Maybe I'm being a bit nitpickey...

[Jack]

There was always something about cartoonnetwork.com's publicity art for Tom and Jerry that just didn't look right. Not just a little "not right," but a medium sized "not right." They don't use colored lines on the characters! Why is that? Having a big black outline around every detail makes these pictures of Tom and Jerry look fussy, especially the smaller pictures.

I've also noticed this on a lot of recent Looney Tunes art, but it isn't as distracting because the WB characters usually didn't have that much colored line detail, and they've been doing it for years, so I'm used to it (are there any classic WB shorts where Bugs has a black outline around his white belly?)

Anyone else bugged by this?


Jack :D

[pencilsharp]

Oh, silly Jack, everything bugs me, especially this time of year...
I can think of three possible reasons for those fershlugginer outlines. First, the animators in Korea or China or wherever probably need those lines to tell when to stop coloring. They're not being paid next-to-nothin' for paying attention, eh? Second, the artists at CN either never noticed themselves or just didn't care. Third, could Hanna and Barbera have had the cels painted on the OUTSIDE, meaning that the colors overlapped their black outlines?
Course, that's my opinion; that means it's wrong.
:cool: ~pS~

[Jack]

Originally posted by pencilsharp
Oh, silly Jack, everything bugs me, especially this time of year...
I can think of three possible reasons for those fershlugginer outlines. First, the animators in Korea or China or wherever probably need those lines to tell when to stop coloring. They're not being paid next-to-nothin' for paying attention, eh? Second, the artists at CN either never noticed themselves or just didn't care. Third, could Hanna and Barbera have had the cels painted on the OUTSIDE, meaning that the colors overlapped their black outlines?
Course, that's my opinion; that means it's wrong.
:cool: ~pS~
My undertsanding of colored lines is that they are drawn in just like black lines would be when the characters are animated by the animators (the models sheets also inclue these areas). Then when they are put on cells, the ink and paint people would outline those particular areas in colored inks or deluted paints. After that, they just fill in the colors on the opposide side. Here's a *really* good example of colored lines:

http://hometown.aol.com/raulgarci/myhomepage/texenglish.htm

Just scroll down until you see the cell from "Symphony In Slang." Apparently they never painted the backside of this one. Maybe it was a guide or practice piece for the ink and paint department.

There's also a hand inked cel from "Droopy's Double Trouble." It shows a mix of back lines (for the characters) and colored lines (for the details on the suitcases).


Jack :D