CGI Timeline

1960's
Film : Kitty (1968)
A group of Russian arithmetical physicists headed by N.Konstantinov created a mathematical model of a moving cat. A program was made for the computer BESM-4.
1970's
Metadata (1971)
- 2D animated short film by "Peter Foldes" drawn on a data tablet , who used the world's first key frame animation software , invented by Nestor Burtnyk and Marceli Wein.
Westworld (1973)
- 1st use of 2D computer animation in a significant entertainment feature film. The point of view of Brynner's gunslinger was achieved with raster graphics.
Futureworld (1976)
- 1st use of 3D computer graphics for animated hand and face. Used 2D digital compositing to materialize characters over a background.
The Black Hole (1979)
- Used raster wire-frame model rendering for the open credits depicting a 3D wire-frame of a black hole.
1980's
Looker (1981)
- First CGI human character , Cindy. 1st use of shaded 3D CGI.
Wolfen (1981)
- 1st use of in-camera effect for thermal vision sequence.
Star Trek #2 : The Wrath Of Khan
- ILM computer graphics division develops "Genesis Effect" , first use of fractal-generated landscape in a film. Bill Keevesleads , the Genesis Effect programming team , and creates a new graphics technique called Particle Systems.
Tron (1982)
- Extensive use (15 mins fully computer generated) of 3D CGI including the famous "Light Cycle Sequence". Also , includes very early facial animation (for the 'Master Control Program).
Death Becomes Her (1992)
- 1st human skin CGI software.
Jurrasic Park (1993)
- 1st photo-realistic CGI creatures.
Toy Story (1995)
- 1st CGI feature-length animation.
Elephant Dream (2006)
- 1st CGI short movie. Made with "open source" software.