movies/tv That thickline art style

[GuillermoGage 246]

Generally speaking, I had really been beginning to get sick of that "thick border outline around things and especially characters" art style, which includes colored outlines instead of or as well as just black outlines...

 

before getting into My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic in 2011.

 

something about the show makes the style legitimately cute instead of just cheap-looking.

 

Powerpuff Girls, Fairly OddParents! and Danny Phantom (that Butch Hartman style), Dexter's Laboratory, and many others.

 

I don't know if this should be moved into a pony board, but let's discuss this style.

[Leafeon 2,701]

I draw a lot of things in that style, specifically ponies, because it's not very time consuming.

 

This style is very easy to animate compared to many more shaded styles, so it makes sense it is used for kid's animation.

[Bucky McGillyCuddy 956]

I wonder how different it would look with thick black lines around everything. I know in the recent comic books that the artist used black lines in stead of colored lines like the show uses (although the art style is a little different). It works pretty well in my opinion.

 

[Frances Bean 7]

Thick line animation never bothered me too much. I actually prefer characters that are drawn in thick colored lines than thin black lines. It just looks more appealing to me, it's blends better I think. Then again, when I watch a cartoon, I don't watch the lines of a character, I watch the character itself and anything else that's going on in the scene. I only ever get analytic on that kind of stuff with Bob Clampett's works, and Disney movies/shorts. Those and the show Ren and Stimpy. Seriously, ignore the voices and just watch the animation and imagine how hard those animators worked, especially considering how strict John K. was with them. 

Edited December 27, 2012 by Frances Bean

[KaryDactyl 26]

I have to admit it was hard for me to watch Danny Phantom because I kept looking at going okay when is Timmy Turner going to show up because the art is almost exactly the same. I know they were both designed by the same guy but there could've been a little more variation, like there is between the Powerpuff Girls and MLP. As for the thick line style itself, I'm not really sure how I feel about it? In the art for my little pony what appeals to me is the things like the color schemes, not so much the actual drawings themselves? Like if the colors were boring or clashy, it would be WAY less appealing. Or, if the characters weren't as... balanced in shape? I don't know how to say it. I mean how in some other shows, the characters will have a bad mix of sharp and soft shapes? I am thinking of Johnny Test and Danny Phantom as examples. (Or TDI... Blech.) But thats not really a problem in MLP. It only comes up in the shapes of some of the stallions' faces. So, essentially, I don't love it but it's not a dealbreaker, either.

 

My personal preference is for lineless styles, like in Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. I think it's really neat looking.

[I used to be a stranger 7,989]

I think the art style either started with Craig McCraken or Butch Hartmann, but either way their influence on children's programming has become quite popular.

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,694]

I never thought much about this drawing style before, but MLP: FIM has broadened my artistic horizons. I especially like how the "thicklines" around the ponies are a color similar to their coats, but not exactly the same, and it varies around their hair and other accessories.

 

Another example is in Hanna-Barbera cartoons like Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound where the characters sported very thick lines, especially in their early days.

 

 

Edited January 2, 2013 by TailsAlone