Reference and Visual Memory 1

Maurice Noble had a unique way of using reference. Rather than drawing directly from source material for a particular design, Maurice would pull inspiration from what he called his "Visual Memory." This "Visual Memory" was a store of visual images in his brain that he had built over time through travel, viewing art, and other experiences that would make an impression on him.  Later... sometimes years or decades later... he would redraw his impression of a place from memory for a design... using its strongest characteristics. 

Here are a few Maurice design examples, and their original inspiration:

"Claws For Alarm" and Mark Twain.

It is well known that Chuck Jones was a huge fan of American author Mark Twain. What is less known is that Mr. Twain found his way into a number of Chuck's cartoons. Here Maurice gives us a "poor man's" version of the grand hall from Twain's 19 room Connecticut mansion in "Claws For Alarm." (1954) 

"Deduce You Say" and the Tam O'Shanter.

Maurice often drew design inspiration from life experience. His assignment for "Deduce You Say" (1956) was designing old world London. But since he had never been to Europe, he referenced the second best thing... The Tam O'Shanter restaurant on Los Feliz Blvd. Pictured here is Walt Disney's favorite table.

Inspiration from "Lost Horizon." (1937)

Frank Capra's movie "Lost Horizon" was one of Maurice's favorites. From it he drew inspiration for bits of "How The Grinch Stole Christmas," "What's Opera, Doc?" and many other films. This is a great example of Maurice's use of visual memory. He couldn't look at still frames of the movie, but he had seen "Lost Horizon" enough times that certain scenes made a distinct impression on him. Finding their way into his work.

Supplement to pg. 77 of The Noble Approach: Maurice Noble and the Zen of Animation Design.

How The Grinch Stole Christmas: A Christmas Classic

In 1966 M.G.M. released what would become a Christmas classic, "How The Grinch Stole Christmas." The TV special was directed by Chuck Jones, based on the book of the same name by Dr. Seuss (Ted Geisel.) Maurice art directed the short, taking inspiration from Seuss's book illustrations, adding to them his own Noble twist.

Above: Maurice rough location design pencils (left), with marker color studies for "The Grinch."

On the Looney Tune's shorts of  the 1950's Maurice had painted numerous design keys in cel vinyl for the background painter to follow. Many of these keys were in essence small versions of the final backgrounds. By the 1960's Maurice began making small marker sketches directly over his rough pencils. Magic Markers weren't in common use until the late 1950's and they were simply faster than paint. The more staging ideas Maurice could get through... the stronger his final compositions would be.

Above: Maurice "Grinch" story and concept sketches.

Maurice's duties went far beyond simply designing the films he worked on. Early in the film making process he would often give numerous staging, story, and gag ideas. Most of these ideas didn't make it into the final film, but many did, and the influence he had on the staging and feel of "The Grinch" is undeniable. The back and forth story process that Maurice and Chuck Jones used is described on Pg. 56 of "The Noble Approach."

"The Grinch" was one of Maurice's favorite films from the period. But for many years Ted Geisel never expressed how he felt about the film. In 1991, during Geisel's memorial service, Geisel's doctor relayed the following message to Maurice: "Ted wanted mee to tell you how much he loved Grinch, especially your work on it." Amused, Maurice later told me, "This was typical of Ted, always getting in the last word."

Maurice Noble and the Art of the Pan: Rhythm -On the Chronicle Books Blog

This week Chronicle Books features a few concepts from the Noble Approach on their blog. In the post I expand on some of Maurice's ideas about the rhythm of pans that I lightly touched on in the book. (see pgs. 159-160 of the Noble Approach for reference.) 

Above: An example image about spacing from the article. Please go to the blog HERE to read more.

As with many of the other ideas introduced in Maurice's text I was only able to cover a few basic Noble concepts in 175 pages. I will expand on Maurice's thoughts about pans, and other subjects in future posts.

Supplement to pg. 160 of The Noble Approach.

Simple Color Themes

Maurice often used simple color themes when designing his films. Many times he would carry variations of a single theme throughout an entire film. For each sequence he would often make one or another color from a color chord the dominant color. For example the blue accent of an earlier sequence may become the dominant color of a later sequence. In some of these examples Maurice has mixed things up with a yellow accent.

A rectangular color chord from "Much Ado About Nutting." (1953)

Supplement to pg. 104 of The Noble Approach.

Color Keys and Color Sketches: Background Drop-off

A Maurice color key sketch (top) with a Phil DeGuard background from "Boyhood Daze." (1957) courtesy of Paul Bussolini

Phil's final backgrounds (as in the above example) were often painted lighter and with less contrast than Maurice's color keys. The reason being that under camera each background carried an average of 5 cel layers on top of it. Each cel layer would darken the background a certain percentage. 

 A background and cel set-up from "Boyhood Daze." (1957) courtesy of Mike Giaimo. 

It is easy to see the striking difference in value and contrast between a "naked" background, and one shrouded in its cel covering. Maurice would test background/ cel setups under camera to make sure all the elements looked correct BEFORE committing to a specific design approach. A pretty background painting meant little if it didn't work under the lens. Only once key shots worked to Maurice's satisfaction would Phil would move forward with the backgrounds on the rest of the film.

Supplement to pg. 146 of The Noble Approach

Maurice Pans 005: Beginnings and Endings

A vertical pan from "Much Ado About Nutting." (1953)

Maurice taught, "The eye isn't going to see much detail in the middle of a fast pan. It will see color and pattern in an abstract way. Focus on making the start and finish of the pan work well, the parts that the audience will actually see. Then concentrate on the length and feel of the pan."

From pg 159 of "The Noble Approach."

Martian Through Georgia Progression

Above: A Maurice Noble layout and final Phil DeGuard painting from "Martian Through Georgia." (1962) The film was co-directed by Chuck Jones and Maurice.

In his early Warner career, Maurice made numerous color keys to help guide painter Phil DeGuard in the final background paintings. But by 1962 the two artists had been working together so long that Maurice could often give Phil simple shorthand color notes, such as in this background layout, to indicated what he wanted. 

Lettering by Don Foster.

Supplement to Pg. 126 of "The Noble Approach." 

To watch the film, visit the link HERE.

Color and Value: 001

Maurice most usually thought of color in how it related to value. ( The relative lightness or darkness of a color.) Always making sure that a composition worked in black and white FIRST before moving on into something more colorful. 

Cartoon Colour cel vinyl was Maurice's paint of choice. The paints were marked with a one (1) for the lightest value, and the bigger the number, the darker the paint. 

Above is a chart Maurice used to show how the value of many colors he used related to gray. 

GRAY SCALE SHOWING CORRESPONDING COLOR VALUES
The color number appears vertically under each color and #20 represents the darkest value. The gray values on the left are in the same order, from dark to light, and any color number appearing on a horizontal line with a gray value has that same gray value when photographed in black and white. 

How is this useful? It's sometimes difficult to tell how dark or light a color really is. When transferring a black and white sketch Maurice wanted to be sure that his colors were as close as possible to the original sketch values.

Supplement to pg. 91 of "The Noble Approach."

Clean up by Esben Sloth

Tools of the Trade

Details of a few of the simple tools Maurice used to create his art. Maurice never threw anything away, and some of these pencils go all the way back to the beginning of his career; helping create some of his greatest work. 

It is well known that Maurice wasn't a fan of the computer. He often argued that the best way to learn to control color and value was to learn to draw and paint with traditional media... THEN later perhaps apply this knowledge to the computer. 

Supplement to Pg. 125 of "The Noble Approach."

Photo © 2013 Tod Polson

Maurice Pans 04: Implied line of flow

Example from: "Nelly's Folly" (1961) Courtesy of Animation Sensations Art Gallery

Instead of having one clear element guiding the eye through a pan, Maurice would often create a line of flow by creating relationships between a number of smaller compositional elements.

Example from "Drafty Isn't It?" 

Then Maurice would support this line of flow with other smaller elements that were roughly parallel to the main line of flow.

Supplement to Pg. 159 of "The Noble Approach." 

CTN Expo 2013

November 15th- 17th 2013

We've been invited to this years CTN Expo to have a chat about Maurice and "The Noble Approach." We'll look at Maurice's design process, and discuss a number of interesting things that didn't make it into the book. A book signing will follow the conversation.

To learn more visit:
http://creativetalentnetwork.com

Maurice Pans 03

Example from "90 Day Wondering." (1956)

To make a pan more dynamic, Maurice would often use background elements to lead the eye to and from camera. The lines of these elements also often acted as the line of flow.

Supplement to pg. 159 of "The Noble Approach"

Download the entire cartoon HERE.

Maurice Pans 02: Spacing and Leaning Elements

From "90 Day Wondering." (1956)

One method Maurice used to help keep pans from strobing was leaning elements to cut across the picture plane. The faster the pan, the more he would lean the elements. Then, unless the story called for it, he would also make sure to make the spacing of those elements uneven. 

Supplement to Pg. 160 of The Noble Approach.

Pans 1: Lines of flow

To give the eye an easy path to follow, many pans will have one primary curving line of flow focusing on one main compositional element. A change in perspective will make the composition more dynamic.

The pan up this rock tower from Road Runner is a slow one... and Maurice is able to play a lot with the line of flow... having it cross back and forth across the screen as the camera moves north.

Many Pans will have both major and minor lines of flow. These all work to guide the eye, and add interest and texture to a pan.

Supplement to pg. 159 "The Noble Approach."

Cool and Warm Shadows

Maurice often combined cool shadows with warm light. (...as well as warm shadows with cool light.) He would push these contrasts depending on the needs of the story at hand. For example, a more dramatic moment, or a more satirical story would get a more "pushed" treatment. 

Above: Here are a few random examples from some of Maurice's film work showing how he combined light and shadow.

Supplement to pg. 100 of "The Noble Approach"

Simplifying Complex forms: Wrap and Overlap

-Many times Maurice used simple geometric shapes when simplifying trees. Often he created added interest by using overlapping and wrapping forms. Frequently accentuating these forms by using slight up or down camera angles. 

From "Much Ado About Nutting" (1953)

In simplifying trees Maurice said; "Use a simple basic shape (circle, square, etc.) as a rough guide. Then add leaves, branches, to give your tree a more natural feel... always try to show the object you are designing from various angles: front, side, and back... remember there are three dimensions. Even in a highly stylized film, you want your elements to sit in space. Use overlapping forms and lines that describe the form to give a sense of dimension."

Supplement to pg. 97 of The Noble Approach

Design Specifics 001

A pan from "Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century." (1953)

More than any other designer at Warner Bros. Maurice tried to create environments that were unique to a character or story. Maurice could have simply designed "a planet"... but he didn't. Planet "X"' 's design functions more than just a backdrop. It supports and enhances the satire of the story. 

Supplement to Pg. 85 "The Noble Approach."

Book review from Cartoon Brew!

Amid Amidi at Cartoon Brew discusses "The Noble Approach." You can read his thoughts HERE!

A Personal Note:

In this review Amid discusses Robert J. McKinnon's biography of Maurice "Stepping Into the Picture: Cartoon Designer Maurice Noble." He calls the biography "a failure." I can't agree. To an animation fan expecting lots of art and technique I can see how the book might be disappointing. In fact McKinnon tried to fill the book with art, but was essentially frustrated by Warner Bros. This is a book about Maurice's life. To those of us that knew him it's a gem. I've read the book several times. and despite whatever faults it may have; it's the closest thing I have to the memories of sitting down with Maurice and listening to his stories. Stories that very well may have been lost to the ages without McKinnon's text. -tod

Book Review From Cartoon Research!

Chronicle books has sent out a few hard bound pre-view copies of "The Noble Approach" in the last week. Writer and animation historian Jerry Beck got his, and has made the first official review for the book. You can read it HERE.

Above: Maurice at work at MGM in the early 1960's. One of the images included in the review... and in "The Noble Approach."

Steal Wool Progression

A Maurice progression from "Steal Wool." (1957)

(top) A rough layout - Used as reference by the animator.

(center) A color sketch... used as reference for the background painter.

... And the final background painted by artist Phil DeGuard referencing Maurice's final pencil layout, as well as the color sketch.

This background was then tested under camera with a simple character cel set-up. The resulting film frames were reviewed by Maurice to see if everything was working. If you look closely you can see the grease pencil line Maurice made through the above rejected test. He made changes to the set-up and re-shot it. Once everything looked ok... he proceeded to design and test the rest of the film.