6.2M views · Jan 22, 2021 · 7:19 · 0 HN recommenders · 5 mentions · discussed 2022–2025
Animator Joel Haver explains how he makes his short films using rotoscoping and the EbSynth tool, along with the software he uses. The method is a labor-intensive, frame-by-frame process.
Why Hacker News points people here: 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.
“His method is the literal opposite of using an AI tool.”HN comment, 2023
“He explains his process here”
Joel Haver explains his rotoscoping animation process
A good example are Joel Haver's videos on youtube. He explains his process here: this video . He produces animations by rotoscoping live footage, with only a few keyframes being done by hand and the rest by AI, using something similar to style transfer.
Example of AI-assisted rotoscoping
We've got AI assisted rotoscoping already and while it looks a bit janky at times its still a whole lot faster than doing it all by hand. this video
Shows EbSynth giving Joel Haver a trademark style
As someone who is in touch with a lot of people acting as VTubers in order to keep privacy while being able to express themselves, I'm very happy to see this! EbSynth gave Joel Haver a trademark style[1], and I feel this might be the next step. 1. this video
“His method is the literal opposite of using an AI tool.”
Shows the painstaking manual frame-by-frame method
>There's a popular youtuber named Joel Haver who films videos, then uses an AI tool to convert them into animations, so they can be magically put into a space or fantasy setting. Hang on, AI tool? Joel Haver converts every frame manually. His method is the literal opposite of using an AI tool. It's incredibly painstaking. this video
Demo of EbSynth video-to-animation
Looks like rotoscoping: link . The closest you would get is maybe an edge detection filter. Or AI rotoscoping: link . Or maybe EbSynth, as demoed by this guy: this video But it never looks as nice as the hand-drawn way.
