Thin-line animation is a stylistic trend that has emerged in The New '10s based around thinner lines, rounder shapes and noodle-like appendages than seen in standard animation, all while still being distinctively Western.
This style may have emerged for a number of different reasons. The emergence of anime and their influences on Western cartoonists have made them focused less on detail. Different coloring techniques with digital art may have removed the need for thicker lines, and thus it only remains when it's a stylistic choice. The need for quicker, cheaper animation after the economic downturn may also have driven the desire for more cheap, yet still pleasing animation styles. It also may have been due to the widespread adoption of High Definition (HD) televisions — before HD, small features such as thin lines in an image tended to flicker and/or disappear depending on their angle and motion; HD allowed the freedom for this new, previously unattainable style. Finally, many Western cartoonists are striving to achieve a modern art style that is distinctly American without being just another Disney clone or overly influenced by foreign elements such as the aformentioned anime.
It is also known under the pejorative term "CalArts Style". This term was originally coined by The Ren & Stimpy Show creator John Kricfalusi in a post on his blog John K. Stuff; however, his usage of the term was very different from the modern definition. He first described the term in response to works such as The Iron Giant (decidedly not an example of this trope), alleging that certain animated films and many animators in The '90s who graduated from the California Institute of the Arts heavily copied Disney's animation and art style.note The term itself as used by John was used to mock the style of on-model animation and realistic character proportions.
More commonly, the term "CalArts Style" tends to be used specifically for works that not only have thin lines and round shapes, but also bean-shaped heads, bean-shaped mouths, and dome-shaped teeth — works that only have thin outlines without the other elements tend to avoid the label (to the point where another common pejorative for the style is "beanmouth"). Taken to its extreme, "CalArts Style" can be used for any animated work from the 21st century that uses this style that one considers "samey-looking", despite similar art styles being the norm since the infancy of the medium itself. As such, please do not include examples of shows that simply have thin outlines — they also need rounded/noodle-like styles to qualify.
Thin-line animation is actually Older Than Television, since many cartoon shorts during The Silent Age of Animation (particularly those made by Disney and Max and Dave Fleischer) featured rounded ball-and-noodle art-styles and thin outlines. However, it was often done out of necessity since the simplistic designs made things easier on the animators at the time.
Compare Puni Plush and Animesque, contrast with Thick-Line Animation or No-Line Animation. See also Tooth Strip, Sphere Eyes, Black Bead Eyes, Black Dot Pupils.
Example subpages:
Other examples:
- The infamous "Froot Loops World"
commercial is animated in this art style. Toucan Sam was even given a rounder, softer redesign that follows the principles of the thin-line style.
- Kirby: Right Back at Ya! zigzagged this trope, with its combination of rounded designs note and angular designs.note
- One Piece is one of the few modern animes to use this trope. Its art-style, while far from simplistic, is noticeably more rounded and cartoony compared to other anime at the time of its initial premiere. It lessened over time, however, with the art-style becoming more angular and complex.
- Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon: Everyone looks much more rounded compared to previous eras, like a quasi Steven Universe with a Pokémon coat of paint. In fact, not only has the palette gone for a much more pastel inspired look, but also did the eponymous Pokémon themselves.
- Incredible Ant. Series creator Cheng Li even stated the show's look was intended to help it stick out from the numerous animesque series produced in China, with its art direction being heavily inspired by the many Thin-Line western cartoons he himself is a fan of or had worked on.
- Kung Fu Wa: One of the few examples to have come out of East Asia, with the overall style of the show relying heavily on simple rounded shapes quite similar to those found in European examples of the style.
- Hayop Ka!: The Nimfa Dimaano Story sports a lineless variant of this style, making it stand out compared to other examples.
- Several recent Pixar movies, while 3D animated and therefore lack the thin outlines the style is named after, otherwise resemble this visual style, with the characters having large, often pear-shaped heads, round eyes and bean-shaped mouths. Examples include The Good Dinosaur, Luca, Elio and especially Turning Red; the latter also employs Wingding Eyes and other stylised expressions that are often used in this art style.
- DreamWorks Animation also started using similar character designs with The Bad Guys (2022), which uses 3D animation but with many 2D elements, such as the characters' eyes and teeth, and a lot of action lines around the characters.
- Similarly to the above, Sony Pictures Animation's The Mitchells vs. the Machines translates this into 3D with the more stylized designs and large round eyes.
- Another Sony Pictures Animation film that does this is Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
- The direct-to-video Looney Tunes movie King Tweety re-imagines Sylvester and Tweety in this style.
- Ronal the Barbarian is 3D but has the style, with many characters having round heads, thin limbs and bean-like mouths.
- We Lost Our Human uses the version of this animation style commonly associated with European animated TV series, including Euro-American co-productions, such as The Amazing World of Gumball and Pinky Malinky.
- The cutscenes for Marco & the Galaxy Dragon are animated in this style, with the usual simplified designs, bright colors, and fluid motion. This is in stark contrast to the rest of the visual novel, which uses a more detailed and proportional anime-style typical of visual novels.
- Bee and Puppycat crosses this with Animesque.
- Bravest Warriors: The show was created by Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward, and shares the same art-style.
- CartoonMania used this technique until the episode "Whatever Happened to Victor Virus?", in which slightly thicker outlines are used. The exceptions to this are the StickFigure Brothers (Henry, Tommy, and Jimmy), who have very thick outlines (especially when compared to the rest of the characters) and an extremely minor character named Deskjet Simon, who has no outline.
- Parodied with The Getalong Friends, a fictitious cartoon by YouTuber Saberfart. It's an intentionally crappy-looking cartoon with a thin-line artstyle and stiff, extremely on-model animation.
- GoAnimate: The most well-known theme, Comedy World, fits this style (looking like a Seth MacFarlane cartoon).
- Hanazuki: Full of Treasures: Although the show has no outlines, the colorful shapes and character designs of the show, especially with it's main titular female character, fit the style nonetheless.
- Many of the alternate universes presented in Homestar Runner utilize this style; mainly the Old-Timey, 20x6, and Cheat Commandos universes (the last one oweing to the fact that it's a parody of Merchandise-Driven cartoons of The '80s, primarily G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.)
- Mighty Magiswords has somewhat thick outlines but the character designs follow the principles of the Thin Line style (I.e., rounded shapes and noodle limbs).
- Poppy Playtime Logic: The outlines are thick, but the shapes and character designs fit the style.
- Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy: Being from the creator of Family Guy, the cartoons use the same artstyle as Family Guy.
- Parodied in an episode of Sublo and Tangy Mustard. During a performance evaluation, the titular duo is told their costumes don't match the current models, which is based on this trope.
- Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City is the first entry in the franchise to use this style, featuring a much simpler look compared to previous Strawberry Shortcake cartoons.