CARTOON ORIGINS CARTOON ORIGINS Early cartoon animation was

CARTOON ORIGINS

CARTOON ORIGINS Early cartoon animation was simply “line” animation (line on paper) Recall our earlier screenings We’ll see how this evolved into cel animation with multiple layers Theater Optique , 1892, Emile Reynauld We’ll concentrate on character-based cartoon animation Cel Animation Humorous phases of funny faces, 1906 , J Stuart Blackton The first animated film but does not tell a true story Patented in 1915 by Earl Hurd and John Bray, Cel (celluloid), sheet of clear plastic Elements traced onto clear plastic from line drawings Fantasmagorie, Emile Cohl, 1908, Consider to be the first fully animated film ever made. Outline of element traced on front Paint applied to back (to eliminate visibility of brushstrokes) Sometimes large black areas were painted on front to reduce glare Placed over background Documentaries on the Animation process Making of a Popeye Cartoon, (Popeye Original Classics, Bonus Features), 1938 How Cartoons are made (Snow White Platinum edition, disc 2), 1938 Chuck Jones, Scene Selections (Animation Process)

WINSOR MCCAY Winsor Mc. Cay: 1867 -1934 Gertie the Dinosaur, 1914 Probably most significant film of silent era “The two most important people in animation are Winsor Mc. Cay and Walt Disney” – Chuck Jones First character with fully realized personality Enthralled audiences, top theater event of 1913 -14 One of the most popular and considered, by many, one of the best early cartoon animators Famous newspaper cartoonist Background wiggles and shimmers from paper (“cel” had not yet been invented Sinking of the Lusitania, 1918 Little Nemo, 1911 The sinking so moved Mc. Cay, he created this film First work exhibiting a profound improvement in quality (compared to Humorous phases, Fantasmagorie) Most advanced film to date, cel process being used Realistic drawn human figures Early use of animation to convey a more serious matter Believable movement Color animation before a time color film was invented Each frame was meticulously hand painted with dyes Served as inspiration for future animators Provided for background paintings to have different shades Remembering Winsor Mc. Cay (documentary – Winsor Mc. Cay, the master edition)

CARTOONS ORIGINS CONT. Animators began looking to comic strips for inspiration (Krazy Kat, Mutt and Jeff, Little Nemo) Early animations resembled comic books (dialogue in overhead balloons) Screenings Krazy Kat Goes a Wooing, 1916 , George Herriman/ Leon Searl Mutt and Jeff in the Flood, 1918, Bud Fisher/ Raoul Barre, Charles Bower Captain Grogg among Strange Animals, 1920 , Victor Bergdahl Animation from Sweden Sophisticated drawing style not seen since Mc. Cay Did not use cels, redrew background, moved it and even animated in perspective Pencil shading for motion blur