Arjun
07-06-2009, 02:24 PM
Let's look at the different character designs used for a Marvel character. I've noticed significant design changes over the years. We see flat lineart with a single shade of colour for some time, until the late 1980s and beyond. We see detailed and deep animation designs in the 1990s, with two tones of colour, which appear to be very difficult to animate, and may be a reason for the relatively inferior animation then. The designs that were used in the 2000's appear to be very much like those of Bruce Timm and Steven Gordon- very little detail, slightly cartoonish, but they still have the two-tone shading. What would you consider to be the best (or optimal) design?
Spider-Man:
The 1967-68 TV show had a very basic animation design, with a single tone of texture and distinct lineart. The drawing was also not the most refined then, as it got better later on.
The 1980s had better lineart, but were still very flat in appearance.
The 1990s design was possibly the best among the designs, as it had two tones of colour and was drawn quite well. There were also two different colour variants- the other had pink and purple.
I won't comment too much on the cel-shaded 2003 design, as it was a 3-D animated show, unlike all the others.
The most recent design seems to be focussed on a relatively young audience, and
is very uncomplicated, although the orange and turquoise variant isn't very nice to look at.
The latest design is possibly the best animated, though the 1990s design was used for some very good animation.
Wolverine: That first Wolverine on animation was a huge flop. Bad drawing, bad animation, dreadful voice acting, bogged it down so much that many fans didn't want to see Wolverine in the next X-Men adventure, but things got a lot better since.
The Pryde version had the brown/tan costume, the only time it has ever appeared. It had two tones of shading and a lot of detail, and was animated quite well.
The 1992 design went back to the Michigan University colours and was otherwise similar to the 1989 design, but was animated rather badly.
The 1996 design had more black patches, and also looked good, at least when still.
The 2002 design for Evo was very simplified, and almost way off the comic depiction, and used a very different costume. Later in the show, they changed it to the Ultimate Wolverine leather jacket costume, which looked realistic, but not so interesting.
The 2008-09 design for the Hulk Vs show had reverted to the famous design, while for the new show, they used his current costume from the New Avengers. The shading is two-tone, but there's a lot less detail and it is relatively flat, and not the best drawn of the designs.
The 1989 design had the best design and animation- the following designs were lacking in either aspect.
Iron Man: He's often been a guest star in most shows, and had few appearances, bar the 1960s and 1990s, and the new show.
In the 1960s, the design was copied from the Tales of Suspense comics, and carried with it a great deal of detail and shading. The animation, of course, was limited, and not too great to look at.
The next design was the typical pre-1989 design, with single-tone shading and linework. All these designs used the classic armour.
The 1990s had deeper shading with lineart, with differences that were clear between each season's design.
The design on Spider-Man was quite weird and unlike the designs used in the other (Iron Man, Hulk) shows, which used the Modular Armour.
The design shown on Avengers was quite dreadful, in shading and choice of colour, and the animation wasn't much good.
The Fantastic Four armour had the very complex Model 30 Armour, more famous as the Extremis Armour used today, and was a very elaborate design, used quite well. Possibly the best among the cel designs.
The Ultimate Iron Man suit from the DTV movie, like the suit it was based on, was quite ugly.
The current Iron Man show uses something very similar to the movie suit (Mark 3), but this is again 3-D computer animation, very different from cel animation.
Hulk:
The 1966 Hulk was straight out of the comics, like all the other designs from the Marvel Super Heroes shows by Grant Ray Lawrence- highly detailed, but not animated well.
The 1982 Hulk had a design way ahead of its time and was still animated quite well, although the other characters had flat designs.
The 1990s Hulk had the most detailed and elaborate Hulk design till date, with three tones of colour. A slightly different looking Hulk appeared in FF.
The 2006 Hulk from FF:WGH was in two tones, and had sharp, straight lines and bright colours. A similar Hulk appeared on the Hulk Vs movies and Wolverine and the X-Men.
Fantastic Four:
Hanna-Barbera first animated the Fantastic Four, and we saw decent designs used at the time, and animated quite well, but now, they look a little dull.
They still did better than those who did the first season of the 1990s Fantastic Four, who used animation designs that were flat, outdated and badly drawn, and still animated it so badly that you could see it from so far away.
The second season 1990s designs were far better, with the Thing getting a much-needed revamp and the black/blue costumes looking shiny.
The Spider-Man episode designs were drawn better, but the shading wasn't that good.
The current designs are very flashy and full of straight lines, and you have to be a fan of that style of art to love them. Spray-painting the Thing was a bad idea. They were animated quite well, though.
The best, so far, would be the 1990s Season 2 design.
Captain America: He's appeared at least once on several shows in every decade, bar the 70's, but the differences are clear.
The 1966 design was exactly the same Jack Kirby sketch from the comics, like all other GRL designs.
The 1980s design, inspired by John Romita, used the scales on the chain mail a lot more and the animation was relatively neat.
In the 1990s, we saw three different designs, all for guest slots. In Spider-Man, we had a good design, animated well, but that choice of turquoise and vermilion was questionable.
In X-Men, we saw a costume with some black patches, but one aspect made it look like Superman more than Cap, and the shading, two-tone as it was, looked shoddy and the animation was limited.
The Avengers design had very dull shading and, of course, headphones, but was good otherwise.
The Evo design was hardly seen in full colour, but looked good when it lasted, with the Evo design aspects.
The DTV movies had a different Cap, but the animation was good, the design looked good but didn't have much depth.
The perfect Cap design is a bit hard to catch, although some short segments on the Spider-Man show looked a lot better than what eventually played a regular part on the show.
Spider-Man:
The 1967-68 TV show had a very basic animation design, with a single tone of texture and distinct lineart. The drawing was also not the most refined then, as it got better later on.
The 1980s had better lineart, but were still very flat in appearance.
The 1990s design was possibly the best among the designs, as it had two tones of colour and was drawn quite well. There were also two different colour variants- the other had pink and purple.
I won't comment too much on the cel-shaded 2003 design, as it was a 3-D animated show, unlike all the others.
The most recent design seems to be focussed on a relatively young audience, and
is very uncomplicated, although the orange and turquoise variant isn't very nice to look at.
The latest design is possibly the best animated, though the 1990s design was used for some very good animation.
Wolverine: That first Wolverine on animation was a huge flop. Bad drawing, bad animation, dreadful voice acting, bogged it down so much that many fans didn't want to see Wolverine in the next X-Men adventure, but things got a lot better since.
The Pryde version had the brown/tan costume, the only time it has ever appeared. It had two tones of shading and a lot of detail, and was animated quite well.
The 1992 design went back to the Michigan University colours and was otherwise similar to the 1989 design, but was animated rather badly.
The 1996 design had more black patches, and also looked good, at least when still.
The 2002 design for Evo was very simplified, and almost way off the comic depiction, and used a very different costume. Later in the show, they changed it to the Ultimate Wolverine leather jacket costume, which looked realistic, but not so interesting.
The 2008-09 design for the Hulk Vs show had reverted to the famous design, while for the new show, they used his current costume from the New Avengers. The shading is two-tone, but there's a lot less detail and it is relatively flat, and not the best drawn of the designs.
The 1989 design had the best design and animation- the following designs were lacking in either aspect.
Iron Man: He's often been a guest star in most shows, and had few appearances, bar the 1960s and 1990s, and the new show.
In the 1960s, the design was copied from the Tales of Suspense comics, and carried with it a great deal of detail and shading. The animation, of course, was limited, and not too great to look at.
The next design was the typical pre-1989 design, with single-tone shading and linework. All these designs used the classic armour.
The 1990s had deeper shading with lineart, with differences that were clear between each season's design.
The design on Spider-Man was quite weird and unlike the designs used in the other (Iron Man, Hulk) shows, which used the Modular Armour.
The design shown on Avengers was quite dreadful, in shading and choice of colour, and the animation wasn't much good.
The Fantastic Four armour had the very complex Model 30 Armour, more famous as the Extremis Armour used today, and was a very elaborate design, used quite well. Possibly the best among the cel designs.
The Ultimate Iron Man suit from the DTV movie, like the suit it was based on, was quite ugly.
The current Iron Man show uses something very similar to the movie suit (Mark 3), but this is again 3-D computer animation, very different from cel animation.
Hulk:
The 1966 Hulk was straight out of the comics, like all the other designs from the Marvel Super Heroes shows by Grant Ray Lawrence- highly detailed, but not animated well.
The 1982 Hulk had a design way ahead of its time and was still animated quite well, although the other characters had flat designs.
The 1990s Hulk had the most detailed and elaborate Hulk design till date, with three tones of colour. A slightly different looking Hulk appeared in FF.
The 2006 Hulk from FF:WGH was in two tones, and had sharp, straight lines and bright colours. A similar Hulk appeared on the Hulk Vs movies and Wolverine and the X-Men.
Fantastic Four:
Hanna-Barbera first animated the Fantastic Four, and we saw decent designs used at the time, and animated quite well, but now, they look a little dull.
They still did better than those who did the first season of the 1990s Fantastic Four, who used animation designs that were flat, outdated and badly drawn, and still animated it so badly that you could see it from so far away.
The second season 1990s designs were far better, with the Thing getting a much-needed revamp and the black/blue costumes looking shiny.
The Spider-Man episode designs were drawn better, but the shading wasn't that good.
The current designs are very flashy and full of straight lines, and you have to be a fan of that style of art to love them. Spray-painting the Thing was a bad idea. They were animated quite well, though.
The best, so far, would be the 1990s Season 2 design.
Captain America: He's appeared at least once on several shows in every decade, bar the 70's, but the differences are clear.
The 1966 design was exactly the same Jack Kirby sketch from the comics, like all other GRL designs.
The 1980s design, inspired by John Romita, used the scales on the chain mail a lot more and the animation was relatively neat.
In the 1990s, we saw three different designs, all for guest slots. In Spider-Man, we had a good design, animated well, but that choice of turquoise and vermilion was questionable.
In X-Men, we saw a costume with some black patches, but one aspect made it look like Superman more than Cap, and the shading, two-tone as it was, looked shoddy and the animation was limited.
The Avengers design had very dull shading and, of course, headphones, but was good otherwise.
The Evo design was hardly seen in full colour, but looked good when it lasted, with the Evo design aspects.
The DTV movies had a different Cap, but the animation was good, the design looked good but didn't have much depth.
The perfect Cap design is a bit hard to catch, although some short segments on the Spider-Man show looked a lot better than what eventually played a regular part on the show.