I have been thinking about my heroes in the world of cartoons and animation. I've been reading up on a lot of these people for quite some time. I'm quite surprised by the wide variety of opinions about certain figures in cartoon history.

For example, we have the established view of history, with the respected critics and their views of events, such as the view of Disney as the godsend and the be-all-end-all of animation, and that the other studios produced mere "entertainment". That would be the view that Disney wants to impart on us. Another view offers us the view of Disney as the Anti-Christ, who sucked all the joy and made cartoons rebel against their inherent nature. This goes on for every figure in the medium, from animators like Freddie Moore and Rod Scribner, to directors such as Chuck Jones and Ralph Bakshi.

Ever since I started visiting animation blogs, a whole new world has opened my eyes and my mind. I've only ever heard one side of the story about these legends. It was at first hard to listen to such criticisms, because I had pretty much been indoctrinated. For example, John Kricfalusi has stated on a few occasions about Chuck Jones' habit of having Daffy being the loser in those cartoons simply because he preordained it. Or how he picks apart a lot of Disney films, a lot of which I have grown up with. This was a little hard for me to deal with me, because so much praise had been placed upon them that I just began to parrot them.

Now, I've heard opposing opinions and have since then gained a more rounded understanding of these people. I can see a bit of how Chuck Jones can seem to have a sense of preordainment towards his characters, or how Ralph Bakshi does have weak storytelling abilities.

Visiting these sites have opened my eyes to my heros faults, but allowed me to view their strengths as well. I now have a more analytic, discerning mind that allows me to cut through the bullshit the studios throw at us.

The point I've gotten from all of these blogs and postings is that you must understand your influences, and learn from their strengths and failings. Thus you can learn to avoid those mistakes, and thus keep from repeating them. That is something that I don't see in the media today. You hear a lot about a person's artistic influences, but you don't hear about what they learned to keep and what to avoid.

I know this seems like an obvious statement to make, but there are those that don't learn this. They don't learn to have a discerning eye. Thus they never advance as artists. Current animation studios keep rehashing all of the ideas of the old studios, with out understanding what made those old cartoons great in the first place. Cartoon Network works a lot in that angular, 1950s style, but don't know how to properly draw that style.

I think this industry, in fact all industries need to learn to use critical thinking and analysis. Sorry if I seem to be rambling, but this was just something I had to write down. I couldn't think of any proper order to put this in, so I'm just writing what comes to mind. Thanks to those who actually read this insane babbling.

For reading this, I shall reward you with some funny cartoons.
Have Fun,

Until next time kiddies.

A Little Inspiration Part 2: The Young Ones

Nothing really special today, just posting an episode of one of the funniest and weirdest sitcoms to have ever hit the small screen: BBC's The Young Ones

You know, the British seem to be a bit more experimental in their comedy programming than we Yanks. I've never seen an American sitcom where all the characters can be blown up in one episode and appear just fine in the next, furniture talks, and random rock bands appear in the living room to perform. That's one point for the Brits.

This episode is called Bambi

Part One


Part Two


Part Three


Part Four


The Young Ones is owned by the BBC.

Happy Trails

Frank Bellamy: The Good Doctor Artist

This is the work of Frank Bellamy, a British illustrator/comic book artist. He worked in the pages of TV Century 21. He is best known for his work on comics and illustrations for properties such as Doctor Who, Thunderbirds, as well as Dan Dare and the newspaper comic strip Garth.

Excellent page layouts, quite easy to read, and fantastic use of color. Obviously the British had a bit more respect for the medium than we Yanks.

For more information about Frank Bellamy as well as to see more artwork, please visit the site below:

http://frankbellamy.blogspot.com/

Happy Trails

Character Design and Its Role in Animation.

Today boys and girls, we venture into the role of character design in animation. It is a part of animation that is largely neglected in modern work (at least in major studios).

John Kricfalusi, a man whom I respect, even if I don't always agree with him, has a few good points about character design.

His five points of character design:

1.) Functional - Understandable logical form
Simple sensible forms
Can be moved easily

2.) Aesthetic - Pleasing Balance of shapes

3.) Recognizeable - Distinct from other characters

4.) Personality - Allowing the viewer to know a character's personality simply by the way they
look

5.) Original - Not a knock-off of a previous character

Fore more of this post go to: http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2007/08/character-design-primer.html

Now, I would like to add a sixth part to that list. It's one that I've been thinking about for awhile.

6.) Believable - Allowing the viewer to believe in the story you're telling or the world your
characters reside in.

Let me explain what I mean. I mean that some designs are better suited for different styles of story. Wouldn't characters looking like these...

would look very strange in a more film noir-like cartoon, wouldn't you say?

On the other hand, animation is all about caricature, and if we lose that element, animation is no longer exciting and it becomes a pale imitation of live-action. It would be a vast and grueling undertaking for animators to try and move character that looked like this

or like these

The question then arises: "What is that right level of caricature where the characters are believable in their environment, but are still fun to animate?"

A great example would be the character designs of the characters in Ralph Bakshi's "Hey Good Lookin'". Each of the characters, even minor characters, has a distinct look to them, different to every other person, just like real people, but they still have a cartoony feel, much like what Jack Davis or Mort Drucker do, a MAD Magazine feeling.

Vinnie (above) looks nothing like Crazy Shapiro (below)



If you want to see what I'm talking, go over to YouTube and watch the movie. You'll see what I mean.

Many of the side characters were designed by the late and wonderfully talented artist Louise Zingarelli. The main characters were done by David Jonas. I wish there was more "Hey Good Lookin'" artwork in the Bakshi book.

Another good idea would be to look at some of the old adventure strips like "Dick Tracy". Chester Gould was a great storyteller, but was also, as he described himself, a "big-foot cartoonist that got side-tracked."

I know that character design is only one step in the animation process, but it should be given careful consideration. From there we can build upon it and make a great film. However, this is only my opinion. I gladly await to hear yours.

Happy Trails

Great Animation: What Is It?

Hello again dear readers. I know I've been gone awhile, but not that many people read my blog, and why should people since there are so many others that much more knowledgeable about the subjects I talk about out there.

Okay, sorry about the self-pity. Now onto today's subject.

Ever since I decided to become an animator and working towards that goal, I have looked over many animation blogs (just look at the side of this page to see how many I look over), and reading over their articles, a thought keeps popping back into my mind...

What, in fact, does make great animation?

I've heard one argument after another by many different sources, such as Michael Barrier, Bob Jaques, John Kricfalusi, and Michael Sporn.

Michael Barrier, when discussing Milt Kahl and his work, had this to say:

"Those characters, and others that Kahl designed and animated later, have what seems to me not real warmth but a calculated appeal whose artificiality Kahl's beautiful drawings can't quite conceal."

"Ironically, it is "sincerity," that Disney shibboleth, that is most conspicuously lacking in Kahl's work."

What exactly is "sincerity"? Does it exactly equal good animation. Isn't good draftsmanship enough. Can an animator be a horrible draftsman, but if he/she has "sincerity", can they make great animation. I have actually heard that said about legendary animators Art Babbitt and Ed Love, although I can't remember where.

He also had an interesting statement he wrote about Don Bluth animation-style, which happened to appear in his review of the 2002 Disney flick Treasure Planet:

"It is the kind of animation that results when animators try to achieve the vaunted Disney "sincerity"—that is, animation in which the characters really seem to believe in what they're doing—by having the characters behave as if they know that they're appearing in a film.

What's involved is not mere staginess, the usual mugging or playing to the audience. In Bluth animation, the characters are not entertaining hams, or, even less, ironically self-aware; instead, they are as painfully awkward as adolescents on a first date. The characters' insistent self-awareness is what makes Bluth animation so uncomfortably distinctive."

These criticisms leave me wondering how one would leap to that conclusion. Those are pretty harsh words for Mr. Bluth and his disciples. I guess that these criticisms are the result of how one feels while watching it.

Here's a quote from Max Fleischer about how he thinks animation should be: “If it can be done in real life, it’s not animation”.

If that's the case, then the work of his studio would reign supreme, seeing as how everything in their films could never be done in real life. Have you ever seen a woman with a phallic nose transform into a frying pan , complete with two eggs. Or how about a chicken coop morphing into a demonic face while chasing a chicken thief.

John Kricfalusi and Thad Komorowski have similar ideas. While they do differ about specifics (and the fact that they hate each other guts), they both believe in animation that is fun and entertaining, such as the work of Irv Spence in the Tom and Jerry series or Rod Scribner's work for Clampett.

Animation director Michael Sporn has this to say about great animation:

"My preference will always go to the flawed yet emotional animation."

The layfolk often see that quality animation means smooth full animation, like one would get from a feature film.

I guess the ultimate answer to this question is it's open to interpretation. I guess great animation is what you want it to be. My personal preference is animation that has specific facial and body expressions. This allows you to know what the character is all about. I would like to read what you readers have to say about this. Drop a line in the comments.

Until then, Happy Trails.

Help Me: I'm Technologically Illiterate!

Now, many would think that, as I am twenty years old and living in the computer age, that I would know the ins and outs of computers and be able to do anything with one. This is, unfortunately, not the case. It is only by the grace of God that I'm even able to use the basics of Blogger.

Now, as I am an aspiring cartoonist, I would like to post my attempts with using construction and other drawings. However, I don't know how to use the scanner. Now, I could probably learn to use the scanner part, but I need to know how to upload all of that stuff I want to upload, like my construction drawings and my collection of comics.

Next, I need to know which program allows you to overlap the original source of a drawing and a person's copy. Also, how do oyu upload film clips and film snaps? I ask for the help of my friends on Blogger (Joe Bloke? Fellow cartoonists?)

Just leave me a comment and that will help.

The Betty Boop - Cab Calloway Trinity

Today I only have to show you the amazing cartoons showcasing the wonderfully talented Cab Calloway and surreal animation of the Fleischer Studios. It's sad they no longer make these types of cartoons.

Minnie the Moocher (1932)

I personally prefer the more curvaceous Betty. Don't you?

Snow White (1933)


The Old Man of the Mountain (1933)

I love the design of The Old Man.

Sorry for these lame updates, but I need to figure how to use my scanner and get Photoshop so I can post my construction drawings and various comics.

Until we meet again

(Special thanks to Joe Bloke for commenting on the past couple posts. I'll try to post comics for him next time.)