La main et le crayon : à propos des implications de l’usage de la tablette graphique dans les studios d’animation 2D français

Abstract

Even though the effects of the digital era have been well documented when it comes to the evolution of CGI animation, since researchers have analyzed for more than a decade the evolution of digital tools in that context, the same process in the less hegemonic environment of traditional hand-drawn animation has received less scrutiny. The aim of this article is therefore to analyze the less visible but existing changes undergone by traditional animation in the digital era, focusing on the French context of both medium-scale animation studios and independent animators. The main point of interest, following a survey conducted on animators’ practices, will be the use of the graphics tablet, now commonly used instead hand drawing on paper. By observing the digitalization of hand drawing, we can describe the implementation of a digital tool and the way professionals adapt their practices to its functions. Professional discourses give us a point of entry to observe the introduction of a new tool in a production pipeline, the way it affects working processes but also the animators’ perception of their own work and its evolution in the digital context.