One of the most iconic aspects of the original Thomas the Tank Engine show were the faces of the characters, brought to life by specially molded face masks affixed to the model engines used in the series, and being interchanged between scenes using the usual stop motion tricks.
The choice to animate the characters in this was way was made because the show originated in 1984 and CGI as we know it now didn't get exist. I'm sure they could've found a way to animate the faces using traditional animation, but that would have probably exceeded their budget. Anyway, however they came to the method, the face masks method became iconic and was used from 1984 until 2008.
In 2008, the series began to transition from the models and stop-motion techniques to full CGI. The first thing to change were the faces, as for one series of the show, it was filmed with the models with faces animated on via CGI, with the models wearing reference markers for the animators.
Obviously, both techniques have their pros and cons, but many of us older fans are very nostalgic about the static faces from the old days and some of the actual faces are now being preserved by fans. I believe some of the molds for the faces are now in the hands of the public as well, not to mention the reference sheets of different faces used by crew members to keep track.
So there's some stuff you might not have known about my favorite blue tank engine and his friends :P
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If you're interested in attending the An Unlikely Fandom premiere,
I'm blogging the countdown to the An Unlikely Fandom premiere,
I recently started a vlog about Thomas on my YouTube as well.
You can visit the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki by clicking here.
Also be sure to check out the Sodor Island Fansite and Sodor Island Forums,
if you're looking for more great Thomas the Tank Engine content and discussion.
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