The Cartoon Needs the Background Art, But the Background Art Does Not Need the Cartoon – IOTW Report

The Cartoon Needs the Background Art, But the Background Art Does Not Need the Cartoon

This speaks to me. I’m not sure how many people are aware, but this site was founded by 3 illustrators (and then later on illustr8r joined.)

The way I paint or construct an illustration is a bit like being in stage production. I always create the entire background first. I need to like the environment. And then from back to front I accessorize. First and foremost you should want to spend some time in that place. Then, when needed, I put the “characters” in, performing whatever action necessary to express what the painting is about.

One might say that I am a bit… Looney Tunes

11 Comments on The Cartoon Needs the Background Art, But the Background Art Does Not Need the Cartoon

  1. One of my favorite Chuck Jones Looney Tunes cartoons was Boyhood Daze with the mischievous daydreaming little boy Ralph Philipps. Along with Duck Amuck, Duck Dodgers in the 24th and a half century, anything with Wile E Coyote and the Road Runner, Bugs, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd shooting each other during hunting season, Bugs and Marvin the Martian etc. And the classic B&W WB surrealistic Salvador Daliesque cartoon with Porky Pig and the Dodo. The musical rubber band marching still cracks me up. They just don’t make classic cartoons like these anymore which is too bad. Michigan J Frog the singing frog isn’t bad either, “Hello my baby, hello my nighttime gal.”

    18
  2. I remember admiring the background art in those cartoons as a kid. of course I couldn’t freeze the scene while in the theater or on the TV but I could do it in my mind. It was easier to do it after watching one for the 40th time on a random weekday afternoon…

    14
  3. “It’s a baseball son … a baseball! Boy’s about as sharp as a bowlin’ ball”

    one of my favorite Warner Brothers characters … the great Foghorn Leghorn

    13
  4. As a recovery gift to the men in my congregations who were post heart bypass “zipper club” members I gave a DVD of the greatest Looney Tunes cartoons and a selection of Red Skelton shows.

    They were always appreciated. (We had other resources for other ailments as well) It built supports and community.

    4
  5. The background art is what had me prefer their cartoons over Hannah Barberra – where the same lazy drawing rolled by over and over like it was too much trouble to put any effort into drawing more than one outline of a tree or rock.

    7

Comments are closed.