Model Sheet Monday: Bugs Bunny

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Click the image to see the full -size pic.

 

It’s Model Sheet Monday again and this week we’re showing the biggest and the baddest. the master of disaster and the king of comedy, Bugs Bunny!

This particular model sheet was drawn by Bob Scott and cleaned up by Harry Sabin.

Who didn’t want to be Bugs Bunny? I mean come on! The guy didn’t run from guns, genies, lions, bears, hunters, wrestlers, rustlers, thieves, and opera singers. He had more guts that John McClain! Bugs Bunny was my hero as a kid and one of the my favorite characters in the Looney Tunes world and the few times I got to draw him were awesome. he was deceptively hard to draw and I often made his muzzle too big. That said, Bugs is pretty awesome!

There are many versions of Bugs Bunny design as you can see above and even one past this model sheet in the form of Jessica Borutski’s design for CN’s Looney Tunes show which I actually admire for it’s sheer appeal and draftsmanship (draftswomanship?).

We incidentally interviewed Jessica some time ago.

Personally I prefer the old Chuck Jones design the best and then if I had to choose a second it would be the Bob McKimson design after that but as far as drawing Bugs, Chuck ruled in my book. There was an appeal he had in the heyday of films like Wackiki Wabbit, The Case of the Missing Hare, and Water, Water Every Hare, which were just the epitome of Bugs Bunny and to me no one did him better than Chuck back then. The design had an appeal that I think got lost in the later days, especially once Chuck decided to Grinch Bugs up a bit.

What was your favorite Bugs Bunny design?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyQ4EntAyhc

Sorry for the lack of quality on this last one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW2URR3ESzg

By the time Chuck got to Barbary Coast Bunny, I wasn’t a fan anymore.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcczyr_barbary-coast-bunny_shortfilms

Here’s some more info on Bugs Bunny via our friend Wikipedia:

Bugs Bunny is a funny animal cartoon character, best known for his starring roles in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of theatrical short films produced by Warner Bros.during the Golden age of American animation.[2] His popularity during this era led to his becoming a cultural icon, as well as a corporate mascot of Warner Bros. Entertainment. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray hare or rabbit who is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality, a pronounced New York accent, his portrayal as a trickster, and his catch phrase “Eh… What’s up, doc?” (usually said while chewing a carrot). Bugs has appeared in more films (both short and feature-length) than any other cartoon character and is the ninth most-portrayed film personality in the world.[3]

According to his 1990 “biography” Bugs Bunny: 50 Years and Only One Grey Hare, Bugs was born on July 27, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York in a warren under Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers.[1] In reality, he was brought to life by the animators and staff of Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons): including Tex Avery, who directed Bugs’ early definitive film A Wild Hare (1940); Robert McKimson, who created Bugs’ definitive character design; and Mel Blanc, who originated the voice of Bugs.

…and you can read the full write up of Bugs Bunny here.

 

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2 Comments

  1. This particular model sheet was not drawn by Chris Buck. It was drawn by Bob Scott and cleaned up by Harry Sabin.

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