Animation Paints-Lupin & other anime Part 1

 I'm obsessed with high contrasting colors and there's no better example than Lupin III.

It's time I changed gears and use different subject for my segment on animation paints instead of DOUG. 

As much as I would like to use DOUG as an example of color theory, it's use is a mixed bag.

Season 1's palette was all over the place and sort of had a violet tint,

Season 2 used pastels which drowned out the purple but made things too fuzzy for my taste.

It wasn't until Season 3 and 4 that the colors became more natural and high contrast enough for my tastes.

Then the series was sold to Disney and they demanded that the color palette be highly saturated both foreground and background. Sure it's saturated but maybe that high saturation was caused it to plummet both in the ratings and with critics. The movie fixed those colors but....

Anyhow, back to Lupin. As far as anime goes, Lupin is also another example of Color Theory.

For those who are curious, Color Theory is a subject used to handle color palettes, combinations etc. All to help the artist make sure their character reads clearly on screen.

Unlike show examples like DOUG where I separate based on seasons, Lupin examples will be based upon series based on what Jacket he's wearing.

For example, What I like about the earlier green jacket series was the high contrasting colors.

It made many characters easily readable on screen when compared to later installments.

Example includes this still from when Zenigata has Lupin behind bars. His skintone and coat really do make him very readable.

As much as I rib on 70s animation, the Japanese side of animation really knew their homework and proved that cartoons are not limited to children. Lupin was a very adult manga from the start and the anime adaptations have proved that if you can write an adult manga, you can translate that to adult oriented anime.

Of course, most people who talk about classic Lupin will of course talk more about the Red Jacket series of the late 70s.

The image of Jigen above still looks highly saturated though.

I have more Lupin related stuff to talk about in terms of Color Theory but issues relating to a certain USB Stick and files left on my other computers force me to split these posts in parts.

Cartoon Bible (Rocko's Modern Life) Part 2 - My Two Cents answered, and other ramblings.

 Holy shit, was that a long read but the book/PDF was very informative.

For those who need a recap, I stumbled upon this PDF made by Joe Murray, creator of "ROCKO'S MODERN LIFE" on Nickelodeon. 

The best part is that it's free. You don't need to pay crap.

Here's the link:

https://joemurraystudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Creating-Animated-Cartoons-with-Character.pdf

Well then, I promised to share with you my two cents. This is not criticism but rather an evaluation of what Joe had to go through creating and working on these Cartoons, how it influenced others, and if it still applies to today's system.

1. The Past experiences

Why is it that today, I see many of my generation don't want to have a sliver of a job? Ok, what I'm saying is an exaggeration but considering the posts I see on LinkedIn and the memes on Facebook, work morale within my generation is waning. 

I'm rather surprised by Joe Murray having been told to hold multiple jobs before gritting his teeth in the animation industry... instead, he got his first job as a caricature artist. Maybe that's the origin of that Jimmy Carter caricature from my previous post.

Anyhow, that eventually promoted him to editorial cartoonist.

And where am I? Manning a giftshop in Richmond, BC, next to an airport. FYI, I am getting paid. Although I do draw for my coworkers, it's not really what you call independent artwork... boy do I feel constrained by all of this.

2. Loss of your loved one.

Admittingly, I have lost a few of my relatives. I lost my paternal great aunt and my paternal grandparents but those deaths were either during college or my down period.

But none are more painful than Joe Murray's loss of his wife to suicide in November 1992. And the kicker: HE BLAMES ROCKO FOR KILLING HIS WIFE!!!! 

Woah!!! That's intense. Pinning the blame on your cartoon wallaby for driving your wife to suicide? That's... wow...

Now one might assume Nickelodeon's executives did not give a shit about this loss considering Joe intended to do only one season but then Nick decided to renew for several more seasons.

But the reality is, Joe knew that from the start. He knew that he would have to truck on and continue the series. And when he left the show to Stephen Hillenberg for Seasons 3 and 4, he actually encouraged the network to continue on. Instead, Nickelodeon canceled the series after Season 4 due to fears of decline as well as focusing on Hey Arnold.

3. Joe was right about the last 20 years of decline (And so was John K.)

By what I mean by last 20 years, I mean between the mid 60s to late 80s. Before you start praising your little 80's cartoons such as Smurfs, Rainbow Brite, or Alvin and the Chipmunks, you have to understand that almost every artist hated working on these shows and they pin the blame on one thing: MORAL GUARDIANS.

If you've been reading up on John Kricfalusi's blog posts on John K Stuff, you'll often see past posts on how he hated working on 80's cartoons as well as cursing not only the executives but moral guardians as well. But what he didn't elaborate was where did all this creativity decline actually come from.

Joe Murray has the answer: In the 60s, there was a rise of street violence as well as assasinations as well as the cancelation of The Flintstones as well as economics that pushed for more outsourcing of the animation. But really, the malaise of Cartoons  from 1965 to 1986 was a result of goddamn moral guardians and their belief that cartoons are a children's medium (That term pisses off not only me but also Ralph Bakshi and Guillermo del Toro.)

John K was right. American Cartoons were at their absolute worst in the 1970s. Don't believe him? Get this: A writer for Variety magazine also criticized 70s cartoons as well.

That all changed when cartoonists felt enough was enough and the push for the return to greatness for cartoons was spearheaded in the mid-80s with Disney having new management, Ronald Reagan penalizing the FFC, VHS and Laserdisc giving us all the unedited and uncensored cartoons we all know and love, Roger Rabbit, Spike and Mike, as well as the early Nicktoons gave rise to a new renaissance.

Unfortunately, that renaissance wouldn't last but that's a rant for another time.

4. Beware the executives.

 Hoo boy. (I love using Mr. Krabs as a metaphor) Executives. They suck... not all of them but seriously, that's one major red flag that you're gonna have to live with whether you like it or not.

Many artists can't stand executives because they know they're powerless to their veto power but that doesn't stop artists from using executives as their punching bag. 

Joe Murray is no exception. You know that fan-favorite episode WACKY DELLY?

That episode was meant to be a middle finger towards greedy executives who only care about money.

A strong example from the episode was at the beginning where the pig executives did not give a shit about Ralph Bighead wanting to quit his job after creating the final episode of The Fatheads.

I do have another EXECUTIVE PUNCHING BAG metaphor from Family Guy that I want to use but for some reason, I left my VLC screen capture in another computer but you get the what I'm talking about.

5. Other peoples opinions (Mostly co-workers and friends of Joe)

-Don't consider your views to be forced down peoples throats. What I like about Joe Murray's PDF about cartoon creation were the Q/A sessions from the likes of people such as Stephen Hillenburg, Everett Peck, etc. They all have their viewpoints about the animation industry, their experiences, etc which I welcome.

How come we don't have something like that with people like Dana Terrance, Justin Roiland, etc. The closest I can relate are Alex Hirsch and his criticism of Disney forcing him to censor a lot of jokes on Gravity Falls as well as Olan Rogers cursing Dave Zaslav for turning Final Space into a tax write-off.

Ok.... I also sympathize with Dana Terrance since her show "The Owl House" was forcibly shortened by the bigwigs due to demographics. 

It's a tough world out there but taking advantage of artists is unacceptable. 

I have more two cents and ramblings but like I said, the PDF is a long read so I guess there'll be a part 3, part 4, part 5......(mutters in gibberish)

Whoops. Tongue tied but commitment to supporting artists out there is essential.

Cartoon Bible (Rocko's Modern Life) Part 1-The shady past can create wonderful things

Ever wondered what to pitch to a network when creating a cartoon?

Look no further than this PDF of Cartoon Pitching and Production history from none other than the creator of "ROCKO'S MODERN LIFE" himself: Joe Murray.

You wanna read it? Do you have to pay crap in order for you to get your hands on it? Well actually it's free because Joe is a generous fellow.

Here's the link:

https://joemurraystudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Creating-Animated-Cartoons-with-Character.pdf

The book.... I'm sorry.... I mean, PDF, is not only a telltale of the production systems and the history of Rocko and to a lesser extent(At least in my eyes) CAMP LAZLO, it also dives in the history of Joe's original career prior to Nickelodeon: His work as a political Artist.

Due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strikes as well as other related issues, I promise myself that I'd refrain from saying anything political unless it's something that pisses me off but Joe Murray's political caricatures of Jimmy Carter are enough to split my stomach(In a good way.)

Yes, even a creator of children's cartoons had a very edgy past. If Danny Antonucci can create a cartoon about an ill-tempered butcher who cusses(in Italian) at his meat, than Joe Murray can create cartoons that mock politicians such as Jimmy Carter circa 1976 to 1980.

I was going to have my two-cents show up on this Blog but I haven't finished reading Joe's Wonderful PDF yet so until then, consider this a prelude for my own thoughts, comparisons, and my own back history, that way, today's aspiring artist can get a proper taste of what it means to actually create something they can pitch to a network.

I've since read the PDF but haven't done a part 3 yet. If you want part 2, here's the link:

https://maverickmartinezarchive.blogspot.com/2023/08/cartoon-bible-rockos-modern-life-part-2.html

Also, forget the reference to the SAG-AFTRA strikes. That strike has since been subsided.

Cereals- They don't make them like they used to. (The flavor is still good though.)

I was shopping for Groceries back in early June 2023 when all of a sudden, I stumbled upon this:

 

This was at my local London Drugs store in 41st and Victoria Street in Vancouver and I could not believe my eyes on what I was seeing. 

The reason I nearly flipped my shit over this is because I read this other blog made by this former animator on how according to his view, cereal box art doesn't look interesting anymore.

His problem was that cereal box arts care more about edge, airbrush colors, and filling up so much negative space to the point that it makes no sense.

To me, Cereal is just cereal. It doesn't matter the box art. What matters is the taste... and the activities.

If you thought this animator was complaining all the time that 1970s cereal ruined fun for everyone, think again. In my opinion, the fun was ruined by the turn of the millennium.

This box of Cocoa Puffs from 1991 demonstrates this according to tweeterman287 who uploading this video about said cereal back in May 2009. He demonstrates that they don't make cereal as interesting as is anymore since they eschew interesting concepts. What made this early 90's cereal better than today is the fact that this box of cocoa puffs had a fold-in-factory to drop your cereal in a bowl via a chute.

Pretty cool huh but wait, there's more. Cap'n Crunch had another.... at least in the 1970s.

This photo was pulled from a Youtube video from "The 8-Bit Guy" in which he demonstrates how a certain boatswain's pipe toy whistle distributed in Cap'n Crunch cereals screwed around with telephones and let you have long distance phone calls without paying those astronomical bills. All you needed to do was blow this whistle and it sounded a loud 2600hz tone. This apparently was discovered by John Draper.

I guess the executives felt that the concept of fun should be regulated to their own terms and that's why prizes, cardboard factories, or 2600hz phone signal hacking whistles aren't distributed in cereal boxes anymore. Instead, we have things like writing, website links, sweepstakes, movie ticket codes, etc.

So maybe instead of those listed above, we should petition for Kellogg's, General Mills, etc to bring back fun things like Cardboard Factories, Ultra Rare Pokémon Cards, and phone phreaking whistles.

Anyway, back to the Rice Crispies box from earlier. I was flabbergasted. This return to Golden Books era illustration was quite a sight. Yes I know it's a digital recreation but it's rather well done. 

But wait, what's this?

Ok. So as it turns out, this is just a retro edition to their line of products so they can entice those older breakfast munchers or John Krisfalusi back into the realm of cereal as not to compete with their main line of cereals as shown below.

This airbrushness is a bit too gaudily pretentious for my taste.

(Totally not a food pun.) 

It's soft of like when Pepsi brings in their cans of Throwback Pepsi which is just a rebranding of their regular flavored soft drink but with the 1973 to 1987 Logos applied.

So in truth, it's just another bout of corporate mandated limited edition stuff that won't be a permanent fixture in stores and more or less try to entice those who prefer the retro.

Also, the retro looking box isn't that accurate. I saw this photo on Facebook and according to the photo, this is what most cereal boxes actually looked like back in the day:

And of course some things never change. Especially the Corn Flakes rooster over here. 

Sure, modern takes on the Corn Flakes Rooster straighten him up but his design has remained the same, not taking into count the modifications to his color palette.

I've got more to talk about in a future post. It may not be about cereal but trust me, there's more to see than what meets the eye.

Animation Paints - Doug meets color theory?

What does DOUG have in common with color theory besides the technicolored Humans?

In my previous post about color theory, I talked about my preferred 2D Animation software of choice which was Toon Boom Harmony Premium but the most I could talk about was manipulating the color values for each digital Cel. Doesn't sound like proper color theory talk.

When I talk about color theory, I talk more about contrast:

For example, the background should have a more neutral tone to the colors and be less interesting. Why? Because our eyes are supposed to pay attention to the characters which are highly saturated and very colorful.

That's what I like about Doug. The fact that they have very colorful technicolored humans to which when I was a kid, I thought the characters looked interesting with their literal colored skin tones. I've read the reason for the technicolored skin tones is due to diversity (At least in 1991 standards) but when I look at these skin tones, I actually look at how the artists at Jumbo Pictures had to think back to their knowledge of Color Theory.

There are multiple ways to discuss color Theory but I don't want to bore you with the details so instead, I'll show you this art piece I made during my freshman year in College.

Click on the image to enlarge.

The one with Miso and the High contrasting Value really does matter when I talk about Doug because that was representative of when the show switched to a better color palette circa 1993.

After 3 seasons, by the second half of the third season, the color palette changed and instead of that gaudy pastel palette seen above, we get as seen below a very nice and subtle high contrasting palette.

As seen in this screenshot from the Magic Meat episode, the background is dull but the characters are highly saturated, making them much easier to read.

My theory was whoever was in charge of the coloring department at Jumbo back in 1993 was inspired by this one screenshot from The Simpsons.

But look at how brightly light Bart is in this screenshot. The high contrasting colors really does make him the spotlight.

But color theory would only get you so far. It's how you control the colors, that's how it works. And often at times, when a series persists for longer via seasons or sequel series, the palette doesn't remain the same anymore. And Doug really showed us how that happened when the high contrasting palette was ditched for a more saturated look in the Disney series circa September 1996 to June 1999.

And even then, the show stayed with acetate cels. No digital ink and paint tools were used by Jumbo Pictures back then. They were all about finite acrylic paints and 35mm photography instead of photo scanning drawings and coloring them with paint bucket tools.

I'm sorry for being inactive for the past 2 months but I had another bout with writers block, paying attention to the escalation of the SAG-AFTRA strikes, and building and upgrading my Custom Built PC but trust me, I've got more stuff to post. 

Here's a sneak peak:

It's not an animation paints post but rather it's something I almost flipped out about back in June 2023 but trust me. There's more than what meets the eye.