John K Stuff: Generic Well Drawn Oaf by Chuck Jones

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Generic Well Drawn Oaf by Chuck Jones

ARE ALL LUMMOXES THE SAME?

Here is a character "type" that Chuck Jones specialized in - THE OAF. Jones did the best Oaves of anyone.

This OAF only has one specific visual trait, which makes him a stereotypical Oaf. He's large and dumpy. Otherwise he is a completely generic 40s animated cartoon design. He's a big fat Elmer Fudd.

Whoops! He has another Oafish trait coined by Chuck Jones - tiny legs supporting the huge dumpy body.

Jones made his proportions funny by using ridiculous contrasts.

Chuck Jones did more specific Oaf designs later with more unique physical traits as he got good at working with the general oaf type.

So what can we learn from an almost generic character? Plenty! If he's drawn phenomenally well.

Specific poses- while the character is a generic design, his poses aren't. They are very specific unto themselves and also specific to Jones' own style. They aren't stock animation poses. Jones is making them up on the spot, custom-tailored to the story. He is doing it with the aid of an extremely good knowledge of animation and drawing fundamentals.

His construction is solid.
The lines of action are strong and clear.

Clear silhouettes and staging.

Hierarchy of details - subject to the larger forms and graphic statement.

Here's an expression that is specific to Chuck Jones. In his world it's generic, because he uses it a lot and expanded upon it later, but compared to most other cartoons of the period it is unique. It doesn't conform exactly to the formula of the Disney studio.

Perspective. The strong perspective of the mallet and the character are used to add humor to the situation. Jones' drawing tools are in service to the story and gags. They aren't used arbitrarily, just to show off that he draws well. (Not till later in his career)

GODDAMN THE ANIMATION SCHOOLS
These fundamental cartoon drawing skills are what the schools should be teaching. I wish to Hell artists would come to me who already have all these skills down. It would make it much easier for me to revive the kinds of cartoons most of my visitors expect from me.

If you don't have skill, you will have trouble controlling any visual idea. You will certainly not be able to tailor your drawings to a specific character in a specific scene in a specific story.

You will be a slave to the poor dexterity of your fingers and your small visual vocabulary.

Well the schools aren't going to change their evil ways, so your next best bet is just to study these great old cartoons themselves. Copy the drawings using the techniques I (and a few other blogs) explain to you and you will quickly improve.

Remember, there is a huge difference between general principles and style. You can't be an individual until you understand how things work. These early 40s cartoons are not overly stylish yet, but they are extremely controlled and can teach you a lot.

Back to the cartoon....

...as the cartoon progresses, Jones' poses and expressions become more and more original - or specific.

The gags in this little action sequence are the poses themselves. The guy keeps running then freezing in mid air in funny poses. If the poses were stock animation poses, they wouldn't be funny.

Amazing control! Perspective, construction, dynamics, organic flow; it's all there!

Here is a typical Jones oafish pose mixed with a typical Jones post explosion expression.

This is from 1942, right around when Jones started to find his niche. His cartoons were very experimental for years and you could see him grow from cartoon to cartoon. Extremely fast growth too!

Compare Jones cartoons from 1942 to 1947 to any 5 years of any modern cartoon studio or series. everything today is against growth. The whole system is geared to stop you from learning anything and putting your knowledge to entertainment use.

CASE OF THE MISSING HARE

HARE CONDITIONED

Here is a Jones cartoon with a very specific variation of an Oaf. The incongruous combination of a well-mannered, well groomed gentleman with an oafish body made for a great contrast and opened up possibilities for humor.

Hare Conditioned - Looney Tunes
Uploaded by finash

Jones played against the type and surprised our expectation of what an oaf should be.

I love the poses of him and Bugs riding in the elevator. Not much animation, but great observant visual humor. Jones did it by understanding the physicality of an Oaf and then drew the character trying to maintain dignified posture against his own physical nature.

LEARN THE GENERAL FIRST,
GET GOOD AT FUNDAMENTALS,
THEN START DOING KNOWLEDGEABLE VARIATIONS
AND YOU MIGHT FIND A PERSONAL STYLE

Sherm Cohen can help you

While the design of these characters is decidedly primitive, they can still benefit from some strong staging tools.