FROM SKETCHBOOK TO TABLET: THE EVOLVING AND ENDURING ROLE OF DRAWING IN ANIMATION



Before I ever knew what a keyframe was, or how many frames made up a second, I was just a kid sketching cartoon characters on the back of my school notebooks. I’d copy Naruto, Pokemon, Fantastic Four or whoever lived loudest in my head that day.

I didn’t realize it then, but I was learning the same language, the pioneers of animation used, which was drawing. For me, and for so many others, drawing was, and still is, the first doorway into the animated world.

It’s easy to assume that in today’s digital era, where studios use high-end 3D software, motion capture, and AI-assisted rendering, the pencil has become obsolete. But the truth is, drawing remains the heartbeat of animation.

It’s not just about technique, it’s about how animators think, feel, and tell stories. Drawing is how movement is imagined before it's ever executed. Even when the final product is fully digital or three-dimensional, drawing often shapes the foundation.

Historically, drawing was animation. The earliest animations, which are Disney classics like, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, or Warner Bros. cartoons like Bugs Bunny, and legendary Japanese works like Akira, were entirely hand-drawn, frame by frame. Artists had to deeply understand anatomy, motion, and emotion to bring characters to life.

Every blink, gesture, and walk cycle came from thousands of sketches layered in sequence. Drawing wasn’t just a tool, but it was the medium.

Today, we live in a different landscape. Animation is faster, more software-driven, and built around efficiency. So, here’s the question: In an era of 3D rigs and AI interpolation, does drawing still matter?

On one hand, some argue that drawing is no longer essential. Advanced tools allow animators to manipulate models and simulate physics with incredible precision. You can build worlds without ever picking up a pencil. In fact, some new animators enter the industry through technical roles without any formal drawing background.

Yet on the other hand, drawing still sits at the core of the best animation work. Even 3D animators are taught 2D principles early on. Drawing trains or gives you a stronger ability to see rhythm, silhouette, and weight in ways software can’t teach. Studios like Pixar, DreamWorks, and Laika still rely on drawn storyboards, visual development art, and character design sketches. This holds the argument, that drawing is how stories are visualized, before they are ever animated.

And beyond technique, drawing plays an emotional role. There’s a certain intimacy in lines made by hand. The flaws, imperfections and human decisions. It’s the texture of someone's thought process. Films like Klaus used hand-drawn lighting to give digital characters a warm, illustrated feel. Wolfwalkers leaned into visible pencil strokes and rough outlines to amplify the raw energy of the story. And Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse paid homage to comic book art by layering drawing-inspired effects into a digital 3D world.

The truth is, drawing hasn’t died, it’s adapted. Today’s animators sketch on iPads and drawing tablets instead of paper. Software like Procreate, Clip Studio Paint, and TVPaint, lets artists work faster, layer smarter, and still retain their own style.

Even when characters are modeled in 3D, the planning often begins in thumbnails and rough sketches. Drawing is now seamlessly woven into every part of the pipeline, which include concept art, storyboarding, animatics, even texture work.

Most importantly, drawing is thinking. It’s the animator’s notepad, where ideas come to life in raw, immediate form. It’s how animators explore emotion, design action, and carve out personality before movement ever begins. And for many of us, it’s also therapy. A way to process the world and express things words can’t quite reach.

So no, drawing is not outdated. It’s not optional. It’s not dying. It’s evolving. Whether sketched on paper, on screen, or in the margins of your life, it remains the DNA of animation

How has drawing shaped your love for animation? Do you still sketch today? I’d love to hear your stories or see your scribbles in the comments. 

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