HN repeatedly calls it one of the best math and graphics explainers on YouTube, praised for bridging game dev and math.
Topics › Design, Graphics & Visual Media
The best animation & visual effects videos, according to Hacker News
83 videos about animation & visual effects that Hacker News commenters keep pointing each other to, ranked by how many separate months they were recommended. Part of Design, Graphics & Visual Media.
Repeatedly called one of the most useful talks on building organizations and managing creative teams.
Recommended as the best account of Blender's history and its user-focused approach as a free software success story.
Recommended whenever people want to see the mechanical, jostling reality of molecular biology, which many find awe-inspiring.
Strongly recommended whenever HN discusses CGI, practical effects, or trusting behind-the-scenes footage.
HN recommends it as an entertaining and inspiring Blender talk, and often links it in threads about learning Blender.
Recommended as a jaw-dropping view of the complexity and machine-like nature of cells.
HN considers it a fantastic, mind-blowing talk that shows how a single skilled artist can build detailed VFX scenes quickly.
It is the most-recommended beginner Blender tutorial on HN, with several people saying it made them comfortable in a couple of hours.
Repeatedly called essential viewing for game development history and clever work under memory constraints.
HN recommends it as an entertaining explanation of chroma keying, green screens and how cameras process color.
Commenters recommend it as a dense but entertaining primer on color theory and color in video systems.
Recommended as a favorite among practical Blender guides from a hugely productive solo artist.
Cited in threads on cars, streets and urbanism as evidence of how mixed traffic worked before cars took over.
Recommended as an eye-opening, fast introduction to what Blender can do and a model of a productive workflow.
Called a rite of passage for new Blender users and the standard first recommendation for learning the program.
Strongly recommended as a detailed, entertaining history of 1980s CGI and film techniques, including the role of the Foonly F1.
HN recommends it as the clearest visual explanation of how the Prius power-split hybrid actually works.
HN commenters point to it as an impressive example of what AI animation could do and of VFX artists adopting AI in their workflows.
HN recommends it as an exceptionally well-made explainer of complex mechanical machinery.
HN points to it as a way to see WWI footage restored so the war feels modern and real.
HN points to it as a demo of how routinely mundane TV scenes use green screen set replacement, even on TV budgets.
Recommended as a rare detailed look at how 3b1b videos are made, including live debugging of his rendering engine.
HN points to it whenever Another World comes up, as one of the better GDC talks by the game's creator.
HN points to it as a concrete case of procedural animation that keeps characters responsive, often in threads about Overgrowth and game feel.
HN holds it up as an impressive example of what a tiny team can achieve with Blender.
HN commenters cite it in debates about practical effects versus CGI, as a fun comparison of old and new Dune.
HN commenters recommend it in motion-smoothing and interpolation threads as an overview of why interpolation hurts animation.
HN recommends it as a look at pre-CGI effects work that looks like CGI but was entirely physical.
Used as a counterpoint whenever commenters claim CGI always looks fake.
Recommended as an approachable intro to path tracing in ray tracing and rendering threads.
HN recommends it as the best short introduction to Kon's editing before watching his films.
Recommended as a compact starting point for making animations feel more compelling, including for UI and app developers.
Mentioned as an example of Sesame Street respecting children's intelligence and as an early gateway to modern classical music.
HN shares it as a classic backup and operations cautionary tale.
Recommended as a succinct documentary on motion control and practical-effects ingenuity.
Recommended as a convincing counterargument to the widely repeated idea of the uncanny valley.
Recommended as a fun, informative rediscovery of a lost film-effects technique.
HN points to it as an impressive demo of Blender's open-source 2D/3D hybrid animation and as a comparison for other 2D animation tools.
Cited as a landmark looping music video, a reference point for creative video and editing tricks.
HN recommends it as the thorough investigation of the Kimba and Lion King controversy, and as a quality benchmark for the reviewer.
HN cites it in threads on military AI as a vivid depiction of where autonomous warfare could lead.
Recommended as a charming primary source on animation technique and for Walt Disney's warm on-camera presence.
Pointed to as one of the most impressive early deepfakes, where a good impersonation makes the effect convincing and funny.
Cited as the canonical look at LED-wall virtual production, referenced in threads on game engines in film and CGI.
Praised as a standout example of kinetic typography that holds attention, and known as the earlier work that led to the animator's Weird Al 'Word Crimes' video.
HN commenters use it as a wordless illustration of addiction, shared in threads about children and screens, drugs and habit-forming products.
Recommended in threads about practical versus CGI effects as a fun, instructive attempt to match a classic effect on a small budget.
Cited as a vivid illustration of autonomous weapons and machines that keep running after their creators are gone.
Cited as an example of how hard it is to reconcile UX views in open source communities, and as the start of a redesign discussion.
Seen as an inflection point in how Blender's UI was perceived, and as helping kick off the 2.8 redesign.
Cited as an explanation of LED virtual production and how it solves green-screen lighting problems.
Shared as a fan-made teaser for Blindsight in threads about the novel or alien intelligence.
Cited as an easy-to-digest look at the awe-inspiring animations of cellular machinery.
HN cites it as an example of temporally stable AI video stylization built from ordinary production gear.
Brought up in threads about isolation, dystopia and busyness as a moving, relevant short film.
Mostly used as a joke reference to the song's lyrics in AI threads, and cited for its robot-band theme in a thread about the song's tempo.
HN people bring it up whenever music-playing machines or robot bands come up, as the classic CG precursor.
Cited as evidence that Blender can power feature animation and for its look at a real production process.
Cited as a visual illustration of the Jungian shadow, including in arguments about national or collective shadows and conformity.
HN cites it as an earlier, smoother precedent whenever new learned-locomotion or simulated-walking work appears.
HN cites it as an example of what a very small crew can make with generative AI tools, while noting how much manual work it still takes.
It comes up as a beloved example of NFB animation and state-funded Canadian cultural work.
HN cites it as an example of deepfakes producing a more convincing CGI human than the studio's own effort.
Brought up as the reference point whenever something shows visuals tightly synced to music or train-ride scenery.
HN mentions it mostly as a reference point in Max Headroom threads, as the essential Art of Noise tie-in to that 80s character.
HN invokes it purely as a joke or nostalgic meme reference.
Cited as a sci-fi vision of editing a world in VR, and a reference point for how VR and world-building tools have caught up.
Cited as an example of simulating the full optical chain of a camera in physically based rendering.
Used as an example of going the extra mile on small details in animation and design.
Used as a freely licensed sample video for demoing multimedia tools, and as a test file in discussions of video downloading and playback.
Cited as an example of LED volume virtual production, as used for Star Wars shows, in threads about VFX.
Cited in threads about physical controls and how diesel-electric locomotives actually work.
HN brings it up only as a joke about robot uprisings and future AI overlords.
It is mostly a cultural touchstone on HN, cited for its sketch animation style or the song itself rather than recommended as something to learn from.
HN cites it as an example of what open-source tools can produce and as freely licensed footage for demoing multimedia software.
Cited as an impressive example of real-time digital humans, especially the facial and mouth animation.
Posted as a light, funny aside in threads about declining search quality and the habit of appending 'reddit' to queries.
Mentioned as an example of a crowd-made reproduction of a film whose quality varies wildly.
Cited in AI-art and video-stylization threads as an example of a manual, artist-driven alternative to AI tools, and as a demo of EbSynth.
Cited in Max Headroom threads as an example of the show's visual style being copied in film.
HN uses it to illustrate how the film's wireframe skyline effect was made with practical miniatures and as an example of retro computer-display aesthetics.
Used as a Skynet joke and cited as a parody that fooled some viewers into thinking it was real.
Which of these have you already seen?
Connect YouTube and HackerTube AI hides what you've watched and ranks the rest for you.