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]].

* 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.

** 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.

* Sakura in ''[[Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan]]'' occasionally does this whenever he is expressing extreme emotion or is in a harrowing situation.

** 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 ''[[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.

 

== Comic Books ==

** [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 "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 ==

* ''[[Hustle]]'' does this for certain exposition scenes. A description of a very old con trick is done via a B&W silent movie, and an explanation of fugu fish preperation is done via anime.

* ''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.

 

== Newspaper Comics ==

** Similarly, Suzie Derkins's fantasies (seen on the rare occasions that Calvin plays with her) are illustrated in the style of a soap opera comic strip. One excerpt from Calvin's comic book collection is shown in a similar style.

* This ''[[Mad|Mad Magazine]]'' parody of the classic comic ''[[Bringing Up Father]]'', pictured [http://pics.livejournal.com/dr_hermes/pic/000e3gaw/s640x480 here] and [http://pics.livejournal.com/dr_hermes/pic/000e2ezx/s640x480 here] (courtesy of [http://therainer.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html here]).

 

== 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 ==

* ''[[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]].

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Graphical Tropes]]

[[Category:Eastern Animation Tropes]]

[[Category:Painting the Medium]]

[[Category:Clip Art Animation]]