did bother me at times. But the movie is also very stylized as well like it's a mix of pop graffiti art and comic book art.

But what bothered me more about Spider-Verse was that it had that sort of looking at a magazine or comic book with a magnifying glass look. In some areas, I didn't care for it because it was like watching a 3D movie without the glasses with like a doubled over image plus all the little dots.

 

[Mr.O]

Woop sorry for the late reply, Im gonna assume its because they had more time and budget to work with for a feature as opposed to DP. I havent seen the movie so I can't say but there's a fluidity from teh clips ive seen that isn't there in DP. Also the designs seem more stylized in Spider Man so maybe it just works better with that.

Having seen Spider-Verse twice, the effect was noticeable and it did bother me at times. But the movie is also very stylized as well like it's a mix of pop graffiti art and comic book art.

But what bothered me more about Spider-Verse was that it had that sort of looking at a magazine or comic book with a magnifying glass look. In some areas, I didn't care for it because it was like watching a 3D movie without the glasses with like a doubled over image plus all the little dots.

So you guys are saying hat Spider-Verse's stylization may be a big help in the fluidity department? Maybe season 2 of DP would benefit from more stylized expressions and movements?

 

[TheVileOne]

It does help at times.

 

[Mr.O]

I know this show wants to have a Gray on Grey morality thing but it seems like the Elves are worse than the humans. Like the Elves has all of these magic and dragons but the humans have basically nothing and when we do find a certain magic they kick us out of our homeland

TLDR Elves Suck and Humans Rule

I know this is super late, but after re-watching this, I kind of see what you mean. It's sort of leaning on a Lord of the Rings type deal. Where humans are generally void of magical powers or immortality, and are prone to corruption due to this. Only in LoTR, there is a reason for this. Humans were free, and not bound to destiny, or something, IIRC. They didn't mention any trade off for innate magical abilities here.

However, the life sucking properties of dark magic might have played a part in the humans banishment. But are we to believe every single human became a dark wizard?

 

[RoyalRubble]

Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix!

The nine-episode second season follows Rayla, Callum and Ezran as they continue their adventure to Xadia. But the journey won't be easy: every step of the way, they'll be challenged by new foes and old friends alike. They'll struggle with trust and betrayal, face down vicious dragons, and be tempted by the lure of dark magic, all while protecting the newly-hatched Dragon Prince, Zym.

The Dragon Prince - Season 2 (Episodes 10-18)
Debut - February 15th, 2019 on Netflix

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