Cartoon Acting

I've been painting a bunch of images from an old storyboard I drew. It was for one of those 'Goodbye Bumpers' at the end of each show where Stimpy doesn't know what to do with himself for the week while he waits for the next show and Ren tries to cheer him up. It made me think I should do some posts about cartoon acting.

The characters' expressions in the beginning of the bumper are fairly mild and generic. 

As the scene goes on the characters get more emotional and their expressions and poses get more specific.

Each activity Ren suggests to keep Stimpy busy makes Stimpy more and more agitated.

Ren suggests he could finish his asparagus. Stimpy backs away in revulsion - as I would. Ren is still keeping his cool, acting like a suave TV host like Regis Philbin or Bob Barker.

When Ren suggests he could fold his linen for fun, Stimpy breaks down and bursts out crying.

Action and Reaction:

BTW, if you watch these poses in succession you might notice that usually one character is leading the action while the other character listens and reacts. The action poses push each other around. If Stimpy leans forward (or his tongue does), Ren leans back etc.

When Ren suggests Stimpy could do his multiplication tables Stimpy bends over and does a very wet raspberry to show his disdain.

Later, after Ren suggests Stimpy could wave to the kids at home, Stimpy finally has something he likes to do. He names the kids he says hi to but the names are all ridiculous - names that Ren doesn't believe any kid would have. This drives Ren crazy and he starts to lose his cool. His expressions and poses get more and more specific and extreme, the more frustrated he gets.

By the end of the bumper, Ren has tired himself out from anger and frustration and resigns himself to Stimpy's enthusiasm and tomfoolery.

There's a lot that goes into effective cartoon acting: context, facial expressions, body language, action and reaction and more. I'll break down some of these poses soon.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a great time with your famiiies and friends.