Question: Why Are Animated Characters So Simplistic?
Although it's now much easier to produce complex, detailed animations than it has been in the past, traditionally animated characters have used simplistic shapes and minimal colors rather than detailed artwork. Why is that?
Answer: Primarily for the sake of efficiency and simplicity, especially in television / broadcast animation. Every tiny detail on a 2D animated character often has to be drawn into every frame of animation; every color variant in the character has to be painted in every frame of animation. When you have 15-30 frames of animation per second, that's a lot of time spent correctly animating complex figures. Simplifying those figures can cut a great deal of time from the animation process.
Larger-budget features such as animated films can take the time to work with that sort of detail; their production and release schedules are a little different than the fast paced timelines involved in producing full seasons of animation.
As 2D animation becomes more digital, right down to shortcuts and special programs that are capable of automatically animating 2D line drawings, even basic cartoons are growing more detailed and using richer colors and shading. It's all a matter of achieving the best end result for the least effort and in the shortest time.
