Art Shift: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

Scene in animation or print where the art suddenly and intentionally shifts into a different style, usually for homage or parody purposes. Frequently occurs [[Flashback Effects|during flashbacks]], particularly [[Rashomon Style]] sequences. Particularly abrupt shifts can be [[Nightmare Fuel|rather scary]].

 

{{examples}}

* Many scenes in anime (especially [[Gag Series]]) involving fighting will often make a visual reference to ''[[Fist of the North Star]]''.

* This happens many times in ''[[Excel Saga (anime)|Excel Saga]]'', most notably in episode 17, where there are so many rapid-fire shifts (from [[Looney Tunes]] to [[Walt Disney|Disney]] to [[The DCU|DC Comics]] to ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and beyond) that it's impossible to keep track of them all.

** And then there are the Puchuus, who suddenly change from [[Ridiculously Cute Critter]] to something ''[[Golgo 13]]''-esque when you kill them. The also utter something mean-spirited/action-movie-ish when it happens (reflecting their true, evil nature). Sometimes it happens without them being killed, if the gag demands the nasty phrase (e.g. in a scene parodying the survival action-movie fad from [[The Nineties]], {{spoiler|a Puchuu cuts Excel's rope and spits out, "Burn in hell."}}).

* Done in episode 5 of ''[[FLCL]]''. When it flashes back to Amarao asking for a "manly" haircut in a hair salon, it's done in the same animation style as ''[[South Park]]''. There's also "manga sequences" in episodes 1 and 6, during which the standard animation style is replaced by pans across (semi-animated, with voice-overs for the dialogue) manga pages. This was incredibly hard to animate, and the second one is brought to an abrupt end by Kamon, who [[No Fourth Wall|breaks the fourth wall]] to point out "Why can't we be a normal anime!? The animators asked us not to do another manga scene."

** There's also the grayscale style used for collisions, which comes up a few times.

** This is most likely a visual [[Shout-Out]] to ''[[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]]''.

** Hell, ''everybody'' in this show does this, all the time. It's rare to go more than a few minutes without a completely different animation style popping up.

** The last episode of the second season contains a series of stills showing an intimate moment between the sisters, done in the style of the ''previous'' season, which had been produced by a different company. The background music also switches to the first season's [[Anime Theme Song|opening theme]], which creates a nostalgic mood.

* Episode 7 of ''Zoku [[Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei]]'' has the show art shift to [[Magical Girl]] style, complete with the show's remarkably realistic [[Hair Colors]] turning into a [[You Gotta Have Blue Hair|rainbow of phenotypes]].

* In ''[[Saikano]]'', the art frequently shifts to [[Super-Deformed]] when Chise and Shuji are talking with their friends, especially when Chise gets embarrassed or Shuji gets mad.

* The first ''[[Dragon Ball]] Z'' movie, ''[[Non-Serial Movie|The Dead Zone]]''. There's an abrupt art shift in flashbacks that's used to [[Nightmare Fuel|unbelievably creepy effect.]]

* In the anime of ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'', the anime once has England shift out of the default [[Moe]] style to the serious style of ''[[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]]'' as he plans to get back at Germany.

** The manga and anime both have France occasionally shifting to a 1970s shojo look. While in the comic itself, America was once shown in New York-style doodles. And that's not counting the chibis...

* In episode 3 of ''[[Death Note]]'', the animation shifts to a far cutesier shoujo-esque style for the scene where Light is tutoring his younger sister Sayu.

** Later, in episode 6, the backdrops for the scenes where Light is lying to Naomi Misora are almost photorealistic, in a clear divergence from the usual style.

* ''[[White Album]]'' uses art-shifts extensively, occasionally shifting into a style reminiscent of a pastel painting.

* In ''[[Change 123]]'', in which the characters are generally drawn very realistically (at least from the neck downwards), various chibi versions of the main female character are used throughout the series to indicate certain visible moods of hers, but always with a sense of good measure, varying the degree of chibiness. Also, sometimes the artist uses a different line style (a soft pencil style or a charcoal style) to indicate various internal emotional states of characters.

* In ''[[Tsuritama]]'', the first episode's introduction and the ending credits use a computer-generated artstyle based around clusters of circles.

* Frequently used as a visual gag in ''Lotte no Omocha'', as well as when Naoya tries to draw, or when Asuha is being particularly crafty.

 

* The comic ''[[Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane]]'' uses the art shift a couple of times, both times it is used to indicate a character is flashing back.

* The first issue of the ''[[Super Mario Bros.|Super Mario Adventures]]'' comic (it ran in Nintendo Power during the 1990s) featured a scene where the plumbing in Peach's castle goes haywire—upon running up to the courtyard, Mario almost immediately shouts out "Mama mia! It's a pipe-o-rama!" What makes this scene unique is that the artist shifts—for this one panel only, and never again—to a hyper-realistic, almost [[Uncanny Valley]] rendition of the titular plumber.

** [http://yoshi.2yr.net/images/comics/YA_SMA01.pdf Link here.]{{Dead link}}

* The comic book version of ''Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again'' uses this to differentiate between the familiar version of the [[Archie]] characters (who are done in the usual art style and seen through flashback) and the older version (drawn by Gene Colan).

* Most of ''[[Transformers|Spotlight: Kup]]'' is drawn in a scratchy style to represent Kup's deteriorating mental state. The art shifts to a cleaner style when the point of view shifts to {{spoiler|Springer and his rescue mission}}, and both styles are used together when the two plots converge.

* The ''[[Superman]]'' [[Alternate Continuity]] miniseries ''[[Superman: Secret Identity]]'' culminates with "real-life" Superman {{spoiler|and his daughters}} flying across the sky, then suddenly shifting into various Golden Age, Silver Age, and even [[DCAU|Timmverse]] art styles that progress through the panels, in a loving homage to the character and the many artists who have drawn him through the ages.

* In the [[Alan Moore]] run of ''[[Supreme]]'', the story became involved with the history of comic books and comic tropes. When Supreme flashbacked to the 1950s, he entered into [[EC Comics]] artwork, first from their horror and SF comics and finally from [[Mad Magazine]]. In the lens of Mad, Supreme transforms into something very similar to their old parody, "[[Super Duper Man]]".

** This is a favorite storytelling style for Alan Moore. In ''[[Tom Strong]]'', Strong's flashback sequences were often written in classic comic book styles, with artwork to match. In ''[[Promethea]]'', during the title character's tour of the [[Author Tract|worlds of the Khaballa]], each issue was drawn(by J. H. Williams III) in the style of a different artist(ranging from Van Gogh and Da Vinci to Escher and Salvador Dali).

* ''[[Stormwatch]]'' had an issue where Jenny Sparks relates her historical adventures in the style of the cartoons from those periods. This includes duplicating the look of [[The Spirit]], [[Dan Dare]] and [[Watchmen (comics)|Watchmen]], amongst others.

* [[Brian Bendis]] loves this trope:

** In ''[[Dark Avengers]]'', scenes in [[Norman Osborn]]'s mind are drawn by a completly different artist.

* In the [[DC Comics]] [[Harley Quinn]] comics series, occasionally the art would shift between a semi-realistic form (when the story was being told by sane characters) and a semi-Timmverse style (when the story was being seen from Harley's... ''unique'' viewpoint).

* In the early episodes of ''[[Buddy Longway]]'' the otherwise realistically drawn characters have [[Orphan Annie]] style white ovals for eyes. Later on they get more realistic, but when Buddy tells his kids a story from his bachelor days, the characters in the flashback have white ovals for eyes again.

* The final pages of the ''[[Mad Magazine|MAD]]'' parody comic "Mickey Rodent" shifted (with considerable [[Lampshade Hanging]]) to a less cartoony style with realistic shading, shadows and [[Four-Fingered Hands|five-fingered hands]].

* ''[[Desolation Jones]]'' often switches styles, from paintings to sketches, black and white inks, two-tone chiaroscuro, and the standard inks and coloring, though it maintains a similar feel throughout.

* During the middle of the Marispan affair (or the beginning of the Bet Your Life arc) in ''[[Spy Boy]]'', the art changes from anime-style to something out of Mike Mignola's mind and back again.

* In "Hounded" in ''[[Knights of the Dinner Table]]'' #183, Sara has a dream about the Untouchable Trio Plus One. The dream is illustrated using art from ''Knights of the Dinner Table: Illustrated'' by the Fraim Brothers.

 

* In the CGI ''[[Horton Hears a Who!]]'' an entire sequence narrated by Horton is done in the style of a colorful anime. The producers explain that this was simply for the entertainment of the children watching.

* [[El Arca]] has this, though whether or not it's intentional is debatable- The art noticeably shifts depending on how many characters are in a scene. In a scene with only one or two, or even a small handful, the art is of quality comparable to Disney. However, in scenes with many characters present, like when Kairel is trying to get everyone organized right after they get on the Ark, and Xiro completely ruins her efforts, the designs quickly become comparable to a toddler's scribbling.

* A dream sequence seen about halfway through the song "A Girl Worth Fighting For" from ''[[Mulan]]'' appears to be animated in the style of traditional Chinese watercolor paintings.

* "The Backson Song" in ''[[Winnie the Pooh (Disney film)|Winnie the Pooh]]'' is done as colored chalk drawings.

* During the stretch of Spike Lee's ''Crooklyn'' that takes place away from Brooklyn in rural Virginia, the image is horizontally squashed, leaving everything looking freakishly tall and skinny. Those scenes were filmed in widescreen but with anamorphic correction deliberately left unapplied.

* Quentin Tarantino's ''[[Kill Bill]]'' Vol. 1 & 2 also feature this. A sword fight is completely done in silhouettes, the begining of Vol. 2 starts in black and white and O-Ren's backstory is [[Medium Blending|completely anime]].

* The stop-motion animated musical dream sequence with dancing hamburgers in ''Better Off Dead''. Yes, the whole movie is cartoonish, but otherwise as realistic as 80ies teenage comedies go.

* In the movie version of [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]], a stylised cartoon accompanies each of the Guide's definitions. As well, at one point the characters briefly turn into stop-motion-animated yarn puppets after the Infinite Improbability Drive has been used.

* ''[[Melancholia]]'': The opening montage is shot in a completely different style than the rest of the film.

* ''[[The Wizard of Oz]]'' may be one of the earliest and most in your face uses of this trope in film. The switch from the sepia tones of Dorothy's Kansas to the technicolor world of Oz is almost jarring.

 

== Literature ==

* Used in ''[[The Heroes of Olympus]]'' series via book cover art to highlight and visually accentuate the cultural differences between the Greek and Roman demigods.

* [[David Macaulay]] won a Caldecott medal for his picture book ''Black And White,'' which tells four overlapping stories simultaneously, [[Everything's Better with Cows|mostly about cows]], using four markedly different styles of illustration.

* In [[David Weisner]]'s picture book retelling of [[Three Little Pigs|The Three Pigs]], the pigs realize partway through the story that they can escape their book and visit characters in other stories, all of which are illustrated in different styles. This one also received a Caldecott medal.

 

== Live-Action TV ==

** Many of cold open scenes in ''House'' are directed in the distinct style of a different kind of series or show, so much that they may confuse a less savvy viewer.

** The season 5 episode in which {{spoiler|Kutner dies}} has strangely subdued lighting throughout, presumably to emphasize its [[Very Special Episode|serious tone]].

* ''[[Community]]'': The second season Christmas episode "[[Community/Recap/S2/E11 Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas|Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas]]" was Stop Motion-animated. In fact, Abed's noticing of the Art Shift that no other character notices is central to episode's plot.

** In Season 4, Jeff and Shirley engage in a game of table football which is shown in anime. There's no real explanation - it appears to be for no reason other than the fact that they couldn't think of a better way to make table football suitably dramatic.

* ''Eureka'' used this in their latest (Christmas) episode. A machine in town malfunctioned and turned everyone into various animated styles. They used everything from Peanuts to claymation.

 

 

== Video Games ==

* The Darkspawn visibly changed their look from ''[[Dragon Age|Dragon Age Origins]]'' to ''[[Dragon Age 2]]''.

* ''[[Golden Sun: Dark Dawn]]'' has the "''Sun Saga''" [[Show Within a Show|books-within-a-game]], retelling the events of the original ''[[Golden Sun]]'' games with simplistic 2d figures instead of the rest of the game's lush cel-shaded 3d animation.

 

== Web Animation ==

** The scene where Hal fought Donkey Kong in episode 6 was 8-bit. Hal and Jeff used sprites rom the orginal [[Super Mario Bros.]], while [[Donkey Kong]] used the orginal [[Donkey Kong]] sprites.

** The story in episode 9. Everyone was drawn in Flash.

 

== Web Comics ==

* [[What's Shakin']] uses this in every flashback. Each flashback has a different art style.

* In an odd non-animated example, ''[[CRFH|College Roomies From Hell!!!]]'' has at times shifted to a more realistic style of art for dream sequences and flashbacks, only to fall back on the usual stylized designs when returning to the present storyline.

* In ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]'', the multi-strip [[Flash Back]] to the legendary events that shaped the world are drawn in the distinctive stick-figure style, but with [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0273.html crayons].

** Sinfest actually does this a lot, usually demonstrating the seriousness of the situation with how complex the art is. [[Animesque]] is more dramatic than smaller and more cartoonish strips.

*** And completely lampshaded and played around with starting [https://web.archive.org/web/20140209170348/http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=3607 here].

* ''[[The KAMics]]'' has some series done in different art styles, although sometimes an art shift happens on an artistic whim.

* [http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=070703 This] ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' uses Art Shift to make the [[Dream Sequence]] that much [[Mind Screw]]ier.

* ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court]]'' switches to more detailed shading and exaggerated perspective when [http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=402 Kat narrates a flashback] to her childhood, and when Annie [http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=514 uses the Blinker Stone to see.] And it switches to stylized, Native American-inspired art whenever Coyote [http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=490 tells] [http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=276 stories].

* ''[[8-Bit Theater|Eight Bit Theater]]'' has [http://www.nuklearpower.com/2001/05/03/episode-024-shes-a-white-magic-woman/ done] [http://www.nuklearpower.com/2003/10/07/episode-339-he-thinks-of-everything/ this] [http://www.nuklearpower.com/2004/04/13/episode-407-odd-mage-out/ a few] [http://www.nuklearpower.com/2004/11/11/episode-481-black-belt-walks-into-a-bar/ times].

* ''[[Homestuck]]'' uses several noticeably different art styles. [[Word of Dante|Theoretically]] they have become a "language" within the work, although Andrew [[Word of God|insists that no such thing is taking place]].

** The primary style uses sprite sheets that give the main characters a [[Super-Deformed]] (babyish) look and emphases that they are characters in a game.

** Less stylized artwork with more realistic proportions—if anything the characters become [[Noodle People|more willowy]]. Referred to as "hero mode", used when the characters are intended to be taken more seriously, in combat and some moments of high emotion: for example, high passion or grief. Also possibly because it looks totally awesome.

** A shaded form of the above, featuring a great deal more detail [[The Noseless|(and noses, for the first time!)]]. Possibly this is purely an exercise in style. This is sometimes referred to as "Hussnasty mode".

** A presumably less deliberate example: some stylistic elements like the crayon-style outlines are used inconsistently from page to page.

* The majority of ''[[Black Adventures]]'' is done in a simplistic noodly cartoon style. However, certain scenes (such as transformation sequences) become more detailed and [[Animesque]], and at one point in-universe N tries graffiti and displays improbable spray-paint skills and a fondness for Alphonse Mucha. To say nothing of the parts that openly parody ''[[Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt|Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt]]'', which is itself known for this trope (recursive art shifting?).

 

== Western Animation ==

* ''[[Adventure Time]]'', "Guardians Of Sunshine": Finn and Jake get stuck inside a video game and consequently, the art style becomes a sort of blocky 3D animation style complemented with green and black graphics for the in-game characters and levels.

** ''The Big Boogie Adventure'' movie also did this when the characters have to paddle through a vortex, briefly turning them into puppets (Billy even lifts up his shirt to reveal a arm underneath causing the others to scream) Grim comments it as "disturbing" once they exit out of it.

** The show even switches to the style of ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'' at the end of one episode, after [[When She Smiles|Mandy smiles]] and [[These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know|breaks the laws of physics]].

* ''[[Codename: Kids Next Door]]'', "Operation Report": Numbuh 1's scene is CG. Numbuh 2's scene is comic-book style. Numbuh 3's scene is kid-drawing style. Numbuh 4's scene is [[Animesque]], and an obvious parody of ''[[Dragonball Z]]''. Numbuh 5's scene is in the style of the works of Mo Willems, the series' co-creator. The short [[Framing Device|framing scene]] at the end is done normally.

* ''[[My Life as a Teenage Robot]]'' has an episode in which Jenny has dreams, and the dreams all have a different style. The longest dream sequence, during which Jenny is awake but sees all her friends as villains, has a Dr. Seuss illustration style.

** In "Jewel of the Aisle", the girls are watching an ad for Lucky Captain Rabbit King Nuggets on TV, which is animated just like the actual "Lucky Charms" and "Trix" commercials. Just before the commercial, they also have a short clip of the series they're watching, "[[Beast Machines|Mech-Animals]]", which is done in CGI.

* ''[[Batman: The Animated Series|Batman the Animated Series]]'': "Legends of the Dark Knight" featured scenes told by children about what the "real" Batman was like. One featured a 1950s-era story done in the style of Dick Sprang, and another showed a scene taken almost word-for-word from ''The Dark Knight Returns'', done in Frank Miller's art style.

* Whenever Owen of ''[[Total Drama Island]]'' has a flashback the animation switches to a crayon-drawn style to represent how childlike Owen is; this style is also used during his song "Oh Izzy" in ''Total Drama World Tour''.

** The group's song about New York, "What's Not to Love?" was done in a monochrome, Broadway musical poster style.

* ''[[Fish Hooks]]'' shifts between the typical cartoon look in the aquariums and a photo collage look outside.

* ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'' had a brief scene where it switched to 8-bit video game graphics.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Graphical Tropes]]

[[Category:Eastern Animation Tropes]]

[[Category:Painting the Medium]]

[[Category:Clip Art Animation]]