If this had been painted in the 80s, it would have been a lot harder to read. Each major object (Rocks,Wall, Lockers, Furs, Benches) would have been painted harsh and clashing primary and secondary colors.

Colors straight out of the Cartoon Color cel paint tubes. - like the paintings I posted a couple days ago.
This BG uses more control to guide the eye and focus the viewer on what is important.
It uses neutral colors that subtly change hue, value and saturation -to keep it from looking dull and monochromatic.
The biggest contrasts in value and saturation are on the benches and this helps frame the bear furs and draw our attention to them.
The painting technique is very skilled, sensitive, organic and appealing too. I think it's Richard Daskas. The layout was drawn by Aaron Springer.

I think I have the layouts and maybe storyboard for this sequence. Should I post 'em?

I wanted my Yogis to have some feeling of the original 195-1960 cartoons. I didn't want them to be like the 1970s, an 80s redos where the characters try to be be with the times. No cleaning up the environment or riding skateboards - and no pink purple and lime green airbrushed bgs. I got Ed Benedict to do some of the background layouts and design and he drew them in pretty much the style he drew in the 1950s. Trying to get the painting style down was tougher.
Here's a beautiful painting - I think by Richard Daskas that is sort of half Ren and Stimpy style, half early Hanna Barbera. It wasn't until Boo Boo Runs Wild that I thought we got the finished BG style to look like the Art Lozzi/ Montealegre techniques I so admire.
Here's my key. This is from a scene that was cut from Ranger Smith's Day In The Life for time. It had RS inspecting the underwater world and making sure the fish were obeying the rules of the scummy lake bottom. Even scum has to have rules and order in Smith's world.

I found some BG color keys and one BG from a cut scene from Day in The Life of Ranger Smith if anyone wants to see them.

I don't like Tom and Jerry at all. I do like Hanna Barbera's TV cartoons from 1957 to about 1962. Really to about 1960. They are fun cartoons to eat breakfast with.They were on to a great thing for kids and then dumped everything good about it really fast.
The color and design in the early HB cartoons is pure candy.


I also like the simplicity. Simple, that is but with a method. Not simple without skill like today's simple. Modern TV is crawling with cartoons that look (and sound) like they are made by retarded 10 year olds. It seems like networks go out of their way to make cartoons amateurish and no fun. It's a complete mystery to me.This is proof that even on an extremely low budget you can at least make something fun to look at. And great voices don't cost that much either. HB certainly had those.

I loved the Jetsons as a kid because of its promise. It never quite lived up to its core elements though. HB was just too conservative to take advantage of what it had. I'll never understand it.
HB merchandise did take advantage of the style though. It was often more liberal with the designs than the studio itself.

I really liked when Dino was an African American.
I wish I could find more Dan Gordon storyboards for HB.
Someday someone will let me revive these characters. They are in my blood. I bet they would make a fortune.

Here's one of my favorite sites:

http://yowpyowp.blogspot.com/

I like it not just because its about early HB cartoons that I think it's good. It tells you lots of interesting history and behind the scenes stuff, plus he tells you about the music and shows lots of funny frame grabs:It's just what you want from a cartoon blog. Very pure.




I wish there were sites like this for WB and Fleischer. Tex Avery too. If there are, let me know. Maybe I missed them.

Here are some neat images from 2 of my favorite sites.

BARBIE'S COLORING AND ACTIVITY BOOKS

I love the look of these early HB cartoons. The BG colors in 2 Corny Crows are really clever and tasty.
Sometimes I think it's harder to pull off simple than complicated.
These layouts have everything I talk about, with just enough detail to give them organic texture.
I think I will take that superficially simple "Nowhere Bear" cartoon from the other day and compare it, creatively point by creative point to some big budget modern animated executive created leviathan. Any ideas of what movie I should use? That furry picture would be good. Or the afro-'tude-frog-princess-revert to our roots and sell more princess dolls picture? There are too many to choose from.

I'll leave out the amount of inbetweens comparison, because obviously if you have an unlimited budget you can afford as many inbetweens as you crave.

YOWP

P.S. Is there someone who lives in the San Fernando Valley who is good at the technical stuff I'm always asking about? I could trade someone a drawing and t -shirt for an hour or 2 of your time.