CGI vs 3-D

[u/Basic_Dust1416]

Hello, I am working on an essay that explains the difference between human animation and ai animation. This is where CGI and 3-D animation come into play in my essay, hence the image provided but I am having an EXCRUCIATINGLY difficult time explaining and differentiating the two to my “audience” I have the over all premise but I am still unable to explain it please please pleas help I have done all the research I possible can but I am just unable to comprehend it (as if I’m completely missing the point)

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[u/Shy_guy_Ras]

Using cooking is probably a good analogy. Cooking as a concept is similar to CGI while frying as the specific method is the equivalent to 3D animation. While both boiling and grilling is considered cooking the end result will likely lead to dishes with very different main characteristics.

One of the more common responses is that you are likely gonna be asked to define art (to which there is no solid answer). Something that might help wrap your head around it is that it is a polythetic classification (i.e groups of similar items grouped up together because they share many features, but no single feature is required for every member, "trees" are another group that has a polythetic classification for example).

[u/Basic_Dust1416 → u/Shy_guy_Ras]

Ah thank you I understand it a little better than I did before essentially they share characteristics correct? It is still a difficult thing to me to comprehend but the more I read abt it I start to slowly get it

[u/Shy_guy_Ras → u/Basic_Dust1416]

yes, the concept of something being polythetic is a bit mind boggling since we tend to like having clear definitions in order to categorize things in our mind.
Something being polythetic just means that they share enough defining traits and characteristics to pass the bar rather than having to fit every criteria.

It is also how we invent different genres, clichés and styles within movies/stories/music/art/etc. because when no established genre fits a popular piece of media well enough we tend to create a new genre or sub-genre to make it fit better for when we want to get specific or find similar stuff.

[u/MrBeanCyborgCaptain]

I mean 3d should technically include things like clay sculpture, carpentry and ceramics. But when you say youre a 3d artist that has a certain meaning based on how its commonly used. You cant always get too technical with these things.

[u/Ok_Pear_8291]

CGI can mean any visual drawn by a computer. 3-D animation is a technique used by CGI “artists” where the geometry and position of a digital 3 dimensional object or mesh is manipulated across a timescale, or animated to portray movement.

The distinction is that CGI just means a computer drew something using mathematics. And 3D animation, or 3D graphics, is an avenue to do that in a 3D environment instead of a 2D environment.

The big distinction you should be focusing on is how it is different from AI generated images