vintage-computing

This is an overview of selected examples of the state of the art in computer graphics animation as illustrated at various points in the 1980s. I am going to talk specifically about prerendered (non-realtime) animations, since in any case realtime videogame-style 3D was practically unheard of back then.
During this time, there was nothing really close to realistic human computer-generated figures. The best that could be done in the earlier part of the decade shows up in Looker (1981). This one is notable for having a few attempts at modelled human shapes: a face with a moderately decent polygon count that resembles actor Susan Dey, a somewhat lower-poly hand, a pair of eyeballs, and a (briefly-glimpsed) complete figure. And there is no attempt at animation of these shapes, beyond simple rotations of the entire objects. The rest is a heavy dose of wireframe renderings (including human outlines)--very common during this period.