theanimationarchive:

The Animation Archive Presents: The Smear

In 1942 the animated short The Dover Boys of Pimento University, directed by Chuck Jones, introduced the animation world to a whole new technique. Not only was The Dover Boys one of the first American animated films to break away from the “Disney look;” but it was also one of the first animations to utilize the smear (one of my personally favorite techniques to use).

The smear was first heavily used by legendary animator Chuck Jones. The technique is used to allow the moving object to move with a sudden burst of speed; often being depicted in a single frame of animation. Movement in animation is created by the use of key frames (the beginning and ending point of a smooth transition) and the in between frames (the frames in between the key frames that help create the illusion of motion).

Smearing takes the idea of using two or three frames between two key frames, and instead allows the animator to use one quick motion rather than two or three in between motions. Because of this at the time of it’s creation the process was often frowned upon and regarded as lazy. Warner Brothers especially found the technique very displeasing.

Warner Brothers, for quite some time, had always wanted to move away from the Disney look and style of animation that they and other studios had often depended on. Even though The Dover Boys was a big step in that direction they were still so displeased with the smear technique that they tried to fire Chuck Jones after it’s release. Warner Brothers, however, could not easily find a replacement for Chuck Jones so he was allowed to continue his work at the studio.

After The Dover Boys, Jones would still often use and rely upon the smear technique; and to this day animation professionals still depend on the technique to create quick transitions between key frames.

Below are some more stills of the smear at work. It’s pretty wacky stuff: