Tex Avery - Les Dessins

 

I got this book after graduation and while I was flipping through the pages, it felt like I was living in an alternate place.

These drawings look so polished like I own them or something.

My favorite era of the Tex Avery cartoons in particular were from the early 1940s, very well-drawn but also behind it had some of the best gags, slapstick and energy.

Tex Avery's cartoons mainly focused on what was believed to be in a cartoon rather than going for realism. So he came up with these ideas that wouldn't work well in live action. I personally like realism a bit more than believabilty because it can give us a deeper perspective of one's character and motive but I do say, I am mixed. I also do like this style of humor as well.

Tex is a very influential animation director. I respect his work and I used his cartoons for inspiration sometimes, even with the likes of Preston Blair who worked on such shorts like Screwball Squirrel and Red Hot Riding Hood. 

One time, I enjoyed the Red scenes the best because of the movement and the songs were catchy and upbeat to listen to.

I have talked about his cartoons in the past before, but one cartoon that stood out above the rest was Slap Happy Lion (1947) most prominently the opening scene of the lion roaring and the scene starts to shake.

The mouse has some of the most underrated movements I seen in a Tex Avery short. He's super cute too. He definitely has a different distinctive look than the lion does and I like that.

I'm a very curious person and I like to look into concept art from these cartoons. Even behind the scenes, I can allow a few chuckles. This was taken from a model sheet. Lil' Tinker (1948) 

It dates back on June 5th 1946. It would be interesting to see the skunk play Bing Crosby since he didn't do so in the final version.

This is probably the first time I was aware of the red pencils being used in animation drawings, I guess they were used for in-betweens, so the characters wouldn't move every frame. 

Just like with other golden age animators and directors, they experimented new styles. Whatever was popular for the era was used in these animated shorts. Sometimes it didn't always work, but I do kinda like the UPA styled cartoons from the 50s. The most recognizable short is Symphony In Slang. It's mostly filled with interpretations. It's not outstanding or anything but it's definitely something unique. 

Lastly, I want to talk about layout background art. I always loved how the Tex Avery cartoons looked sometimes blending in realistic environments into more cartoony characters.

This is a great find. It's translated in french, but you could understand more of the pictures since the words aren't that important. I consider buying it if your interested in Tex Avery's work and love drawings like I do, pretty expensive though.