However, there weremanytimes after that when Chuck would see the story possibilities in one of our designs and weave it back into the story. On Another Froggy Evening(1995) we were working on a caveman sequence andmade a simple painting of Stonehenge as a joke. Chuck took the drawing and built a smallsequence around it in hischaracter layouts. This inspired a coliseumin a Roman sequence, and threads of the idea found their way throughout the film. In this way we found thatsometimes one drawing could influence the way a story wastold. Themore visual ideas we put down, the greater impact our design would have on the story. This exchange of ideas, as Maurice taught, was part of our job, and a healthy part of the story process. Noble admitted that this back-and-forthmethod of working took a bitmore time than working directlyfroma script. But I thinkmost would agree that the results are farmore satisfying than simplyillustrating a soundtrack.He toldme, “There is a reason why people still watch ‘the golden oldies’ again and again decades after they were created yetcan’t remember what they were watching on TV the previous week.” I asked Maurice shortly before he died if there were any other reasons he felt the old films were better thanmost of themodern stuff.He replied: There is more talent working in the industry now than ever before, but sadly the vast majority won’t have the opportunity to work on really good creative stories. The problem isn’t always the type of stories being told; it’s more in the way these stories are being told and developed. There is no room for visual exploration. There is no time for thought and craftsmanship. There isn’t the chance for crews to build trust and synergy.” To me it has always made more sense to create films that people want to see over and over than something cheap that people will see once and forget. If the studios would think a little more about quality visual storytelling rather than the fast buck, they would make far more money in the long run. Maurice’s philosophy of filmmaking—and life—issummed up well in a quote fromthe philosopher WilliamJamesthat wasfound among histhings after his passing: “The great use of life isto spend it forsomething that outlastsit.”
Maurice idea notes from Fantasia. Maurice would start with lists of ideas, then expand on the best ideas visually.
Exploratory thumbnails from What’s Opera, Doc? Keeping visual ideas rough allowed Maurice to explore a variety of approaches quickly.
Notes from Maurice to Chuck Jones on the title sequence of Boyhood Daze (1957) and Maurice’s ideas implemented in the final film. Many times Maurice’s visual gags and staging ideas were incorporated into the films, such as this spider idea for Claws for Alarm (1954), and many times they weren’t. Here Maurice suggests a Jeep and a sports car, but in the end it remains a jalopy.
Gag drawings from Claws for Alarm (1954). Maurice probably made a dozen sketches or more of “ghost gags,” most of which never made it past the sketch stage but may have led to other ideas.
STEP 03: Breaking Down the Elements Lightning from What’s Opera, Doc? (1957). Special effects shouldn’t be forgotten in the design process.
Even elements such as these noise makers from Horton Hears a Who! (1970) must be designed to fit in with the overall style of the film. STORY BEATS The nextstep in Maurice’s process wasto examine the board, or outline, and break down the storyinto smaller partscalled storybeats(or story moments or sequences, all of which he used interchangeably). Story beats are normallythemore importantmoments of a story, reflecting large changesin setting,mood, or emotion.Differentstories will have a different number ofstory beats, butmoststories will at least have a beginning,middle,climax, and end. Thisis a good place to start thinking aboutyour design. You probably won’t want to give the opening of a filmthe same color,value, or design treatment asthe love sequence, climax, etc. But in writing all themajorstory beats down, it will be easier to organize your thoughts and will help directyour research. Keep inmind,storiesin development are in a constantstate of flux, and story beatsmay change as a result. Thisis all just a normal part of a healthystory process, or rather, should be a normal part of the process. It wasn’t entirely uncommon for Maurice to have a sequence he had been developing suddenlycut froma film. STORY ELEMENTS Maurice would then break hisstory beats down further into what he called an elements list:
Once I have gone through the story material and talked things over with the director, I begin making written notes about the different elements, locations, and environments that I will be designing. Yes, I actually write these notes down. The amount of design that often needs to be done on a picture can be staggering. It’s easy for things to fall through the cracks. Your list will grow and change as the film develops. Maurice added that everyfilmwill have different needs. But themore specificyou can be with your elements, the better.Here are some thoughts he shared withme: Location: Where isthe storytaking place: an English castle? A New York deli? Outer space? Reallythink about the detailsthat willmake a place feel unique. Themore specific you can be, the easier it will be to research and design your picture. If the location is generic, isthere a wayyou can set it in amore unique and specificlocation? Challenge yourself bymaking a location youmay have seenmillions of times different and special. Time: Are you designing a period piece? If the storyisn’tspecific about a period,could it be set in a different time? Perhapsitcouldmake the storyfun andmore interesting: the more specificyou can be, themore fun it will be to research and design. Audiencesreally appreciate those little touches, and it will reallymake your work stand out. Time of Day: If the script isn’tspecific, time of daycan help push themood of the story. Amoonlightstrollcan bemore romanticthan one at 2 P.M. A battle atsunsetcan bemore dramaticthan one at10 A.M. List down time ideas, and see how they work into the overall story. Special Sequences: Are there sequencesthat need specialconsideration? Isthere a musicalsequence? A dreamsequence? Are there flashbacksthat need a different design treatment? Title cards or a title sequence thatmay also need special attention? Notate these earlyin the design process; theymaytake extra time.
Much like when meeting a person for the first time, titles are important because they are the first impression an audience will have of a film. They should entice the viewer and in some way give a taste of what is to come. This is one reason Maurice often began a project by experimenting with its titles.
Well-designed effects will support the mood of the story. Such as these concepts from the opening of Horton Hears a Who. Props: Props are any elements, other than the characters, that will be animated. Will the character be interacting with anyspecific elements? Such as, will the charactermake the flowers wilt with his odor? Or, what kind of anvil will drop on ourcharacter’s head? The more specificyou can be, the easier it will be to keep track of the elementsyou will need to design. The animators will need to work with these elements as well,so it’s good to keep themin the loop. See if they have ideas and suggestions. I’ve seenmanyfilms where the animators designed the propsthemselves;most of the time these elements didn’t fit in with the overall world and surroundings of the film. I’ve also seen filmsthat were well designed, but the designer really didn’t understand the needs of the animation. The elementslooked good—until they had tomove. Alwaysremember, animation is a collaborative art form. There is no roomfor ego; design supportsthe characters and story, not the other way around. Mood: Break the story down into basicmoods and emotions. Mood is directlyrelated to story and will affectmany of the artistic decisionsyoumake. Your designmustsupport the mood and emotion of each scene. When you write these down, it helpsyou focus on the overall filmand letsyou plan how you will transition fromonemood, orsection of the film, to another. Are you designing a satire, a serious drama, or both? There really are such things asfunny and seriousshapes and colorcombinations. Tryto keep all these inmind throughout the design process.
Gags: While writing isn’tyourmain focus as a designer, ifyou getsome funnyvisual ideas while researching, write themdown! Ifyou have time, do some loose scribblesto show the director. Justmake sure you getyour design work done first! Maurice would start each picture with a simple list, which would informand direct his research. Fromthere, he would writemore lists aboutspecificsections of the film, grouping related beatsinto sequences. Eventuallythese lists would be culled, then turned into drawings. Effects such as wind, rain, and smoke should be considered early in the design process. Here, Maurice explores some scenes from What’s Opera, Doc?
Maurice in the process of having sweaty fun.
STEP 04: Research and Inspiration An inspirational sketch from Horton Hears a Who.
Maurice would collect folders of interesting images which he would later use for inspiration and reference. USING REFERENCE Most of our earlyresearch with Chuck Jonesconsisted of watching classicJones/Noble
Most of our earlyresearch with Chuck Jonesconsisted of watching classicJones/Noble cartoons and printing out our favorite designs. It was a wonderful three days. When Maurice saw all his designs plastered up inmy work area, he asked, “What domy designs have to do with the storyyou are working on now?” And ofcourse he wasright. I was thinking aboutstyle and not about what wasmost appropriate formystory. Mauricemade it clear that he wanted to pass along his approach but didn’t want ustomimic himor his past work.He explained: Be careful not to reference other animated films or animation artists when designing. This is a problem I see with many animation artists. I will lecture and visit various studios and will see stills of films I’ve designed pinned up on the wall. I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked to critique a designer’s work and thought, “Gee, this is something that sort of looks like something I’ve designed.” Or “Oh, that’s an Eyvind Earle tree.” Or, “that looks like Mary Blair.” While looking at animation art that you love is fine for inspiration, and is a great way to learn, it is very difficult to come up with fresh and new design ideas this way. You have to find your own voice as a designer. Finding your own voice isinfinitely harder thanmimicking a great artist. Thisisthe real difference between a designer and a stylist. Noble Boy Lou Romano struggled with finding his own voice as a young artist and reflects on what Maurice taught him: Maurice was a great mentor. He was always encouraging and thoughtful. But he also had a mischievous sense of humor that was infectious. He was very down to earth and seemed to teach without teaching. As time goes by the things I learned from him in the short time I knew him have had a deeper resonance for me. I was always impressed with his enthusiasm and level of energy. He taught me that maintaining a curiosity for life and new ideas was key. This is what kept him young and productive. I think by “curious” he also meant being curious about your own ideas and your point of view. I did a drawing once, which I had labored over to get the style just so. I was pleased with it and showed it to Maurice, who seemed a little frustrated by it. “Lad, everybody is drawing like this,” he told me. “I want to see you draw the way you see things.” His teaching was never a demand. He would gently but purposefully nudge you in a certain direction. It really made you think and go deeper. “What does the world look like through my eyes?”
This is the single most important thing he impressed upon me. I think he was always asking himself this question. The personal work he did during his time away from animation is proof of this. It is still inspired and bold, but perhaps more sensitive and introspective. He was always reaching for more and growing as an artist. With regards to those later pieces, I remember Maurice saying he had never done printmaking but wanted to try it. What may have started as an experiment became a medium he mastered. Apart from his talent and experience I think this was due to the fact that he had complete confidence in drawing the world the way he saw it. In support of thisconcept, director PeteDocter was attempting to bring a fresh, graphic look to hisfilmMonsters, Inc.(2001) and brought Maurice in as a consultant. Many of us at Pixar are huge fans of Maurice’s work. He clearly recognized the strength of the hand-drawn medium is in its two-dimensional, graphic nature. Rather than fight this, he embraced it and pushed the work to be even more graphic and bold. It made perfect sense and was such a beautiful use of the medium.
Maurice’s love of light at texture is apparent in his personal photo work. The magic is in the details. These weren’t meant to be great pieces of art to be displayed; rather they were his attempts to capture a moment or feeling. He would often file his favorite photos away with the idea of revisiting some details during research at a later date.
Watercolors were part of Maurice’s life even before he became involved in animation. Many of his graphic film ideas were literally drawn from life, often coming from direct observation, then skewed through the Noble filter. I remember when Maurice came up to visit us at Pixar, we had all these framed printouts fromhis work at Warner Bros. hanging on the walls, and we pressed Maurice asto how we could getmore of that great two-dimensional graphic design into what we do. Maurice looked at usfunny and told us. . . we shouldn’t. We are doing 3-D, and that was 2-D. You have to design to the strength of themedium. That reallyimpressedme, because even after a lifetime of pushing design in a strong, particular direction, Maurice thought like a designer, not a stylist.He saw instantly what wasrequired for the situation and was willing to reinvent everything and approach the design froma completely different way. Even so, we’ve learned a lot from studying Maurice’s work, and at a very basic level we try to approach our films in the same way Maurice did: by caricaturing, not just reproducing. In the same way the great caricature artist Al Hirschfeld found ways to make a few lines look more like a particular person than a photograph does, Maurice found ways to make a snow-peaked mountain or the landscape of the American Southwest feel more like those places than they really do in person. That’s what we really want from animation: a distillation of the truth, with all the irrelevant parts removed; a kind of visual reduction sauce. It’s the strength of animation as a medium, and it’s what Maurice Noble did so well.
Maurice suggested that the best wayto bring originality and sincerityto your work isto reallylook at the world around you.He challengedme to expandmylife experiences beyond the edges of the TV screen: Look to life and nature for inspiration. Draw (literally) from your experiences. Travel, read, visit museums, study the art of other cultures. Get a little beyond your comfort zone. Look at artists who aren’t involved in animation. Your designs are really just an extension of yourself. Keep building on the design resource library in your head. Make it a point to explore life, gain new experiences, and see new places. If you have the same influences, teachers, and experiences as everyone else, it will be difficult to make your designs really stand out. It is important to know what is being done, and has been done, but to be truly innovative you have to look beyond that. The world of Horton Hears a Who! was inspired in part by Maurice’s many trips to Hawaii. Maurice then went on to explain that he cleaned his desk at the start of every picture, never referencing designsfrompreviousfilms, even if those designs had worked well. You would never find any graphicinspirations hung up in his work area. The only art he would ever have over his desk were working drawingsfromthe filmat hand. Ashamed, Icleanedmy desk, and Maurice proceeded to outline his approach to design research: Once I have made my notes, and feel I know the story and characters fairly well, I begin researching the picture. I will spend a few days (or however long it takes) going through my reference: books, films, magazines, and whatever else I find useful. At this stage I don’t begin drawing. I look at my research and try to soak in as much information as I can, making mental notes. When turning natural things into designs, pick the most outstanding characteristic of what it is you are designing. For
example, if I’m designing a French chair for a Pepé Le Pew cartoon, I may note, “swooping, curved legs, high arched back,” then later use this general mental impression to guide my final designs. I suggest putting all your research materials away once you start designing and never refer to them again. This may prove difficult at first. But I’ve found that if you are tied too closely to your reference, your designs will tend to look stiff. You will miss out on many fun design opportunities. Maurice would collect imagesthat he liked in small folders. Some of the images would be magazine articles ormuseumcatalogs, whatever happened tomove him. Sometimes he would flip through these foldersfor inspiration during the research phase. In a 1971interview with Joe Adamson, Maurice discussed the influence art reference had on him: I’d be influenced indirectly, put it that way: Giotto, some of the early Italians, Chinese and Japanese art, Persian miniatures and their beautiful design and color. My tastes gravitate to this. You can see a certain relationship there, because most of these things are pattern things. I wouldn’t say I deliberately sat down and decided that this ought to have a little smattering of Corot, or that should be a little bit like van Gogh. I know there are certain designers that will do this, and you can always see it come through. But I think I can honestly say that I design for the demands of the medium. One of the keysto Maurice’sresearchmethod was his amazing visualmemory. Over the years he had built a huge pictorial libraryin his head bytraining hismind to recall unique details of objects and places around him.He encouraged usto do the same. Maurice imparted that one of the best waysto develop visualmemory and hone observation skillsis to draw. Themain focus of this exercise isn’t about developing good draughtsmanship. In thiscase, what drawing really doesisforcesyou to observe an object or place in waysyou normally wouldn’t. Maurice challengedme to find unique characteristicsin everyday objects and places aroundme that Imay have never noticed before. One of Maurice’sformer instructors, Millard Sheets, taught: You must carry a sketchbook with you all the time, and unless you make one drawing a day—not for the sake of a drawing, but to learn something about something you didn’t know about (there isn’t a house, there isn’t a place in the
world that doesn’t have something that you ought to investigate)—you aren’t being true to yourself. Maurice added that, when observing fromlife,many of the unique properties of an object or placemay not be physical; theycould be emotional.He explained: You can’t draw a forest really well unless you have been in one. When I design, I’m not so interested in showing what a forest “looks” like; I’m more interested in showing what a forest “feels” like. That’s almost impossible to do if you have never been in one. If you can capture the feeling of a place, this will give your work a very unique quality. I tend to design from what I know. Subjects I’m not as familiar with, I try to explore. When your designs are based on what you know, and have experienced, it gives your work much more substance. I call this “stepping into the picture.”
Inspiration from the Kimberly Crest Mansion found its way into a number of Maurice’s films, including What’s Opera, Doc?
Here’s a brief look at where Maurice drew inspiration fromfor a few of his best known films: What’s Opera, Doc? (1957) The designmotifsforWhat’s Opera, Doc? were inspired in part bythe Kimberly Crest mansion in Redlands, California. Maurice spent part of hischildhood in Redlands and had admired the gardens as a boy. The Kimberly Crestmotif found its wayinto a number of Maurice’s designs, including the “Dance of theHours” sequence of Fantasia. More inspiration can be found in one of Maurice’sfavorite films, Frank Capra’s Lost Horizon (1937). Ifyou watch the filmcarefully,you willsee a number ofvisual ideasthat Maurice brought into his own filmwork, includingWhat’s Opera, Doc? and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Robin Hood Daffy (1958) The forest in Robin Hood Daf y wasinspired bytrees and parksin the area of Los Angeles where Maurice lived and worked. The satirical themes of the filmwere pushed even further by Maurice’ssaturated palette, and the use of rubberstampsfor leaves, flowers, and grass. Some of these same parks had found their wayinto Bambi.
Forest inspiration. Maurice was more concerned about capturing the “feeling” of a place he was inspired by than being accurate about representing it physically.
Castle Rock from the Carol M. Highsmith collection at the Library of Congress.
A Maurice painting of Monument Valley’s Castle Rock. Maurice reference photos from Descanso Gardens, one of Maurice’s favorite haunts since he was a teenager. The gardens inspired many of his professional and personal projects through the years. The Road Runner Series (Jones/Noble 1953–1994)
The Road Runner is perhapsthemost iconic of Maurice’s work,simply because there were somanyfilmsmade. Maurice had a lifelong love affair with the American Southwest and spentmanyyears of hisyouth in New Mexico. Throughout hiscareer Maurice would brave the heat to paint in placeslike Monument Valley and Arches National Park.He proudly claimed to be the third “whiteman” to traverse the Grand Canyon fromrimto rim, on foot, with no water, in a day.How he knew this, I have no idea, but itmade a good story. Bryce Canyon tunnel caricaturized in To Beep or Not to Beep (1963). Photo by Bang-On Phothi-In.
Falling at the Feet, Kangra 1810–1815
If you look closely, you will find folk art influenced design throughout Maurice’s work. On the top a Maurice flower study, on the bottom, a Chinese paper cut. Maurice’s home was virtually a museum of Asian art, and it had a great influence on his own work . . . if even in an indirect way.
Persian and Indian miniatures influenced Maurice’s use of space in Broomstick Bunny.
STEP 05: Design A final Phil DeGuard background from Ali Baba Bunny.
Each of these thumbnails is the result of several pages of rough sketches. Maurice worked very hard to explore a location deeply. Once we had pondered our limitations, familiarized ourselves with our stories, and gotten a heavy dose of research under our belt, we were excited to jump into design. Maurice reminded us that as we moved into our thumbnails (small, quick drawings that provide a blueprint for the scene) we should always keep two things in mind. He said, “A film designer’s job in animation consists of basically two things: (1) supporting the story through design and (2) staging the characters. THUMBNAILS As a trainee, itseemsI was almost alwaysmoving too quicklyinto what I thought were final designs. Maurice wasconstantly urgingme to givemore time to developingmyideas, and encouragedme to work in a waythatmade the best use of thistime. Using the elementslist as a guide, Maurice suggested putting down asmany written and thumbnail ideas asIcould while the reference wasstill fresh inmymind.He elaborated on thisforme:
The best designers make certain they are on sure footing before settling on any one staging idea. Many inexperienced artists skip thumbnailing altogether, or make two or three small roughs. And it shows! No amount of great color or paint technique will improve a lousy composition. He paused, and then gaveme a kick in the shin tomake sure I remembered thislesson. Starting rough and not getting specific too early will allow you to keep your design ideas flexible. Many designers I’ve worked with are tempted to try making beautiful, finished pieces of art right away. But by doing this, they are really limiting the number of design ideas they can quickly explore before deciding the direction the picture will take. You wouldn’t start a marble sculpture by working out the small details; film design is the same way. The amount of time you get to develop a project is limited. The more ideas and work you have, the more design possibilities you will have to choose from. Under the threat of further pain Icame to understand that the earlythumbnailstage is all about exploring asmanyideas as possible quickly. Thismeant that at the beginning of his process, Maurice would often spend asmuch time writing down possible design, gag, and staging ideas as he did sketching. The faster he could put down ideas, the faster he could eliminate stinkers.He explained that often it’smuch faster to write down a visual idea,such as “snowymountain peaks with green valley” than to actually draw it. If one of these ideas struck a chord, hemight then explore itvisuallyin thumbnail form. Many of Maurice’s earlythumbnail drawings were a sort ofshorthand about a particular concept that he could call upon later. In themargins of histhumbnails Maurice often notated possible gags,staging ideas, and additional avenues a conceptmight take. Many times he would write a note reminding himself what the thumbnail drawing itself was about. Maurice continued to explain his process: When I first start working out ideas for a picture, many of my first sketches aren’t staging anything. But I always keep the story and possible animation setups in mind. At this point I’m more interested in experimenting with shape, pattern, and size relationships, trying to get something that looks exciting, unusual, and fun.
Thumbnail sketches for the Nutcracker Suite of Fantasia (1940). Maurice added that whenmaking thumbnails at this earlystage, not to worry about detail, rather think in simple shapes and broad strokes. Working small and simply helps clarity. Ifyour thumbnails don’t work small, they aren’t going to work blown up on a film screen. Some of Maurice’s earlyshape explorationmight include veryrough loose color ideas. These would have been used as a sort of proof ofconcept to himself and Chuck Jones before taking the designsfurther. But as Maurice gotmore specific with staging, he would almost always work in black and white. Be careful thatyou don’t getcaught up in the trap of focusing on color at this point. Kick yourself in the shin and think of Maurice. Color will come later. Once a general approach for pattern and shape language had been found, Maurice would narrow hisrough sketches down to the ones he thought worked best. Then, using these, he would begin exploring angles and staging setupsforspecificstorymoments, often creating numerous pages of tighter thumbnails based on one rough idea, and continuing to sketch until he felt he had fully explored the beststaging possibilities.He once said, “I usuallytryto explore each story point inmany different ways. Rarelyisyour firststaging idea going to be your best.”
Exploratory drawings from Bambi. Maurice would explore a story moment from many different angles until he found something that worked.
WORKING IN THE CORRECT ASPECT RATIO It wascrucial to Maurice that hissketches were at the same aspect ratio asthe final film frame, even in the earlythumbnailstage.He taught: Keep your sketches to the same proportion of the final film. Just as a fine art painter uses a canvas to paint his work, a film designer uses the screen. Many times what seems like a good idea in sketch form falls apart when you try to put it into the proper field proportion; it will also save time. Occasionally a good thumbnail sketch can be blown up and cleaned up for a working layout. And sometimes an exploratory sketch can be worked directly back into the storyboard. To make things easier during the feverish passion of drawing, Maurice created his own set of cardboard templates at various sizes that he could trace off quickly. These were based on his animation field guide (also known as a field chart or graticule and widely available commercially today). Even when working digitally, make sure you are working to the correct aspect ratio. It will save you a lot of pain and heartache over the course of a film.
Maurice would often pre-visualize a setting by writing about it, such as this descriptive write-up for Crawford, a project in development at MGM/Tower 12 in the 1960s.
To Hare Is Human (1956). Home sweet hole. SUPPORTING THE CHARACTERS It’s easyto getcaught up in the scribbles. When thumbnailing, it’simportant to pause from time to time and examine ifyour designs are stillsupporting the story and characters. Usually,character designs are set bythe time the environments are being developed. It’s important thatyour thumbnails and general design approach supportsthese designs. Maurice explained: The styling of the film, backgrounds, props, etc. must be appropriate to the character design. Normally you wouldn’t want to design a complex, realistic environment for highly stylized, flat, cartoony characters, and vice versa. Every character and element should feel like it lives in the same world. At Warner Bros., I felt that the background styling should have the same treatment as the characters. So we began painting flatter, more graphic backgrounds with cel-paint. The celpaint we used on the backgrounds was the same cel-paint that we used on the characters. It just seemed to make sense to me and tied everything together nicely. Disney was going for a softer, more realistic treatment at the time. This type of art direction would not have worked as well there. Background and layout design is in many cases like a cartoon character, a caricature of reality. How much does Daffy really look like a duck? Or Bugs really look like a bunny? Don’t be afraid to use the same sort of logic in your layout design. Of course, the amount of caricaturization you use in design will depend on your story.
To Maurice, it wasn’t enough to support the waythe characterslooked.He emphasized developing ideasthat reflected the unique personalities of the charactersthat would populate the worlds he created. An example Maurice often gave was his design approach to Bugs Bunny’s home: As you find a good direction with your thumbnail sketches, step back and see if they really fit the story and character you are designing to. Many times when I would begin designing a film, I would look at my sketches and ask myself, “Would Bugs feast on carrots in a place such as this?” If not, then I would need to rethink the world I was creating for the character. Maurice’s designs of Bugs Bunny’s home describe Bugs’s personality perfectly. The backgrounds not only expose Bugs’scarrot addiction but also reveal hissimple yet refined tastes. Earthen walls, wooden furniture, and naturalmaterials disclose Bugs’s practical, honest, down-to-earth nature. The subtle contrast of hismodern art and good books expose that he’sintellectual and cultured, without punching you in the face. None of these details were in the storyboards but go a long wayto tellyou about the character and bring a depth and realityto the environment. Maurice worked hard tomake his environmentsfeel lived in; this brought a certain richness and depth to his work thatmany other layout designslacked. In 2000, he gave a few pointersto director/producerDave Thomas aboutcreating interest and bringing out unique detailsin the environments he created: • Never be generic; be specific. • Look for the imperfections and flawsthatmake a thing unique. •Dent and ruin things! • Start with reality—thenmake itcockeyed. This addscharacter. For example, on a trash can,skew the lid, break the handle off, give it overstuffed garbage bags. • Make your world look “lived in.” Add everyday objects, trash in the street, patchesin the curtains, a nailcoming up froma floorboard. • Look for a variety ofshapes,make it interesting—nothing pristine. • Add shadowscast fromoff-screen, etc. There is an entire world outside the boxthatyou are designing that the audience can’tsee. • Look for natural forms and silhouettesin nature, the “edge” of a bush or tree. The silhouette of amaple tree is different than that of a pine tree, etc.
• Show the backs and sides of things. For example flowersin a vase:show the sides, backs, and fronts of the flowers. SWEATY FUN Chuck Jones worked with a number of talented designersthroughout hiscareer, but he alwaysmaintained that Maurice was hisfavorite. Technically, Maurice wasn’t anymore skilled thanmany of hiscontemporaries, but what Maurice brought to his designsthatmost of hiscontemporaries didn’t was a cornballsense of humor and a sense of fun. Many artists working in the 1950screated good designs; Maurice created designsin his distinctive style that would alsomake you laugh. Audiencesremember Maurice’s work because he created iconic details,such asthe trees on Planet X, that don’t feel forced, for the reason that they fitso naturally with what Chuck Jones wastrying to do with the characters. Behind the bow tie and façade of the grandmaster of the short film, Chuck Jones was a quirky dude, with a biting,surrealisticsense of humor. In Maurice, he had found a designer that complemented and enhanced his own satirical take on animation. All thisis part of Maurice’s design approach that he called “sweatyfun.”Don’t worry, parents,you can still read thissection to yourchildren before bed at night. In the simplest terms, “sweatyfun”meansit takes a heck of a lot of work to inject humor and the element of fun into a design. Maurice described it this way: People often don’t realize how hard you have to work to make something look fun and interesting. I used to sweat blood sometimes just to get a setup to look right. It’s not enough to make a design function; it must push mood, emotion, and storytelling. Making something look fun is one of the most difficult things you can do, but the audience will really appreciate it. If you are designing a comedy or satire, don’t be afraid to be ridiculous with your shapes and forms. If it makes you laugh, it will probably make the audience laugh too. Maurice went on to saythat all animation design, including dramas,should contain humor and an element of fun. Though humor is a keyto Maurice’s approach, it only describes part of this philosophy of “fun.” In this, Maurice is also discussing a deepersort of intangible joythatsets his work apart. It’sthe examination of a story,moment, or place and infusing a bit of himself and his own experiencesinto the work, taking it to another plane. Sweatyfun is an element of design that atmanylevels onlycomesfroman artist’s soul when they dig really deep, a sort ofsincerity and vulnerabilitythat bubblesto the surface when an artistmust look into him-or herself. Itmaysound hokey, but Maurice and
I discussed it numeroustimes. That, balanced with technicalskill and intellect, gives something unique to a design. “Sweatyfun” is kind of a cornytermfor a design philosophy, butyou would expect nothing lessfrom Maurice. THUMBNAILS TO WORKING DRAWINGS After exploring a story point thoroughly, Maurice would go through hisstack of thumbnails and select a few that he felt held promise. These would be enlarged and developed further, focusingmore on composition and value (the play of light and dark in a composition). He would then take one of his enlarged thumbnails and copythe rough linework of the composition onto another piece of paper. Then using thisline art he would often create half a dozen black-and-white value studies, usingmarkers, ink, and pencil, until he found something he felt he wanted to take further in color.He could often be in thisstep of the design processfor days, until he found just the right play ofvalues. In themid-1990s, Maurice was experimenting with value sketches on a filmfor Warner Bros. Feature Animation. Istopped by his desk; Maurice was hunched over hislight table, tracing off a rough line environmental drawing onto a new piece of paper in pencil. Using thiscopy he would experiment with value and perhapscolor. Fromthe pile ofsketches scattered around histable, Icould see that he had copied thislayout at least a dozen times. Hoping to uncoversome hidden design secret, I asked, “Istracing the original drawing better than photocopying it?”He stopped suddenly, and looked up with a strange expression. Then he suddenly hit himself in the head and exclaimed, “No!” Apparently he had been using thismethod at the studio formonths, with a photocopymachine just down the hall. Fromthen on he was able to nearly double his output.
Before jumping into color, Maurice would figure out his values during the clean-up process.
VALUE One of themost potent weaponsin Maurice’s design arsenal was his unerring sense of value.He toldme, “A lot of attention is given to color, and while ofcourse color isvery important, inmy opinion, value is evenmore important. Ifyourcomposition is working in value,you can use almost anycolor and it will work reasonably well. Good color will be icing on the cake.” Thismight be simplifying things a bit because, ofcourse,color was a crucial part of Maurice’s design approach. But he also wanted to stressthe significance ofvalue to a young crew chomping at the bit to jump into color. Maurice observed thatmost inexperienced designerstend to do exactlythat. Maurice usuallythought ofvalue as either tints orshades.He broke themdown this way: Value Scale Tints: Tints are created when white is added to a base color. White High light Light Low Light Middle Value: Often, but not always, the pure base color of the paint. Shades: Shades are created when black is added to a base color. High Dark
Dark Low Dark Black One of the first things Maurice pointed out aboutvalue isthe fact that the eye is naturally guided to the area of highestcontrast, the area of darkest dark against lightest light, in a composition. As designers we can use thisfact tomake charactersread (are visible to the audience), even in a complex background setup. Here are a few simple examplestomake this pointclear: No Focus (above left): All values fall within a very small range, thus the eye isn’t attracted to any particular area of the picture plane. This isn’t always a bad thing. But there should be a reason story-wise for not having focus. Split Focus (above center): Many inexperienced designers make the mistake of having too many areas of focus competing for the eyes’ attention. This greatly weakens any design statement they might have. Strong Focus (above right): There is no question about where the eye should look. This is a dramatic, high-contrast example, to make the point clear. A designer might be able to add several other minor focal points into the background for added interest and depth. These focal points should never be of equal value or fight for attention. Reduce the contrast in these areas if the focus of a composition becomes muddled.
Here are a few more not-so-subtle Maurice examples; the eye goes exactly where it is supposed to. If you squint, you will be able to see how he used contrasts to really focus the composition.
Monochrome filter tests.