The Evolution of an Artist

In this eight minute video you will meet your childhood personified. Chuck Jones, the animator for over two hundred "Looney Tunes" shorts discusses the creative development of some of the most famous cartoon scenes and characters. Hyperbolic characters such as Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, and Sylvester all start off with an initial desire, which comes into play throughout each episode. Jones does an amazing job of breaking down aspects of animation from movement to character themes.

 I think the most important piece of advice I took away from this was discipline. Always limit your character in every way except character growth. Whether it be their color palette, emotional gestures, desires, or interaction, the simpler the character the more you can do with you design.

Space Jam

Last week I was wandering around Walmart when I stumbled into one of their big baskets full of movies on sale. After a little bit of rummaging, I found a childhood favorite of mine, Space Jam. This classic was about Bugs Bunny and the rest of the Looney Tunes playing basketball along side Michael Jordan against a group of evil aliens.

As a kid this movie stood out to me because it was one of the first movies I had seen that mixed cartoons and live action. Now, nearly 20 years later, animation has advanced significantly. Yet watching the movie is still impressive. While it may not look as realistic most of the other CG movies today, that is part of the point of Looney Tunes. They are cartoons and live in an animated world where anything is possible. That being said, when looking at Space Jam compared to any of the classic Looney Tunes cartoons preceding it, you can't help but see a drastic difference in quality. In Space Jam, the characters do look more realistic, and a lot more 3D. I think most of this can be attributed to the use of lighting and shadows used in the animation. The background also looks fairly realistic. While you can tell it is animated, it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.

While this movie may be fairly old at this point, I still think we can learn from it. While it may not be the most technologically advanced, it definitely shows the progression of the Looney Tunes since 1930.