Just thinking, is the art style only symbolic of the universe or is everything actually like that in-universe?
They see themselves like that but that’s also their reality, they don’t know otherwise.
You occasionally get situations when the animators switch the art style every now and then, but the characters still exist in the same universe, so I wonder if the characters wonder why everything looks slightly different.
I believe they don’t. They don’t realize there was ever a change.
Inside Out is a great example of just that. While I couldn’t find the scene, here’s an excerpt from tvtropes.com:
*Entering the Abstract Thought Chamber in Inside Out caused the characters to turn into 2D figures with increasingly less defined shapes. *
If I remember correctly, the characters actually acknowledge the shift to less detailed artstyles.
Fair, there are several examples of characters acknowledging the shift in very specific circumstances. Often said circumstances are plot related one way or another.
But usually that’s not the case, and if you have a change of art because now it’s a different studio producing the animation or they release a new season with a different art director and budget then no, it’s implied that the aesthetic status quo has always been the same.
I remember something with a cartoon character commenting on how live-action people look kind of disturbing and surreal. They noticed the difference, and it didn’t sit well with them. Their own uncanny valley.
Strange New Worlds/Lower Decks actually addressed that.
In Chip and Dale 2022, they explicitly refer to the “upgrade” to 3D rendering from the old painted style (like plastic surgery to them), so I assume they are fully aware of their art style.
Im not high enough to answer that!
Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss have jokes about the art style. Sounds to me that the characters see each other the way we see them.
Some times it’s part of the plot, like in comics such as Gwenpool and 8-Bit Theater. But usually, from what I notice, how a character perceives the world around is not explained.
Final Crisis had some of this with Thought Robot superman. Iirc they included 3D glasses so you could see Superman reach out to you in our realm one he gained concession of us. Check out some other Grant Morrison works for trippy meta fiction (pls read Animal Man)
Much like ourselves, they see each other in the cartoon style of their universe.
There 2D is like our 4D. The same way we can’t see 4D, they see 2D as normal and 3D is unachievable to them as for us 4D. Same with the style. They see themselves at the same style as what is normal to them.
