Is the main reason cartoon characters never change clothes is because of model sheets and how it would require tons of them just for different outfits?
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Is the main reason cartoon characters never change clothes is because of model sheets and how it would require tons of them just for different outfits...
If that's the case, then how did a cheap Canadian show pull it off?
As Told by Ginger and All Grown Up did it.
French-Canadian co-production
Yeah but those shows sucked
It's because they have no reason to. Cartoons are intentionally minimal. If Spongebob randomly wore different outfits all of the time, it would distract viewers from the gags. But if a joke necessitates that he wears a different outfit, he will.
In contrast...
The Spies are basically dress-up dolls and fashion is a main theme of the show, so it makes sense that they change clothes often. The (relatively) more realistic style means that the characters are recognizable by their faces, hair and skin tone, so they're free to wear new clothes without losing identity.
Keep in mind that the more simplistic an art style is, the more the artists will rely on distinctive outfits to set characters apart. There's a whole Simpsons episode riffing on the way Homer looks near-identical to Krusty if you draw him in Krusty's outfit.
There's also budget to consider. Designing new outfits takes a bit of time and money, and it's harder for animators to draw unfamiliar clothes. They can't cut corners by recycling old material either. So if you invest in fashion-conscious protagonists, you might have to spend less on other aspects of the show, eg. Totally Spies having the worst animation ever.
the Simpsons is definitely a show where the characters look different enough to change clothes. imagine Bart in a blue shirt and jeans. still Bart because of the hair. the homer Krusty thing is a one off because they were designed to look similar. apart from them everyone looks different to everyone else.
Show for girls, girls care about fashion and will enjoy seeing different outfits. No 10 year old boy is going to give a single shit if Spongebob wears something new though.
Both of these characters had a more iconic outfit they would wear every episode
Percy wore a different shirt every episode, I guess this is where the animation budget went
I think it's more about recognizable marketing designs. Production simplicity is surely a plus though. Look at how Disney always wanted to depict Mabel in her shooting star sweater even though she changed it every episode.
Trademark iconic design people can recognize.
I'm making a comic where characters change outfits and there are are lot of thing to consider
1,Character design plays a big part in making a character recognizable, and clothing is a key aspect of design, so you kidda ruining by constantly changing it
2, Designing clothing that fits the characters takes a bit of work, replacing it not only kinda negates it, but mean you have to put more work in designing something as good
Now there are shows that do go out of there way to give characters new outfits, but most tend to be female orientated or it's only the female character that change clothes. I guess women love fashion and are willing to put more effort in characters outfits
I am also working on something where I want the main female character to change clothes per episode, but she still has a base outfit otherwise. The context being that she only manifests different clothing to wear when mingling with people and needing to blend in (though not for any malicious reasons.) The main male character is similar but it's more of a full disguise so it's less about clothing and more just a complete redesign when necessary.
I feel like people are a little more interested in playing dressup with their characters now but not as much as they probably could get away with, since it seems restrictions via networks are slightly looser in that regard these days. I heard on the commentary of Gravity Falls that there was one person on the staff who loved putting Dipper in different outfits when the episode called for it so he was happy to put him in the suit in Northwest Mansion Mystery. Or the Pinball story in Bottomless Pit where they were in old west outfits. I believe it was both of those.
>most tend to be female orientated or it's only the female character that change clothes
I wanna see a male character who keeps changing clothes but it’s always just the shirt. Make it a different color and put all sorts of random words on there and call it a day. Not too much effort but it’s still variety.
there's a side character in OK KO who's shirt changes every single time the camera cuts away
>Make it a different color and put all sorts of random words on there and call it a day. Not too much effort but it’s still variety.
Why stop there? Have fun with it: Every other episode, his shirt has a single word on it. These words form a coherent sentence, but they're shown in a jumbled order. At the end of the season, reveal what the sentence is.
Because it was a cost-cutting measure to just have characters wear the same thing. Plus it made the characters more iconic and easier for the kids to follow. It goes back to the rise of TV cartoons in the 50s and 60s.
On top of that, at that point in time, society was a lot more conformist than it is nowadays and it wouldn't be weird to see people wearing roughly the same thing each day as standardized work clothes, so that also bled into it.
Cartoonists are nothing if not extremely conservative about their industry and love looking back to what the GIs and the Boomers did for inspiration, kind of like how every shitty indie rock band these days just looks back to whatever the Beatles and the Pixies were doing to make more albums.
Yeah, like you and others have said here, design/reference sheets and recognizability play a huge factor in it, i think. Plus, coming with new designs for clothes all the time can be kind of heavy, and most studios just want to get things done.
In short, yeah it looks cool and gives the impression the showrunners care about the product, but it's an extra step that often doesn't really change much.
People are dumb panicky sheep and change makes them uncomfortable. What everyone really wants is for tomorrow to be much like today.
You're a dumb moron and don't know what you're talking about, you blindly consume media without understanding how it is made.