There are two different takes on the mecha. For the action scenes, where ships are seen moving, 3D animation of the ships is used, providing perfect ship movement. Then comes the real feast. In scenes where mecha is static or movement is provided solely by the camera, plates of the 3D model are rendered in a 2D medium and layers of mechanical detail are drawn by hand, most notably by mechanical designer Junichiro Tamamori himself. This technique, which became known as Detail-Up, produced some trully outstanding eye candy throughout the entire series and became one of the defining marks of Yamato 2199.
