Reposted and assembled from Michael Ruocco's thread at https://twitter.com/AGuyWhoDraws/status/1416470604891394049 with additional video comparisons of his storyboards with the finished animation for more context when appropriate. Huge Spoiler Warning!
Time to talk about my last "Looney Tunes Cartoon" short of the newest batch, "Rage Rover". I had a lot of fun with this one! Marvin's one of my favorite characters!
This is technically Marvin's first solo cartoon, so it was fun seeing how this character operated essentially on his own, overthinking against what is essentially a mindless machine. Sort of like a Coyote/Roadrunner short, in a way.
I'm oddly proud of the Rhododecahedron plant. I imagined it was like a flower that was it's own greenhouse. I kinda wanna make a model of one someday, or commission someone to make one for me. Originally I had his helmet brim smash it, but it was easier to just drop it in surprise.
I knew the prop designers would come up with something more "alien" looking that'd properly fit, so I just put in random stuff that came to mind, including the saucer ray from "War of the Worlds" and a fidget spinner. I had one of those little magnet rollers as a kid & loved it.
One of the things we all discussed during our launch meeting was the design of the rover. My belief with animation design is that it should be simple enough to draw a LOT. Actual Mars rovers are pretty convoluted, so the less details, the better...and only put in what's necessary
One of my favorite things to draw on the show was Marvin when he's flustered (which happens a lot). What I love about him is that he's essentially a bookish accountant who becomes an eager yet amateurish dictator. Everything has to be jussssst right for him otherwise he's annoyed.
He's also a fun character to beat up too. All the little details in his costume, which sometimes are a hassle to draw (especially his helmet) are great to draw in varying degrees of wear and tear.
Folks, you have to understand, on every cartoon I’m involved in, I HAVE to put a Rover Dangerfield reference in there somehow…
Or at least I attempt to, so don’t expect a pie-eyed Rover in Cuphead anytime soon…
I LOVED drawing the Martian Beast! We all did a TON of concept sketches trying to figure out what kind of monster it should be. Big and hairy? A robot? A mutant dog? A Martian lion ala John Carter of Mars? (Drawings by Johnny Ryan, Pete Browngardt and Alex Kirwan)
Alex Kirwan ended up doing this page of this lizard-like creature and we all just loved it. It's unique but it still somewhat feels reminiscent of the classic Instant Martians. I didn't make any real changes to it other than giving him a shock collar in the boards.
Menacing... terrifying... and yet somehow still loveable. A big scaley softie.
I just loving drawing it. I don't know if it was the design, the little details, the overall shapes... he was so fun to draw.
Storytelling Rule #174: If you abuse an animal in ANY WAY in your story, the abuser HAS to get their justified comeuppance one way or another (a good rule, I think).
I also really enjoyed drawing Marvin's tripod (complete with his own shoes). I liked planning the steps and walks too. No joke, I love planning out walks/movement on things with an odd set of legs and /or extra joints. It's a challenge, but you end up with really fun solutions.
Stumbles too!
And what's a Marvin the Martian cartoon without a planet-shattering kaboom? The Bugs tag at the end was added to the cartoon after I handed in my board. Personally I liked the idea that the rover was pretty autonomous and unaware, but it's a fun nod and surprise cap to the end!
Like all the other shorts, I can't help but thank Peter Browngardt and Alex Kirwan, Jacob Fleischer for helping us out writing and punching up the story, David Gemmill for his guidance and direction, Aaron Spurgeon and his whole amazing design team for making this cartoon look stunning, Bob McKnight for the designing poses based off my chicken scratches, the animation team up at Yowza Animation for the incredible job making this cartoon, and of course to the voice talents Eric Bauza (Marvin/Bugs), Fred Tatasciore (the Beast) and Candi Milo (Computer voice)!
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
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