Source: Esquire, 2023
For this week’s assignment, I was asked to research the art style of Genndy Tartakovsky, and to begin creating concept art designs in his signature style, for a potential character from his Hotel Transylvania film franchise.
A man of many talents, Genndy Tartakovsky is a 53 year-old multi award winning Russian-American animator, director, and storyteller who first gained recognition for his 2D animated Cartoon Network shows such as Dexter’s Laboratory, the iconic Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack and Star Wars: Clone Wars, before moving in early 2011 to Sony Pictures Animation to direct his first 3D CG animated movie; ‘Hotel Transylvania.’
Well-known within animation circles for his instantly recognisable, distinctive visual style, unlike Disney’s refined designs, Tartakovsky’s early 2D work, such as ‘Dexter’s Laboratory’ and the ‘Powerpuff Girls,’ features exaggerated anatomy, and characters comprised of thick, blocky shapes with sharp angular outlines, and in Star Wars: Clone Wars, and Samurai Jack, characters drawn in a flat, graphic style.
Dexter’s Laboratory and the Powerpuff Girls
Also, unlike Disney’s more naturalistic ‘house style’ featuring consistent motion, Tartakovsky’s movement vocabulary is characterised by strong, dramatic posing (also known as ‘pushed posing’), sharp exaggerated movements, and in Samurai Jack, with it’s cinematic Japanese anime feel, characters holding extreme dynamic poses, and transitioning quickly from one pose to the next – all principles he’d also later use in his ‘Hotel Transylvania’ movies.
Graphic Style and Dramatic Posing in Star Wars: Clone Wars, and Samurai Jack Source: Pinterest, n.d.
Tartakovsky admits being heavily influenced by the work of animator Frederick Bean (Tex) Avery (1908-1980), and not only describes wanting to bring this physical humour and ‘Tex Avery, Warner Bros sensibility’ to the ‘Hotel Transylvania’ movies, but that he specifically chose this ‘expressive cartoony caricature animation style’ to allow him to ‘push the characters much more’ (Sarto, 2012).
Source: tenor.com, 2022
An excellent way of conveying emotion, and enabling a wider range of expression, Tartakovsky uses ‘pushed posing’ throughout the movie; deliberately distorting characters into appealing shapes, far beyond the limits of what would be naturally possible, to both emphasise their emotional state, and allow the audience to see their exaggerated, funny side. Indeed, when interviewed he’s said, ‘Having finished Hotel Transylvania I remember sitting in the movie theatre watching kids and adults all laughing at the physical humour… the whole reason I do animation is to laugh at movement’ (youtube.com, 2014).
Source: tenor.com, 2021
As a result, during production, Tartakovsky was known to even draw over the top of his animator’s work to pose characters in a more extreme ‘pushed pose’ closer to the Tex Avery style he was aiming to achieve, and has said his movies are more about ‘the energy, the performance and the posing‘ (Santo, 2012). Below is an example of this and the exaggerated outcomes he accomplished.
Source: Sarto, 2012
Also, as you can see in the ‘Frank’ character below, the shape, and proportions of his body, and the way in which he has been posed has been exaggerated to reflect Tartakovsky’s expressive, cartoony caricature style and the physical humour he wants to convey; all elements that I will take into account during my character development process.
Source: Sarto, 2012
References:
Esquire (2023). We Asked an Animation Legend About His Five Favourite Cartoons – Josh Rosenberg. [online]. [Accessed 17 December 2023].
Available at: https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a43647739/genndy-tartakovsky-favorite-animated-tv-films/
Pinterest. (n.d.). ‘Star Wars: Clone Wars’ Pictures | Star wars artwork, Star wars pictures, Star wars clone wars – animatedtv.about.com. [online]. [Accessed 17 December 2023].
Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/244672192226446880/
Sarto, D. (2012). Genndy Tartakovsky Talks “Hotel Transylvania” – Animation World Network Blog. [online]. [Accessed 17 December 2023].
Available at: https://www.awn.com/animationworld/genndy-tartakovsky-talks-hotel-transylvania
tenor.com (2021). Hotel Transylvania GIF – yulixol. [online]. [Accessed 17 December 2023].
Available at: https://tenor.com/view/hotel-transylvania-gif-21873149
tenor.com (2022). Tex Avery Wolf Awooga Cartoon Awooga GIF – bluetooo54. [online]. [Accessed 17 December 2023].
Available at: https://tenor.com/view/tex-avery-wolf-awooga-cartoon-awooga-tex-avery-cartoon-hot-mama-gif-27251492
youtube.com (2014). Genndy Tartakovsky’s POPEYE Animation Test – Sony Pictures Animation. [online]. [Accessed 17 December 2023].
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1lzJuwJD9k&t=34s