Ugly Character Designs

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rbludgeon

New member
Let me clear something up: this is not a theard where we rant and rave about how some untalented artists can't design characters. Instead this is a thread about cartoons that employ "ugly" character designs, and whether it worked for or against the cartoon. Here are some of my opinions, what are yours?

worked for the cartoon:
Ren and Stimpy. This cartoon was so out there and boundry pushing that it needed some funky looking characters to push the show.

Aaahhh! Real Monsters. They're monsters. They're supposed to be ugly, even if it's in a cute way.

Eeek the Cat. Show would not have been funny if it weren't for the funny looking characters. Would the Squishy Bears be funny if they looked as cute as the Care Bears?

worked against the cartoon:
Rugrats. I guess they're supposed to be so ugly, they're cute. They just looked ugly to me.

Doug. Some of the character color combinations burned my retinas.

ambivilent:
Home Movies. Overall, the show was pretty solid. I don't know if the character design matched the tone of the show though.
 
Legion of Super Heroes

I know it's necessary to simply designs of comic book characters to mesh well in animation, but the characters look pretty deformed for a superhero show, not to say that the show is bad.
 
I'm not sure if you'd count The Simpsons or Futurama on this list (Matt Groening's designs are usually considered "Ugly", and since he created both, i'd assume the "Ugly" art style is intentional).

The designs on Beavis and Butt-head are also heavily rooted in Mike Judge's design style (also often considered "Ugly").
 
Mega Babies had the most intentionally hideous character designs I've ever seen in a cartoon. I can't believe someone actually paid money to have that series produced.
 
There's two types of "ugly" for me: caricature-ugly and sloppy-ugly.

Caricature-ugly (Ren and Stimpy's a good example) is funny and when done well, can almost be endearing.

Sloppy-ugly (the worst case scenario I can think of is probably Sharktale) is the type of ugly that hurts your eyes.
 
I think that the charecters on Squirrle Boy are just to alful to look at. That look on Duckman was okay I guess (I never seen that show) it just doesn't fit on a kids show.
 
I've always suspected that the hideous character design of Duckman was created to capture the look of an underground comic book. Considering the show's style of humor, it was appropriate. And characters with distended or exaggerated features work best with exaggerated reaction, a la Ren And Stimpy, but for the most part, I think the aesthetics of character design are largely a matter of whether or not the art style appeals to the viewer. I have never been able to cultivate an interest in shows like Wild Thornberries, Cramp Twins, Squidbillies, or Doug, simply because I thought they were just too ugly to look at.
 
Rocket Power
As Told By Ginger
Wild Thornberrys - All three are Klasky-Cspuso cartoons and they generally have a really ugly look to them. The only shows by them that I actually liked the look of were Rugrats and Ahhh! Real Monsters. I mean, with Monsters, it was GOOD for it to look ugly.

Cramp Twins - I completely forgot about this show until I saw it mentioned here. Horrible look.

Squirrel Boy - I can't even look at it for too long.

Squidbillies
Frisky Dingo - Both have a combination of an ugly look along with really cheap animation.

Mucha Lucha - Yeah, no.

Every character in Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi aside from Ami, Yumi, and Kaz - Outside of the main cast, all the extras seemed highly half-assed. It's a shame because I loved the designs of Ami, Yumi and Kaz. But everyone else in the show? Ugh.
 
Well, Duckman actually began as a Dark Horse comic book, so that's pretty accurate. I too liked the gritty art style, though it is definitely an acquired taste.
 
I have to agree with this one... every extra just seemed half-assed. If there was a real attempt to make them and the backgrounds and props fluid and synonymous with the main characters' designs (forget the budget, this was important, too), as well as pair that with some good writing, the show probably would've gotten past 2005.

As for the Cramp Twins... I'm not quite sure why, but I was able to enjoy it. I guess it hooked me. The music, I liked. But, toward the beginning of the third season, they managed to find a company that generated off-model animation, and the stories got worse.
 
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